chap 7
Introduction
USSR broke into 15 countries in 1991. pakistan was also divided in 1971,
form which bangladesh was formed. canada also came close to break up
into english speaking and french speaking regions of the country.
It seems to be great achievement that India, which is so diverse in terms of
language, regions, religions has remained united after Independence.
what was our political system that kept india united despite being such a
diverse country? this question will be answered in this chapter.
Federalism
our constitution adopted a federal structure where states can govern
independently yet centre will maintain its control over the states.
The characteristics of federalism are:
a. It is an institutional mechanism to accomodate two sets of polities - one
at the regional level and other at the national level. so here in india, we are
having two types of government one at the state level and other at the
national level. and these governments are independent. in some
countries, like USA there is a system of dual citizenship which means that
USA citizens has two citizenship , one of USA and other of there state. but
in india we have only one citizenship that is of indian nationality.our
constitution does not recognise any other nationality that is of being
assamese, bengali etc.
b. but yes, if we are not having two types citizenship but we are surely
having two types of identities. that is we are identified as assamese,
bengali, gujarati or kashmiri but at the same time we are identified as an
indian also. Therefore, each level government has their own powers,
responsibilities and a separate system of governance.
c. the powers , responsibilities and their manner of goevrnance are written
in the constitution, which is considered supreme. but issues which concern
the entire country like foreign policy, defence, those powers have been
given to union. so our written constitution has clear demarcation of powers
of union and state
d. and if any conflict arises over the demarcation of powers between centre
and state , then the judiciary intervenes to settle the disputes.
Besides these factors; politics, culture, ideology and history determine the
actual working of a federation. if the politics of the country is giving
emphasis to only one region and neglecting the other , then anger will be
there in the other region to protest, demand and finally secede from Indian
territory.
culture also keeps the people united as we all share indian culture
together. and history has also kept us united as we share our freedom
struggle and independence movement.
and culture of trust, cooperation, mutual respect and restraint has helped
in the smooth functioning of federations.
Federalism in west indies
As we all are aware that west indies is not a country. then what is west
indies.
West Indies was a colony of British. In 1958, the federation of West Indies
came into being. it had a weak central government and the units(states) in
it were independent. a weak central government is not able to maintain
hold over the units. that is why it broke into several parts(states) in 1962.
(In India, our central government is strong. that is why the units(states)
were not able to go away or break from the country).
In 1973, by treaty of chiguaramas independent islands joined together to
form joint authorities in the form of common legislature, supreme court,
common currency and to a ceration degree common market which is
known as carribean community.
therefore, the units didnot live separately also and neither together.
Federalism in Nigeria
as discussed above, there are other factors that decide the unity of
federations. that is culture, ideology and history. so if there is a distrust or
failure of trust between communities, then also a fedral community will not
be able to survive. the example is nigeria.
Till 1914, there were two colonies of british : northern nigeria and southern
nigeria. After the independence, nigerian leaders decided to form a federal
constitution at ibadan constitutional conference. ( federal constitution
means where the regions were given independence to control their own
affairs but it also had a central government to look after the affairs of the
entire country. for example: issues like foreign policy does not affect one
region but the entire country as a whole).
so three major ethnic groups of nigeria controlled their own regions-
yoruba controlled west, ibo controlled east and hausa - faulani controlled
north.
And when these groups tried to spread their influence in other regions,it
failed and it led to fears and conflicts. it failed because there was lack of
trust and faith. so it led to military regime. in 1979, no state was allowed to
have any civil police because if each region would have their own police,
so they would have protected their own region and harassed the other
region. and also the regionhaving police facility would have become
powerful and it would have led to secession from the country.
milatry regime finally gave way to democracy in 1999, religious differences
and conflicts over who will control revenues from oil resources continue to
be present.
therefore, nigeria is an example where religious, ethnic and economic
differences is leading to problems in a federation.
Federalism in the indian constitution
if the countries have disintegrated like USSR, pakistan;it does not mean
that they didnot have any federal system. these countries were also having
federal system. but then why it lead to their disintegration?
Because simply having federalism is not enough. it also depends on the
type of federalism you have. whether you have federalism with a weak
centre or there is a federalism with a strong centre.
