Nature of Federal System II

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➢ India a Union of States
 Article 1(1) – India that is Bharath, shall be a Union of
States
 Dr. Ambedkar – Union of India –> Federal in structure

 Federation not a result of agreement of the units

 Component units have no freedom to secede from it

➢ Different types of Federal Constitutions in the Modern

World
 Point to be considered – how many federal features
 Federal and United
 Not similar to American Federalism
 Functional approach

➢ Indian Constitution basically Federal with Unitary

features

➢ Essential Features of Federal Polity:

1) Dual Government
 National and State level
 Under Central Constitution
 No power to secede
2) Distribution of powers
 Between Centre and State
3) Supremacy of Constitution
 Every power legislative, executive and judicial derived
from it
4) Authority of courts
 Vests the courts with the final power to interpret our
political system, possesses all the above features.

➢ Peculiar Features of Indian Federalism

1) Mode of formation:
 USA –> voluntary agreement
 Canada –> imposed by British Statute
 India –> Government of India act, 1936: “By creating
autonomous units and combining them into a
Federation by one and the same act”
Not a result of agreement.

2) Position of States in the federation

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  In United States of America, States were already
sovereign and this was ensured and this was not the
case in India
USA INDIA
1) Residuary power:
States Union
2) States have liberty to Not so, except Jammu and
draw own Constitution Kashmir
3) Amendment of
Constitution:
States to give consent Carried out by Union
4) State legislation not State legislation controlled
controlled by Union by Union
5)
a. No State can secede
No State can secede
b. Boundaries cannot be
changed to form new Opposite
States without
consent of State
legislature
6) Equality of representation
7) Nil No equality of
representation
Sikkim admitted as
associate State and then
into Union

3) Nature of Polity
USA INDIA
1) Dual citizenship – State Only Indian citizenship
and Union
2) Division of public services No division – one banner –
IAS (Indian Administrative
Services) – operate for
Centre and State
3) Federal Courts –> Federal Supreme Court will
law administer both Union and
State court –> State law State law
Dual system of laws No dual system of courts
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 4) Opposite Machinery for Election,
Accounts and Audit
integrated

5) Not so Transfer of powers: Union

to State, State to Union
In case of emergency –
6) – total central control
Ordinary times – directions
by Centre to State
Normal times – Federal
7) - system is given strength of
a unitary system
a) Strong Central control
over legislations
b) Union to give
directions to State and
if State does not obey
Centre to supersede
State
c) i. President to assume
State legislative and
executive under Article
356
ii. above power can be
exercised by a
president sou motu

➢ Critique of Federal System

 Prof Wheare
“A system of Government which is Quasi Federal... a
unitary State with subsidiary federal features rather than a
federal State with subsidiary unitary features”
“in the class of Quasi federal Constitution it is probably
proper to include the Indian Constitution of 1950...”

 Prof. Alexander
“The Constitution of India is neither purely federal nor
purely unitary but is a combination of both. It is a Union or
composite State of a novel type. It enshrines the principle
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 that in spite of federalism the national interest ought to be
paramount”

 “Extremely federal”

 “Federation with strong centralising tendency”

➢ Working of a Federalism in India

 An opinion on one side:
 Federal features have withered away due to strong
unitary bonds
 Very little of federalism is left due to
 Overwhelming financial power of Union and
dependence of States for grants
 The effects of Planning Commissions on concurrent
power
 Above not correct on principle
 Secured uniform development of State
 Strengthened national Government – cooperative
government
 Central control has kept the States in control and
federalism exists
 In reality because of co-existence of both
governments
 New regions constantly demanding Statehood
 Strong agitation for greater financial power of
States

Setting up commission (one man) – J. Sarparia,

March 1983 – submitted report in 1988
In reality our system normally works as a federal
system with converting it into a quasi-federal or
unitary system under special circumstances

➢ Conclusion
“Constitution of India is neither purely federal nor purely
unitary but is a combination of both. It is a Union or composite
State of a novel type”
“Enshrines the principle - in spite of federalism the national
interest ought to be paramount”

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