{"id":74305,"date":"2026-05-19T18:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=74305"},"modified":"2026-05-19T18:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:10:40","slug":"federalism-democracy-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-05-2026\/federalism-democracy-india","title":{"rendered":"Federalism in India and the Need For Democratic Sensibility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity &amp; Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The recently defeated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/16-04-2026\/lok-sabha-delimitation\"><strong>\u2018Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026\u2019<\/strong> <\/a>and concerns over delimitation, fiscal transfers, Centre-State relations, and political centralisation have revived discussions on <strong>Indian federalism.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Federalism and Its Evolution in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Federalism refers to the constitutional division of powers between the Union and the States.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India adopted a federal structure with a strong Centre due to the challenges of Partition, integration of princely states, and the need for national unity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Evolution of Federalism in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Post-Independence Centralisation:<\/strong> The Constitution vested greater powers in the Centre under Articles 249, 356, and emergency provisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Planning Commission Era:<\/strong> Economic planning led to increased fiscal dependence of states on the Union government.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Misuse of Article 356:<\/strong> Frequent dismissal of state governments weakened federal autonomy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Linguistic Reorganisation (1956):<\/strong> Recognised regional aspirations and strengthened democratic federalism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Coalition Era (1990s):<\/strong> Regional parties enhanced cooperative federalism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>GST Regime:<\/strong> The GST Council emerged as an example of collaborative decision-making between the Centre and States.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Indian federalism has therefore remained a \u2018work in progress\u2019 rather than a fixed arrangement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional and Legal Setup<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Constitution establishes India as a \u2018Union of States\u2019 under <strong>Article 1<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Division of Powers: Union List, State List, Concurrent List<\/strong> under the Seventh Schedule. Residuary powers rest with the Centre.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fiscal Federalism: Finance Commission (Article 280)<\/strong> recommends tax devolution.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>GST Council (Article 279A)<\/strong> promotes cooperative fiscal governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inter-State Coordination: Inter-State Council (Article 263)<\/strong> facilitates Centre-State dialogue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Emergency Provisions: <\/strong>Articles <strong>352, 356, and 360<\/strong> enable central intervention during crises.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Although constitutionally federal, India has often displayed unitary tendencies in practice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Federalism Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rising Democratic Deficit: <\/strong>Delimitation has been frozen since the 1971 Census through constitutional amendments in 1976 and 2002.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consequently, representation in Parliament no longer reflects current population realities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Southern states, which successfully controlled population growth, fear losing parliamentary representation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Northern states with higher fertility rates stand to gain more seats after delimitation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increasing Fiscal Imbalance: <\/strong>Fiscal transfers from economically stronger states to poorer states are necessary for balanced development. However, excessive redistribution has created resentment.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Southern and Western states contribute significantly more to tax revenues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hindi heartland states receive disproportionately larger Finance Commission transfers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Divergent Development Performance: <\/strong>States have witnessed uneven economic and demographic growth.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Southern and Western states achieved higher per capita GDP growth and lower fertility rates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Several Hindi heartland states continue to lag in human development indicators.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Erosion of Democratic Sensibility: <\/strong>A major concern is the growing trend of unilateral decision-making. Issues such as demonetisation, farm laws, Citizenship Amendment Act, changes in criminal laws, and Governor-State conflicts have often lacked broad consultation with states and opposition parties.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It weakens the spirit of <strong>cooperative federalism<\/strong> and transforms it into confrontational federalism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eeedee\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"489\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-143.png\" alt=\"india\u2019s federalism challenges\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-74306\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eeedee; aspect-ratio:2.0941103147397944;width:520px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-143.png 1024w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-143-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-143-768x367.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward: Building Consensus in Indian Federalism<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthen Cooperative Federalism: <\/strong>Institutions like the GST Council and Inter-State Council must function through dialogue and consensus rather than majoritarianism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Balanced Delimitation Approach: <\/strong>Future delimitation should protect both democratic equality and states that achieved demographic success.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reform Fiscal Transfers: <\/strong>Finance Commission criteria should reward governance quality, fiscal discipline, and human development alongside equity considerations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Respect State Autonomy: <\/strong>The Centre should avoid excessive use of Governors and Article 356 for political purposes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promote Democratic Sensibility: <\/strong>Federalism ultimately depends not only on constitutional provisions but also on political culture.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Consultation, accommodation, and mutual trust are essential for national integration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-politics\/india-federalism-debate-democracy-fiscal-transfers-expert-explains-10695802\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The recently defeated \u2018Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty First Amendment) Bill, 2026\u2019 and concerns over delimitation, fiscal transfers, Centre-State relations, and political centralisation have revived discussions on Indian federalism. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About Federalism and Its Evolution in India <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Federalism refers to the constitutional division of powers between the Union and the States. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India adopted a federal structure with a strong Centre due to the challenges of Partition, integration of princely states, and the need for national unity. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/19-05-2026\/federalism-democracy-india \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74305"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74310,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74305\/revisions\/74310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}