USSR had a federalism with a weak centre that is why the centre was not
able to control its territories.
but India has federalism with a strong centre and it was able to have a
strong control over its states.
india is a diverse land with many languages, religions and regions. And to
give them identity and recognition, leaders of our national movement
thought that these units should govern themselves. But how much powers
should be given to the states to govern themselves ? our constituent
assembly decided to frame the government that would be based on
principles of unity and cooperation between centre and states and
separate power to states.
the most important principle of federal system adopted by indian
constitution is that relations between states and centre would be based on
cooperation. therefore, our constitution recognised diversity but at the
same time it emphasised unity.
and surprisingly, our constitution does not even mention the word
federation. article 1 simply says that india that is bharat shall be a union of
states. which means states will live in unity.
Division of powers
as we have just read that our leaders of national movement divided the
powers between centre and states. so there are two level of government:
one which governs the entire country that is national government and the
other which governs the states is called state government. both of these
have been granted status by the constitution and their acreas of functions
are clearly demarcated under union list, state list and concurrent list.
under union list only, centre can legislate and work in these subjects. in
state list, only state can legislate and work in these subjects and under
concurrent both union and state can work.
if there is any conflict in these lists, or if there is a conflict which subject to
be done by whom, then judiciary intervenes and resolves the issues.
one important thing is that economic and financial powers are centralised
and are in the hands of central government . that means though states
have been given subjects to be worked under but they do not have
financial resources to carry out their work.
and if any matter is not mentioned in the lists, then it comes under
residuary powers. and union legislature can alone legislate on these
matters. state cannot legislate on these matters.
This means that there is a unitary federal structure.
why did we adopt federalism with a strong central government ?
As we have read in introduction that federal countries like USSR
disintegrated. so the important question which comes is the nature of
federalism. whether the federalism was with weak central government who
could not control the desire of states to separate from their country or
federalism was with strong central government which would keep a check
and control on states.
India is a diverse country and there was a requirement of federalism which
will accomodate the demands of all diversities. but at the same time it
require a strong central government that will stop disintegration and bring
about social and political change. with this idea in mind our constitution
framers drafted the constitution. and also at the time of independence ,
india was not only divided into provinces by the british but there were more
than 500 princely states which had to be integrated into existing states or
new states had to be created.
Besides unity as a factor, India needed to tackle socio- economic problems
of the country. It required to eliminate poverty, illiteracy and inequalities of
wealth. So it required strong central government in cooperation with states
for development and unity.
Provisions in the indian constitution of federalism with strong central
government
a. Formation of states or merger of states of two or more states into one is
in the hands of Parliament. the parliament has powers to form a new state
or merge with old states or change the name of any state
b. Our centre has important and powerful emergency powers which can
turn a federal system into highly centralised. During emergency, parliament
takes the power of states from state list. That means, in these emergency
situations, centre will legislate on state list.
c. under normal conditions, centre has important financial powers. items
generating revenue are under the control of central government. therefore,
centre has many financial resources and states are dependent on grants
and financial resources from centre.
d. in terms of planning and development of the entire country, it adopted
centralisation. planning commission was appointed by union government
that will control, supervise and manage the resources of states. and union
government uses its discretion to give grants and loans to states.
e. the position of governor in states is also a signof centralisation. the
governor can recommend dismissal of state government and dissolution of
assembly. he also has the power to keep the bill with himself rather than
passing to president for his assent. this leads to delay in passing the bill by
state legislation.
f. there may be situations where the centre needs to legislate in state list.
this can happen if the rajya sabha agrees. the constitution clearly says that
executive power of centre is superior than executive power of states.
Article 257(1) says that executive power of states should be exercised in
such a way that it does not disturb the functioning or exercise of powers of
union. and the executive power of the union can give directions to state
government if it appears necessary.
g. the central government may choose to give instructions to the state
government.
h. we are also having an all india services.these officers are under control
of central government but serve in the administration of states. states
cannot remove these officers nor can take disciplinary action.
i. Articles 33 and 34 authorise parliament to protect officers of union or
states if these officers have taken any action during the martial law to
maintain peace and order. Armed Forces Special Powers Act has been
made on these basis but this act has created tensions. because a officer
will not be penalised or punished if he/she has done any wrong in a state
or part of country where there is martial law.
Conflicts in India's federal system
Although the distribution of powers between centre and states is well
defined in the Indian constitution. But still many conflicts has taken place
between centre and states for demnading autonomy, for share in
resources, for demanding new states and conflicts between states have
also arisen. This topic will deal with some of these conflicts.
