Abstract
Federalism is best understood as a method of promoting self-rule and shared rule and of balancing the interest of a nation with that of a region. A federal system is the constitutional arrangement that provides institutional form to federalism. India’s federal democracy has developed through successive phases, combining centralism and federalism in varying degrees. The political process of Indian federalism has accommodated bargaining and co-operative federalism with many challenges from one-party dominant systems to multi-party coalitions.
The book under review comprises 14 well-researched chapters with a fresh look on emerging issues in Indian federalism. S. K. Jain argues that Indian democracy and federalism in its working of more than six decades, though suffered numerous shortcomings, has nevertheless remained the most successful and stable democratic federation among post-colonial states. With the exception of the Emergency (1975–1977), India has been governed by democratic institutions with routine and peaceful electorally mandated transfer of power. In the context of Indian federalism, he discovers some terms, namely administrative federalism, parliamentary federalism, accommodative federalism and electoral federalism. The author narrates development of federalism in India from the Nehruvian era to the present.
Subhash Kashyap highlights fresh balance of power in centre–state relations and points out that Indian federalism is passing through a critical phase. He focuses on the importance of conflict resolution in centre–state relations. Conflict resolution mechanism, however, is not an easy approach while tackling issues in India where the constitution finally favours the centre over states. Prakash Singh identifies one of the most important emerging issues in the Indian federal system related to police reform and its impact on insurgency. Law and order is the state subject but police reform depends on the wishes of the central government. Deployment of paramilitary forces has not fully ensured combating insurgency. However, its colonial-structured police is not easy to replace by another system. Political leadership perceives it as a tool to misuse the police power in the Indian federal system.
Indian democracy is world’s largest and one of the most successful experiments. In the era of globalization, democracies are coming closer to each other in the pretext of commerce, cultural cooperation, diplomatic relationships, education and security cooperation. In this context, G. Gopa Kumar raises an important question whether globalization facilitates or hinders democracy in India? The impact of globalization is both positive and negative. The widening gap between rich and poor is increasing. Poverty and welfare mechanisms are not compatible. India as a federal state is suffering with lack of resources and there is immense pressure from the civil society on the issues of policy formulation and implementation. There is an uneven development between states and distribution of fiscal resources are discriminatory. The Indian federalism has shifted towards neoliberal policies. Dr Kumar focuses on protest of left parties against neoliberal policies in India.
Harihar Bhattacharyya and H. John Sema both highlight the anti-centrist approach of Indian states such as West Bengal and northeastern states, respectively. The major difference between these two regions is based on ideology and autonomy perspective. West Bengal was dominated by leftist ideology for a long time. Besides, Bhattacharyya rightly mentions that West Bengal has its own historical and cultural dominance in pre- and post-independent India. It suffered due to partition and refugee problems. However, it is not as important as the leftist ideology. Ideologically, Communist parties are against the free-market economy. However, the unique federal structure of India is that it overwhelmingly accommodates these tendencies. Sema tries to focus on the Indian federal structure through northeastern states. Problems related to demands for greater autonomy, discrimination, lack of development, less representation and insurgency have been the major issues in this region. So far, the Indian federal structure has been remarkably successful in solving problems of this region.
Identity issues have always been dominant in Indian federalism. India is a culturally diverse country. Sukhjit Singh and Gull Wani present cases of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, respectively. Greater autonomy for state, political status of a specific community and its role in bargaining federalism signify the importance of Sikh minority within Indian social and cultural milieu. However, the States Reorganization Commission in the mid-1950s placed language as a central basis for drawing state boundary. Issues related to Jammu and Kashmir are entirely different and have always been complex within Indian federalism. Article 370 of the Constitution provides special provisions in the case of Jammu and Kashmir and it has been controversial. Kashmir and Kashmiriyat, greater autonomy and Azadi are prominent factors for the people of Jammu and Kashmir while some political parties demand for the abolition of Article 370. This controversy creates politics of contestation in Indian federalism.
The socio-economic diversity led to the demand for statehood and it can be seen in the formation of new states such as Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Telangana. Besides, there has been a demand for states such as Purvanchal, Mithilanchal, Vidarbha, Gorkhaland and Bodoland. Regional underdevelopment and inadequate developmental grant from the centre strengthen the role of regional parties. This reflects that efforts of federal institutions such as the National Development Council (NDC) and Inter-State Council are not sufficient to satisfy the regional aspiration of people of different states in India. B. K. Pandey and M. Saravanan outline the role of NITI Aayog in centre–state relations in the twenty-first century. Since Independence, India has been presenting deficit budget and inadequate allocation of resources to states. The NDA government has new vision and higher expectations from NITI Aayog to resolve some of the long-standing issues.
Since the 1990s, the role of regional parties have increased in the formation of coalition governments. These parties play the role of a pressure group and become voice of backward areas. The politics of bargaining among national and regional parties has increased. Subhendu Raj outlines the importance of regional parties when it comes to bargaining or cooperation on the basis of seat sharing, vote percentage share and value of alliances. Himanshu Roy adds a different view about Indian federalism which is related to the role of business forums and their impact on politics. Ruchi Tyagi focuses on the importance of federal decentralization and emphasizes the importance of local bodies and their priorities. She suggests that local communities must have access to information and their credible participation should be ensured in politics.
The book also incorporates an important dimension related to citizen’s perception about Indian federalism. S. K. Jain captured the view of people regarding federal political culture in India. This empirical study is an important tool to know how educated professionals and politically aware citizens and university students view the Indian federal system. The author finds that centre’s dominance on policy issues is clear. The book successfully illustrates the emerging issues in Indian federalism. Overall, this is a useful reading for anyone researching on Indian politics.