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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
INDIAN POLITY

Lecture – 4
Nature of Indian Federalism
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Nature of Indian Federalism

Nature of Indian Federalism:

 In Federalism the two types of government i.e., National government and State/Provincial government are
independent of each other.
Quasi-Federalism:
 In the case of India the state/provincial government are not independent rather they are dependent on the
National government, hence it is not the perfect example of federalism. Thus, K.C. Wheare termed Indian
federalism as ‘quasi federalism’.
 Territorial Division of Power is an essential feature of federalism; however, it is not necessary for the two
governments to have independent power to govern the society and it is not an essential feature of federalism.
 Therefore, the Indian scholar Madhav Khosla opined that the reasoning of K.C. Wheare with respect to Indian
federalism was fallacious because he considered the American model of federalism as the ultimate model of
federalism. Thus, it is not correct to label Indian federalism as ‘quasi federal’.
 Article 245 mandates Parliament may make laws for the whole or any part of the territory of India, and the
Legislature of a State may make laws for the whole or any part of the State.
Cooperative Federalism:
 The simple meaning of cooperative federalism is the cooperation between the Union and the State
government in order to seamlessly govern the society. This term has been coined by an Australian scholar A.
H. Birch.
 Granville Austin termed Indian federalism as a classic example of ‘co-operative federalism’.
 According to Granville Austin, the framers of the Indian constitution had observed that India has some kind
of unique problem and from the respect of the peculiarity of this problem, Indian framers include the idea of
administrative cooperation between the Centre and the State.
 Article 256 deals with the obligation of States and the Union. It states that “The executive power of every state
shall be so exercised as to ensure compliance with the laws made by parliament and any existing laws which
apply in that state, and the executive power of the union shall extend to the giving of such directions to a State
as may appear to the Government of India to be necessary for that purpose.”
 NITI Aayog has been constituted to actualise the important goal of cooperative federalism and to enable good
governance in India.
Asymmetrical Federalism:
 In respect of the status of units of federation (eg. - centre and state), federalism can be of two types:
Symmetrical Federalism and Asymmetrical Federalism.
 Asymmetric federalism means federalism based on unequal powers and relationships in political,
administrative, and fiscal arrangements between the units constituting a federation.
 Asymmetry in the arrangements in a federation can be viewed in both vertical (between Centre and states)
and horizontal (among the states).
 India has a federal structure because India has 28 States and 8 Union territories and their status of units are not
equal. Hence, India is a classic example of Asymmetrical Federalism. Whereas, the USA is an example of
Symmetrical federalism.
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 Asymmetries in India:
 Units: State and Union Territories, hence units are not alike.
 States are also not the same: Few states owing to their diverse culture and customs have special
provisions (Article 371) such as Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland.
 Representation of States in Rajya Sabha is not equal: It is formed on the basis of population of
each state. (Article 80)
Concept of Unicameralism and Bicameralism:
 A unicameral legislature is a form of government in which only one central body has the authority to enact
laws and make policy decisions.
 On the other hand, a bicameral legislature has two houses of parliament, the Lower house representing the
people of the country and the Upper house representing the States.
 India follows bicameralism: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
 Fifth and Sixth Schedule: These schedules mandate different provisions for scheduled tribe areas
and administration of north eastern states (Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. Mnemonic –
ATM Machine) respectively.
 State Governors: Furthermore, the governor of a few states holds special powers with respect to
tribal areas.
Competitive Federalism:
 Competitive federalism is a concept where the center competes with states and vice-versa, and states
compete with each other. It refers to relations between regional governments (horizontal competition) and
between central and regional governments (vertical competition).
 The Economic Survey of 2017-18 wrote a whole chapter on Competitive Federalism.
 NITI Aayog endeavours to promote competitive federalism by facilitating improved performance of
States/UTs.
 It encourages healthy competition among states through transparent rankings, in various sectors, along
with a hand-holding approach.
 Some of the indices launched by NITI Aayog are School Education Quality Index, State Health Index,
Composite Water Management Index, Sustainable Development Goals Index, India Innovation Index and
Export Competitiveness Index.
Classification of Government/Political System:
 On the basis of Power: There are two types of government: Unitary and Federal.
 On the basis of Nature of the Executive Agency: There are two forms of government: Parliamentary and
Presidential.
 In the context of India:
 Nature of Indian State: As enacted in the Preamble to the Constitution it is a Sovereign, Socialist,
Secular and Democratic Republic.
 Nature of Government: It is a Parliamentary form of government and Federal government.
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Difference between Parliamentary form of government and Presidential form of Government:

