A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FEDERALISM IN INDIA AND THE UNITED

STATES

Abstract
Federalism is characterized by the division of power between two levels of government
with each enjoying autonomy in its own sphere. India and the United states of America
are both federal states but federalism in India is significantly different from American
federalism. This article is a comparative study between the federalism in India and
the United States

I. INTRODUCTION :

Federal system denotes a government in which is a federation of states. The key

feature of federalism is the division of powers between the center and the state
governments with each enjoying autonomy in their own spheres of influence. In other
words, federalism is the decentralization of power between administrative organs of
the state i.e. the center and the state governments.

A federal government binds together several administrative units with a single union
while maintaining the independence and integrity of both. The salient features of a
federal system is a written constitution which establishes a dual polity, supremacy of
the constitution, division of power between the center and the state and judicial
review. India and the United States have both adopted a federal system of
Government.

II. FEDERALISM IN INDIA

India has adopted a feral form of government. The constitution of India under Part IX
envisages the division of power between the central and state governments.Post
independence the princely states combined to form the Indian Federation.
Dr.Ambedkar declared India as a union indicating that the states cannot separate from
the center. Dr. Ambedkar in the Constitutional Assembly debate stated that the Indian
constitution establishes a dual polity with the union government at the core and the
state governments at the pheriperies, each competent to legislate within its own sphere.
In Keshavananda Bharti vs State of Kerela , the Supreme Court held that the “ federal
character of the Constitution was its basic feature”1
❖ Division of powers under the Indian Constitution: Part XI of the Indian
Constitution envisages division of power between the central and the and the
state. The seven schedules of the Constitution clearly demarcates the legislative
power of the Union and the states. List I of the seventh schedule consists of 98
items on which the Union has exclusive power to legislate and List II of the
seventh Schedule lists 61 items on which the states have exclusive powers to
legislate. Both the States and the Union have the power to legislate on items
listed in the Concurrent list.
❖ Amendments to the Constitution: The power to amend the constitution is
exclusively vested with the union government under Article 368 of the India
Constitution.
❖ Executive Relationship between Center and State: Article 256 of the Indian
Constitution requires the executive powers of the State to be exercised in
compliance with the law of the Union Government. Article 257 states that the
executive power of the Union extends to giving direction to the State. The
Union had states have separate executive bodies, but the executive power of
the states is exercised without violating or interfering with the Executive
authority of the Union. The executive powers of the State are vested with the
Union and that of the States is vested with the governor of the State.
❖ Supremacy of the Constitution: The Constitution of India is in Supreme. All
laws made by the Union and the states are subject to the Constitution. In I.C.
Golak Nath And Ors. vs State Of Punjab And Anr the Supreme court
observed that
“No authority created under the Constitution is supreme; the Constitution is
supreme; and all the authorities function under the supreme law of the land.

1
AIR 1973 SC 1461
 The rule of law under the Constitution has a glorious content. It embodies
the modern concept of law evolved over the centuries.” 2
❖ Judicial review : Judicial review is part of the basic structure of the Indian
Constitution. All administrative actions of the union and the state are
subject to judicial review.

UNITARY FEATURES OF INDIAN POLITY :

The Indian federation is not a completely a pure federal system, it embodies
certain unitary features and is referred to as quasi-federal. During the
operation of emergency provisions the Union is empowered to make laws
on items listed in the State list and the Union can give executive direction to
the State on any matter. During a Financial emergency the President is
empowered to alter the distribution of financial resources between the
center and the States.

The Center government has strong authority over states. The States cannot
secede from the center. The center cannot alter their boundaries without the
authorization of the central government. Furthermore, citizens of India do
not have dual citizenship.Therefore, the Indian Constitution created a sting
center.

III. FEDERALISM IN UNITED STATES:

American federalism is the closest to the purest form of federalism. The

UnitedStates of America is a federation of 13 independent sovereign States
which combined to form a federation.
❖ Legislative Powers: The Legislative powers of the congress are
clearly enumerated under Article 1 of the American Constitution.
The legislative powers not listed under Article 1 belong to the State.

2
Golak Nath And Ors. vs State Of Punjab AIR 1967 SC 1643
 The 10 Amendment of the American Constitution declares that those
powers not granted to the United States belong to the States. The
States are Sovereign and are free to legislate on matters that are not
delegated to the Congress.
❖ Executive Relationship between Center and State: The individual States
have the authority to organize their own executive branch and are
independent in their administration. The Executive powers of the
United States vests with the President who is elected by the people. The
president holds the power to declare war and sign treaties. The powers
of the president are exercised through presidential declarations and
executive orders
❖ Judicial Review: The federal court system consists of independent
federal courts in each state and the Supreme Court of America. The
Constitution of America does not expressly recognise Judicial review
but the concept of judicial review was introduced in the case of
Marbury v. Madison, (1803).

IV. KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INDIAN AND AMERICAN

FEDERALISM:

Indian and American federalism are similar in many ways. The Key difference
among them arises in the sense of separation of powers.

The legislative powers under the American federal government are clearly
demarcated between the States and the Congress. The congress cannot interfere
with the legislative authority of the States.

In contrast the Indian constitution creates a strong central government. A State

cannot enact a law on an item under the concurrent list if and union law on the
matter already exists. Furthermore, during emergencies the Center can legislate
on any matter enumerated in the state list.
 V. CONCLUSION:

The American and Indian Constitution are similar in certain aspects and are
different in certain other aspects. American Federalism is the closest to pure
federalism , whereas, India federalism is a federal system with unitary features.
In spite of the differences both systems have been successful for as long as they
have existed.

VI. REFERENCES:

1. Raghav Dhoot, Comparative Analysis of Indian and American Federalism, 4

International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in
Technology,490-496 (2018)
2. Monalisa Mukherjee, Comparative Study of Indian Federalism with
USA,Journal of Business, Law & Review(2019)
3. PRERNA, FEDERALISM IN U.S. AND INDIA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY,
SSRN, https://ssrn.com/abstract=3855630 (Last visited: Nov 11, 2022)
4. Douglas V. Verney, Federalism, Federative Systems, and Federations: The
United States, Canada, and India, The Journal of Federalism(1995)
5. BALVEER ARORA , K.K. KAILASH , REKHA SAXENA , AND H. KHAM
KHAN SUAN , Indian Federalism,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298630721 (Last visited: Nov
11,2022)
6. Sunita Parikh & Barry R. Weingast, Comparative Theory of Federalism: India,
A , 83 VA. L. REV. 1593 (1997).