Federalism and Quasi Federalism
- May 3, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Federalism and Quasi Federalism
Subject: Polity
Section: Federalism
Context:
- Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. This vertical division of power among different levels of governments is referred to as federalism.
- Quasi-federalism means an intermediate form of state between a unitary state and a federation. It combines the features of a federal government and the features of a unitary government.
- India consciously adopted a version of federalism that made the Union government and State governments interdependent on each other (latter more vis-a-vis the former) thereby violating the primal characteristic of a federal constitution i.e., autonomous spheres of authority for Union and State governments.
Federal Features of the Indian Constitution | Unitary Features of the Indian Constitution |
1. Supremacy of the Constitution: Constitution is the supreme law of land in India. A federal state derives its existence from the Constitution. | 1. Single Constitution: In India, there is only one Constitution. It is applicable to both the Union as a whole and the Stares. |
2. Bicameral Legislature: The Constitution of India also provides for a bicameral legislature i.e. Parliament with two houses of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. | 2. Rajya Sabha does not represent the States equality: Rajya Sabha, the States do not have equal representation. The populous States have more representatives in the Rajya Sabha than the less populous States. |
3. Dual Government Polity: The Constitution of India has divided powers between the Central government and the state governments through the 7th schedule. Both the governments have their separate powers and responsibilities. | 3. Division of power is not equal: In India, the Central government has been given more powers and made stronger than the State governments. |
4. Written Constitution: The Indian Constitution is a written document containing 395 Articles and 12 schedules, and therefore, fulfils this basic requirement of a federal government. | 4. Existence of States depends on the Centre: In India, the boundary of a State can be changed by created out of the existing States. |
5. Rigid Constitution: The Indian Constitution is largely a rigid Constitution. All the provisions of the Constitution concerning Union-State relations can be amended only by the joint actions of the State Legislatures and the Union Parliament. | 5. Constitution is not strictly rigid: The Constitution of India can be amended by the Indian Parliament easily. On many subjects, the Parliament does not need the approval of the State legislatures to amend the Constitution. |
6. Independent Judiciary: The Supreme Court of India can declare a law as unconstitutional, if it contravenes any provisions of the Constitution. | 6. Unified judiciary: India has a unified or integrated judicial system. The High Courts which work in the States are under the Supreme Court of India. |
7. Proclamation of emergency: When an emergency is declared, the Union or Central governments become all powerful and the State governments come under the total control of it. The State governments lose their autonomy. |
Reasons for a centralised federal structure
There are at following reasons that informed India’s choice of a centralised federal structure.
- Partition of India and the concomitant concerns:Union Powers Committee of the Constituent Assembly, in favour of a strong Union with residuary powers and weaker States, to safeguard the integrity of the nation.
- To forge a national civic identity: The centralised structure would unsettle prevalent trends of social dominance, help fight poverty better and therefore yield liberating outcomes.
- Building of a welfare state:In a decentralised federal setup, redistributive policies could be structurally thwarted by organised (small and dominant) groups. Instead, a centralised federal set-up can prevent such issues and further a universal rights-based system.
- Alleviation of inter-regional economic inequality:Provincial interventions seemed to exacerbate inequalities. India’s membership in the International Labour Organization, the Nehru Report (1928), and the Bombay Plan (1944) pushed for a centralised system to foster socio-economic rights and safeguards for the working and entrepreneurial classes.
- Linguistic reorganization: It would not have been possible if India followed a rigid or conventional federal system.
In other words, the current form of federalism in the Indian context is largely a function of the intent of the government of the day and the objectives it seeks to achieve.