Parliamentary Form of Government Presidential Form of Government
 The Executive is formed by the Parliament.  The Executive is formed by the President.
 Fusion of Power (no separation of power).  Separation of power.
 The Prime Minister is the head of the government  The President is the head of the government as
(Real executive). well as head of the state.
 Collective leadership and collective responsibility  Individual leadership and individual
(Article 75). responsibility.
 Government is accountable.  Fix Term Government.
Indian Parliamentary System:
 At the National Level:
 Article 74: There shall be a council of ministers with the Prime Minister as the head to aid and advise
the President, who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act under the advice of the council of ministers.
 Article 75: The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other ministers shall be
appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister.
 Article 75 (3): The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People.
 At the Regional/Provincial level:
 Article 163 of the Constitution of India: It mandates that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the
Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, (with a few
exceptions in certain cases).
 Article 164 (1): It mandates the Governor shall appoint the state's Council of Ministers on the advice of
the Chief Minister.
 Article 164 (2): The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly
of the State.
Comparison of System of government between USA, India and UK:
USA UK India
 Federal and  Unitary and Parliamentary system of  Parliamentary and federal system of
Presidential system government. government.
of Government.  Parliamentary  The Indian constitution adopts a
 Judicial Review. supremacy/sovereignty. middle ground between
 No provision of judicial review. parliamentary sovereignty and
judicial supremacy.
Judicial Review:
 Judicial review is the power of Judiciary to review any act or order of Legislative and Executive wings and
to pronounce upon the constitutional validity when challenged by the affected person.
 Evolution of Judicial Review in Indian context:
 Earlier it was only confined to review of the acts.
 Then review of the executive actions was included as well.
 Review of the amendments as well. It made the Judiciary a strong organ of the Indian Constitution.
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 Note: NJAC Act was reviewed and cancelled by the Supreme Court by terming it as unconstitutional as
it violates the basic structure of Indian Constitution.
Basic Structure Doctrine:
 In 1973, the Kesavananda Bharati Judgment introduced the Basic Structure doctrine which limited
Parliament’s power to make drastic amendments that may affect the core values enshrined in the
Constitution like secularism and federalism.
 The verdict upheld the power of the Supreme Court to judicially review laws of Parliament. It evolved the
concept of separation of powers among the three branches of governance — legislative, executive and
the judiciary.

Indian Model of Secularism:

 It means the separation of religion from political, economic, social and cultural aspects of life, religion being
treated as a purely personal matter. The term “Secular” means being “separate” from religion or having no
religious basis.
 Secularism as a principle rejects all kinds of religious domination, whether inter-religious or intra-
religious.
 Religious Domination:
 Inter Religion (between the religions): Most of the communal riots take place on the basis of inter
religious dominance.
 Intra Religion (Within religions): When the conflicts happen between various sects of same religion
such as Shias-Sunnis, Conflict between Higher caste and Dalits, Catholic-Protestant can be termed as
intra-religious dominance.
Secularism as a State policy:
 There should be no state religion as there will be a room for favoring certain religions. State-Religion
separation is an essential feature of secularism, where there will be no recognition of theocracy or religion.
 It is to be mentioned that though state religion separation is an essential characteristic of secularism, it is not a
sufficient condition for secularism.
 States should adopt certain non-religious principles or components for ensuring the peace, stability, liberty,
and equality among all religions.
Difference between Western and Indian model of Secularism:
Western Model Indian Model
 Separation of state and religion - mutually  State and religion maintain a principled distance.
exclusive.  Scope for state interference in terms of reforming and
 No scope for state interference. wiping out the social evils.
 Secularism was the outcome of the conflict  Indian secularism is based on a multi religious society.
between the Pope and state.  Concerned for individual as well as community
 Concerned for Individual freedom. freedom.

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