Centre states relations:
Federalism in india has been influenced by political process of the country.
In 1950s and 1960s when there was congress dominance in centre as well
as states, the relations between centre and states have been quite
peaceful and without tensions. The states shared the hope that they
together will be making development and socio economic progress. Also
because states had the same party which was in centre, that is, congress
ruled both states and centre so there was not much tension.
But in 1960s congress dominance declined and in states large number of
opposition parties came to power. they wanted greater autonomy and
independence. They did not want centre to intervene in their state's affairs
everytime. And the congress which was ruling at centre in 1960s was also
not very comfortable in dealing with opposition parties in states.
And in 1990s coalition government came to power. congress dominance
had ended. And states also had different opposition parties. So there was
a different government at centre and different government at states.
So,this resulted in greater say for the states, a respect for diversity and
beginning of more mature federalism. So therefore, in this second phase,
issue of autonomy became very powerful.
Demand for autonomy
The other nature of conflict which arose in federalism was related to
demand of autonomy. The states had started demnading more
independence to govern their state of affairs. Now the question is what
kind of autonomy? Autonomy means different things to different states and
parties.
parties like DMK, akali dal, CPI-M, had demanded division of powers in
favor of states and more important powers to be assigned to states.
They also demanded financial autonomy. States should have independent
sources of revenue and greater controlof resources.if you remember , we
learnt that centre has control over items generating revenue. In 1977, left
front government in west bengal brought out a document demanding
restructuring of centre and state relations. Which means that the states
wanted more independence to be given to them. Tamil nadu and punjab
also demanded greater financial powers
They are also angry about greater administrative control through all india
services. States do not want centre to control their administrative
machinery.
The autonomy demands are also related to cultural and linguistic issues.
For example: Tamil Nadu was opposed to domination of hindi and the
punjabi culture. In 1960, some states were opposed to the imposition of
Hindi language. Because these states thought that they are trying to
spread hindi and punjabi culture and this will destroy their own south indian
culture.
Role of governors and president's rule
The position of governor has also become a source of conflict for centre
state relations and tension for federalism. The governor is not an elected
office but many governors have been retired military officers or civil
servants or politicians. And also governor is appointed by central
government. So governor is seen as an interference in the affairs of state.
The sarkaria commission which was appointed in 1983 and submitted its
report in 1988 to give recommendations of centre-state relations,
recommended that appointments of governor should be strictly non
partisan and impartial.
Article 356 is also a source of controversy as this article provides for
president's rule in any state. It means that if the government of the state
cannot be carried in accordance of the provisions of the constitution then
the president's rule is declared. And the state government is taken over by
union government.
The president's proclamation has to be ratified by parliament and
president's rule can be extended till three years.
Governor has the power to dismiss the state government which means that
governor can remove the state government in power or suspend it. This
power was misused and in many cases state governments were dismissed
even when they had majority for example: in Kerala in 1959.
Article 356 was used occasionally till 1967. After 1967 many states had
non congress states and the congress was in centre. So centre used this
provision of article 356 to remove elected governments as in Andhra
Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in 1980s.
Demand for new states
The other factor which is leading to source of tension in our federal system
is demands for new states. Initially the demand for new states was for
conserving their identity and their culture. So in 1954, the states
reorganization commission was set up and it recommended creation of
states on linguistic basis. It means that states will be formed on the basis
of language. Gujarat and maharashtra were created in 1960, punjab and
haryana were separated in 1966. North east region was reorganised and
several new states were formed like meghalaya, manipur and arunachal
pradesh.
since 1990s, demand for further states have been made. It is made on the
reason that development have not been able to reach these parts of the
country. Three new states have been formed jharkhand from bihar,
chattisgarh from madhya pradesh and uttaranchal from UP. These areas
remained backward and were underdeveloped.
Following states have also been demanding new states on the reason of
development. For example: telangana in andhra pradesh and vidarbha in
maharashtra.
Inter-state conflict
Another source of tension in federalism is inter-state conflicts. Till now we
have read that there have been conflicts between centre and states. But
there are conflicts between two or more states also. The prominent
conflicts are over
a. boundary issue
b. river disputes
Boundary issue: states have been formed on the basis of language. But
on the border sides, there is a possibility that people speaking more than 1
language resides. So, states lay claim over the territories. One of the long
standing dispute is between maharashtra and karnataka over the city of
belgaum. Both Punjab and chandigarh has laid claims over chandigarh
and both declare chandigarh as their capital. While border disputes are
about sentiments. Other important source of conflicts is river dispute.
