Federalism with a Strong Central Government

What Is Federalism? 

The Soviet Union was one of the world’s superpowers, but after 1989, it simply disintegrated into several independent countries. One of the major reasons for its dissolution was Russia’s excessive centralisation and concentration of power, as well as Russia’s dominance over other regions with independent languages and cultures, such as Uzbekistan. Other countries, such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Pakistan, had to deal with national divisions as well.

Canada happened to come perilously close to severing the country’s English-speaking and French-speaking regions. Isn’t it a fantastic accomplishment that India, which also emerged as an independent country in 1947 after a painful partition, has remained united for the past seven decades?

What accounts for this success?

Is it possible to assign it to the federal system of governance that India adopted through its founding document? All of the above-mentioned nations have been federations. Nonetheless, they were unable to stay united. As a result, in addition to implementing a federal constitution, the nature of that federalist state as well as the practice of federalisation must be considered.

Powers are divided 

The Indian Constitution established two types of government: one for the entire country known as the union government (central government), and one per unit or State known as the state government. Both also have a constitutional role and a clearly defined area of activity. If there is indeed a disagreement as to which powers are under the regulation of the union and which are under the control of the states, the Judiciary can resolve it using the constitutional amendments.

The Constitution clearly differentiates between subjects that are the unique domain of the Union and those that are an exclusive realm of the States. (Carefully examine the chart on the following page.) It depicts the division of powers between the centre and the states.)

One of the most important aspects of this division of powers is that the Charter places financial and economic power in the hands of the national government. The states bear importance to uphold but have meagre sources of income.

Federalism With a powerful Central Government 

It is widely acknowledged that the Indian Constitution made a solid central government. India is a continent-sized country with enormous diversity and social troubles. The framers of the Constitution believed that we needed a federal constitution that would allow for diversity.

Those who also desired to establish a strong centre to prevent disintegration and bring about social and political change. It was essential for the middle to get such powers even though, just at time of its independence, Country was not only divided into provinces created by the British, but there have been over 500 princely states that had to be incorporated in to the sovereign nations or new states had to be formed.

T.T. Krishnamachari, CAD, Vol. XI, November 25, 1949, 

Aside from concern for unity, the framers of the Constitution did believe that the country’s social economic troubles needed to be addressed by a strong central government working in collaboration with the states. Poverty, lack of education, and wealth disparities were among the issues that necessitated cooperation and scheduling. As a result of their worry for unity and advancement, the framers of the Constitution established a strong central government.

• Parliament is responsible for a state’s very existence, including its territorial integrity. The Parliament has the authority to ‘form a new State by separating territory from any other State or by uniting two or more States…’ It can also change any state’s boundaries, as well as its name. The Constitution includes some safeguards in the form of securing the opinion of the relevant State legislature.

• When an emergency is declared, the Constitution contains very powerful emergency provisions that can transform our federal polity into a highly centralised system

• Power is lawfully centralised during an emergency. Parliament also has the authority to enact legislation on matters falling under the jurisdiction of the states

• Even when under normal conditions, the central government has extensive financial powers and duties. First and foremost, revenue-generating items are under the control of the central government. As a result, the national government has many revenue sources, while the nations rely heavily on grants and financial assistance from the centre

• Second, within a week of independence, India has adopted planning as a tool for economic growth, progress and development. Planning resulted in a significant centralisation of financial decisions

• The planning commission, which is appointed by the union government, is the coordinating machinery that controls and supervises state resource management

• Furthermore, the Union government has the authority to make grants and loans to states. This lopsided distribution of economic resources has led to accusations of discrimination against states ruled by an opposition party

• As you will see later, the Governor has the authority to recommend the resignation of the State government and the dissolution of the Assembly
• Furthermore, even under normal circumstances, the Governor I now understand why our Constitution is more than just borrowing from others. It must have designed federalism to meet our needs

• The Indian Constitution at Work has the authority to retain a bill passed by the state legislature for the President’s assent. This allows the central government to postpone State legislation as well as examine and veto such bills completely

• There may be times when the situation necessitates that the central government legislate on things of matter from the State list. This is feasible if the Rajya Sabha approves the move. The executive powers of the centre are obviously superior to the executive powers of the states, according to the Constitution

In conclusion

Furthermore, the federal government may choose to issue directives to the state governments. This is made clear in the following excerpt from a Constitutional article.