{"id":104054,"date":"2026-05-19T11:10:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T05:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=104054"},"modified":"2026-05-19T12:12:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T06:42:50","slug":"federalism-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/federalism-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Federalism in India: Building Consensus for Reform and Cooperative Governance"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Federalism in India Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Debates over the recently defeated Constitutional Amendment Bill reflect a long history of contestation in India\u2019s federalism, which has continuously evolved since Independence as a key instrument of nation-building.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Federalism in India has remained dynamic, shaped by issues such as post-Partition centralisation in constitutional design, disputes over fiscal devolution, the centralising influence of the Planning Commission, misuse of <\/span><b>Article 356<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, partisan roles of Governors, language conflicts, delimitation, and parliamentary seat distribution.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The article argues that Indian federalism has always been a work in progress rather than a fixed arrangement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Rising Democratic Deficit in India\u2019s Federal Structure<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a democracy, equal citizenship requires that <\/span><b>every vote carries similar weight<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As population patterns change over time, the distribution of parliamentary seats across and within states must be periodically adjusted to maintain fair representation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, constitutional amendments in 1976 and 2002 froze the allocation of political representation based on the 1971 Census, postponing fresh redistribution until after the first Census conducted post-2026.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This prolonged freeze has created a growing \u201c<\/span><b>democratic deficit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d\u2014the gap between a state\u2019s share in India\u2019s population and its share in parliamentary seats.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By the 2024 elections, if seats had been allocated according to current population estimates:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The four southern states (Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana) would have lost 23 seats\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The four northern states (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh) would have gained 31 seats<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the South and West Bengal have reached or fallen below replacement fertility levels, the population share of the Hindi heartland has steadily increased, intensifying representation-related tensions in India\u2019s federal framework.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Rising Fiscal Transfers as a Federal Challenge<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a federal system, fiscal resources are ideally linked to states\u2019 economic size and performance.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, some redistribution from richer to poorer states is necessary to ensure equitable access to public goods and support national integration.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The concern arises when redistribution becomes continuously expanding and open-ended, creating resentment among contributing states.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Shift Over Time<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early 1960s &#8211; Fiscal disparities were relatively modest:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hindi heartland states received about 20% more than their economic contribution\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Southern and western states received about 20% less<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By 2023 &#8211; The redistribution gap widened sharply:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hindi heartland states received 90% more Finance Commission resources relative to their economic contribution\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Southern states received 44% less\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Western states received 58% less\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This indicates a significant expansion in the gap between contributing and beneficiary states, especially in recent decades.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hence, the <\/span><b>democratic deficit and rising fiscal transfers are symptoms<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, while the underlying challenges in India\u2019s federal structure lie in deeper systemic causes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Deeper Structural Cause: Divergent State Performance<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A major underlying challenge in India\u2019s federalism is the sharp <\/span><b>divergence in demographic and economic performance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> among states.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since 1980, the southern states, western states, and Haryana have recorded rapid growth in per capita GDP, comparable in pace and duration to China\u2019s growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These states have steadily moved ahead of the Hindi heartland states and West Bengal in terms of economic performance and living standards.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Federalism Under Strain<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such widening disparities create serious pressures within a federal system because they directly affect:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Political representation (through population-based seat allocation)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Economic redistribution (through fiscal transfers)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Balancing these competing claims becomes increasingly difficult.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Perception of Reward and Penalty<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The challenge is intensified by a growing perception that:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Better-performing states are being penalised for successful economic growth and population control\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poorer-performing states are being rewarded through greater fiscal transfers and potentially higher political representation\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This perception deepens tensions in debates over India\u2019s federal structure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Erosion of Democratic Sensibility<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A major factor aggravating India\u2019s federal challenges is the increasingly divisive nature of national politics.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analysts believe, on several major policy decisions\u2014such as demonetisation, farm laws, the Citizenship Amendment Act, new criminal laws, electoral revisions, and recent constitutional proposals\u2014the <\/span><b>Centre has acted unilaterally<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with limited consultation and insufficient democratic consensus-building.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>From Cooperative to Combative Federalism<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Politics is increasingly being framed not as democratic competition, but as an existential struggle against opponents.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result, cooperative federalism, essential for nation-building, is giving way to contentious and confrontational federalism.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This has intensified grievances across regions and communities, including: Kashmir; Ladakh; Manipur; Southern states; Religious minorities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest casualty of this shift is trust, which is vital for a functioning federal democracy: Trust among citizens; Trust between citizens and the state; Trust between the Centre and states.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>What is Democratic Sensibility<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experts define democratic sensibility as the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">willingness to consult, accommodate, compromise, and exercise restraint, especially by those holding greater power<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An example cited is a GST Council meeting around 2018, when Kerala Finance Minister, isolated in opposition on gambling taxation, considered walking out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the Centre and almost all states could have easily overruled Kerala, then Union Finance Minister instead persuaded Kerala to stay, accommodated its concerns, and preserved consensus\u2014demonstrating democratic maturity and cooperative federalism.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0While several institutional solutions have been proposed\u2014such as revised fiscal formulas, new federal compacts, and voting reforms\u2014analysts argue that no structural reform will succeed without democratic sensibility, especially from the Central government.<\/li>\n<li>Without mutual trust and consultation, even manageable federal issues can escalate into major political crises.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federalism in India faces challenges from democratic imbalance, fiscal tensions, regional divergence, and political centralisation, making consensus-building essential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":104071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[7605,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-104054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-federalism-in-india","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104054"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104106,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104054\/revisions\/104106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}