River dispute: this is more important because water is required for
agriculture and drinking purposes. Cauvery water dispute is a very famous
dispute where tamil nadu and karnataka are fighting over the share of
cauvery water. Gujarat, madhya pradesh and maharashtra are fighting
over narmada river.
Special Provisions
The most surprising feature of Indian federalism is that many states are
given differential treatment. We already know that in Rajya Sabha, states
have got representation according to the size of states. UP have got
largest number of members while small north eastern states have got 1
member in rajya sabha. But the division of powers is common to all states.
But constitution has given special provisions to north eastern states
because of large tribal population, their different history and culture, which
they wish to retain (Article 371). Article 370 has given special provisions to
jammu and kashmir. Because after independence, there was a war
between india and pakistan over kashmir. And maharaja of kashmir agreed
to join india under certain conditions. That is why jammu and kashmir has
been given special provisions in the constitution. But these provisions have
not been able to arrest the alienation and marginalization they are
suffering.
Q&A
Q1. what are the characteristics of federalism?
A1. The characteristics of federalism are:
a. It is an institutional mechanism to accomodate two sets of polities - one
at the regional level and other at the national level.
b. The people have two sets of identities and loyalties. each level of polity
has distinct powers and responsibilities and has a separate system.
c. the details of the dual system of government are spelt out in the written
constitution, which is considered to be supreme and is also the source of
power of both sets of government.
d. to prevent conflicts between centre and state , there is an independent
judiciary to settle disputes.
Q2. what other factors besides politics keep the federations united?
A2. besides politics, other factors which keep the federations united are
culture, ideology and history. Culture of trust, cooperation, mutual respect
and restraint has also helped in the smooth functioning of federations.
Q&A
Q1. what is treaty of chiguaramas?
A1. In 1973, carribean community was formed. independent islands
established joint authorities in the form of common legislature, supreme
court, a common currency and to a certain degree common market which
is known as carribean community.
Q&A
Q1. Give an example where trust deficit is leading to problems in
federalism?
A1. Nigeria .
Q2. Explain the federation problems in nigeria?
A2. Till 1914, there were two colonies of british : northern nigeria and
southern nigeria. After the independence, nigerian leaders decided to form
a federal constitution at ibadan constitutional conference. so three major
ethnic groups of nigeria controlled their own regions- yoruba controlled
west, ibo controlled east and hausa - faulani controlled north. And when
these groups tried to spread their influence in other regions,it failed and it
led to fears and conflicts. military regime was established. In 1979, no
state was allowed to have any civil police. military regime finally gave way
to democracy in 1999, religious differences and conflicts over who will
control revenues from oil resources continue to be present. Therefore,
nigeria is an example where religious, ethnic and economic differences is
leading to problems in a federation.
Q&A
Q1. What is the nature of our federal system?
A1. our federal system is based on the principles of unity and cooperation
between centre and states and separate powers to the states. therefore,
our constitution recognises diversity and emphasies unity.
Q2. What does Article 1 says?
A2. Article 1 (1) says that india, that is bharat, shall be a union of states.
(2) says that the states and territories thereof shall be as specified in the
first schedule.
Q3. Why did our national leaders thought of centralised federal
system?
A3. India is a diverse land with many languages, culture, religions
and regions.it was necessary to give recognition to them. and also india is
a large country, so it was important to divide powers between provinces
and central government. that is why our national leaders thought of federal
system. but they wanted unity and cooperation between states. so they
gave us a centralised federal system.
Q&A
Q1. What are the two levels of government in our political system?
A1. our political system has two levels of government:
a. national level.
b. state level.
Q2. What are residuary powers?
A2. subjects which do not come in any of the lists come under residuary
powers. union legislature alone has the power to legislate on such matters.
for example: cyber laws
Q3. list some subjects which come under union list?
A3. currency and coinage, foreign trade, defense , atomic energy
Q4. list some subjects which come under state list?
A4. police, prison, agriculture and state public services
Q5. list some subjects which come under concurrent list?
A5. education , forests
Q6. list some subjects which come under residuary list?
