Challenges and Complexities of Federalism in India

Context:

• Federalism in India is facing multiple challenges, both minor and major, which require careful political negotiation.
• Issues such as delimitation, state representation, language disputes, and financial allocations have sparked tensions between the Centre and states.
• Additionally, structural issues like power distribution, administrative imbalances, and political dominance are impacting the federal structure.

Key Challenges in Indian Federalism:

• Regional representation and delimitation:
  • The issue of delimitation and balancing representation between North and South India remains a contentious topic.
  • Jammu and Kashmir still awaits the restoration of full statehood.
• Centre-State conflicts:
  • Tamil Nadu vs. Centre: Disputes over language and education policies.
  • Tamil Nadu accuses the Centre of withholding Samagra Shiksha funds and attempting to impose Hindi.
  • The Centre counters that Tamil Nadu is politicizing the National Education Policy (NEP).
  • States continue to express dissatisfaction over the Centre’s growing control over subjects like health and education, originally part of the State List.
• Horizontal and vertical imbalances:
  • There is an increasing gap in development across states, creating horizontal imbalances.
  • The division of power between the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists needs reconsideration.
  • Centralization of authority has been co-produced by both the Centre and states due to failures in governance.
• Political and administrative federalism:
  • The dominance of political parties affects the autonomy of states.
  • The anti-defection law has weakened legislative oversight, with political party structures superseding federal considerations.
  • National parties, while unifying different regions, sometimes override federal demands.
• Financial federalism and GST:
  • The Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework is a unique model where states collectively make binding decisions.
  • There is potential for extending such collective decision-making models to other domains, ensuring fair financial governance across states.
• Inter-State cooperation:
  • Current discussions on federalism often focus on Centre-State relations rather than State-to-State cooperation.
  • Issues like airshed management and water disputes require states to collaborate independently without Centre or judicial intervention.
  • The role of political parties further complicates independent state-level decision-making.

Conclusion

• Federalism in India remains a "messy affair" influenced by political, economic, and administrative complexities.
• While historically federalism has evolved through trial and error, modern challenges necessitate innovative solutions.
• The distinction between party politics and federal governance needs to be re-evaluated to ensure the autonomy and equitable development of all states.

Q1. What are the key challenges to federalism in India in the context of regional representation and delimitation?

Ans. Delimitation and the balance of representation between North and South India pose challenges, with concerns over unequal political representation and its impact on governance.

Q2. How do Centre-State conflicts over language and education policies reflect the tensions in Indian federalism?

Ans. Disputes, such as Tamil Nadu’s opposition to the NEP 2020 and alleged Hindi imposition, highlight friction between the Centre’s policy initiatives and states' linguistic and cultural autonomy.

Q3. Discuss the impact of political party structures on the functioning of federalism in India.

Ans. The dominance of national parties and the anti-defection law has weakened legislative oversight, making chief ministers more accountable to party leadership than state governance.

Q4. How does the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework exemplify cooperative federalism, and what lessons can be drawn from it?

Ans. The GST model demonstrates how states collectively make binding financial decisions, suggesting that similar inter-state cooperation could be applied to other policy areas.

Q5. Why is inter-state cooperation crucial for resolving federalism-related issues, and what challenges hinder it?

Ans. Inter-state cooperation is vital for managing shared resources like air and water, but political affiliations and Centre-mediated negotiations often limit independent state-level collaboration. 

Source:TH