A6. cyber laws
Q&A
Q1. Why did India adopt federalism with strong central government?
A1.the reasons for which india adopted federalism with strong central
government:
a. India is a diverse country. So, there was a need of federalism which will
accomodate the demands of all diversities. But at the same time it require
a strong central government that will stop disintegration and bring about
social and political change.
b. At the time of independence , india was not only divided into provinces
by the british but there were more than 500 princely states which had to be
integrated into existing states or new states had to be created.
c. Besides unity as a factor, India needed to tackle socio- economic
problems of the country. It required to eliminate poverty, illiteracy and
inequalities of wealth. So it required strong central government in
cooperation with states for development.
Q&A
Q1. What provisions in indian constitution make our federalism with a
strong central government?
A1. a. Formation of states or merger of states of two or more states into
one is in the hands of Parliament. the parliament has powers to form a new
state or merge with old states or change the name of any state
b. Our centre has important and powerful emergency powers which can
turn a federal system into highly centralised. During emergency, parliament
takes the power of states from state list.
c. under normal conditions, centre has important financial powers. items
generating revenue are under the control of central government. therefore,
centre has many financial resources and states are dependent on grants
and financial resources from centre.
d. in terms of planning and development of the entire country, it adopted
centralisation. planning commission was appointed by union government
that will control, supervise and manage the resources of states. and union
government uses its discretion to give grants and loans to states.
e. the position of governor in states is also a sign of centralisation. the
governor can recommend dismissal of state government and dissolution of
assembly. he also has the power to keep the bill with himself rather than
passing to president for his assent.
f. there may be situations where the centre needs to legislate in the state
list. this can happen if the rajya sabha agrees. the constitution clearly says
that executive power of centre is superior than executive power of states.
Article 257(1) is a case in point.
g. the central government may choose to give instructions to the state
government.
h. we are also having an all india services.these officers are under control
of central government but serve in the administration of states. states
cannot remove these officers nor can take disciplinary action.
i. Articles 33 and 34 authorise parliament to protect officers of union or
states if these officers have taken any action during the martial law to
maintain peace and order.
Q2. How has central government controlled financial resources of
states?
A2. the central government has effective financial resources. firstly,
intems geenrating revenue are under the control of central government.
therefore, central government has many revenue sources and states are
depndent on grants and financial assistance from centre. Secondly, union
also appointed planning commission for the socio economic progress and
development of the country. This led to centralisation where the planning
commission coordinated, controlled and supervised the resources of the
states.
Q3. how does position of governor led to centralisation of resources?
A3. governor has powers to recommend the dismissal of state
government and dissolution of state assembly. in normal circumstances
also, governor has the power to reserve a bill passed by state legislature Governor also has the power to dismiss the state government or suspend
for theassent of the president. this gives the central government an it. This power has been misused and in many cases state governments
oppurtunity to delay the state legislation and examine bills and veto were dismissed even when they had majority for example: in Kerala in
them 1959, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in 1980s.
Q4. How has all india services centralised our federal system? Q2. What is sarkaria commission?
A4. The all india services are common to the entire territory of india and A2. Sarkaria commission was the commission which was appointed in
officers selected serve in the states. states on the other hand cannot take 1983 to look into the centre-state relations.
disciplinary action nor can they remove these officers from service. Q3. What was the recommendation of sarkaria commission?
Q5. what is articles 33 and 34? A3. The recommendation of sarkaria commission was that appointments of
A5. articles 33 and 34 authorises the parliament to protect the persons in governors should be strictly non partisan.
the service of nation or a state in respect of any action taken by them Q4. Why was Sarkaria commission appointed?
during martial law to maintain law and order. A5. After the decline in the dominance of Congress in the states, states
started demanding autonomy and less interference in their state's affairs.
Centre state relations were leading to constant source of tensions. That is
Q&A
why sarkaria commission was appointed.
Q1. What has been centre state relations since the time of independence?
Q6. What is article 356?
A1. In 1950s and 1960s when there was congress dominance in centre as
A6. Article 356 says that if a situation has arisen in which the government
well as states, the relations between centre and states have been quite
of the state cannot be carried in accordance with the provisions of the
peaceful and without tensions. The states shared the hope that they
constitution, president's rule can be declared in that state.
together will be making development and socio economic progress. Also
Q&A
because states had the same party which was in centre, that is, congress
Q1. Why was states reorganisation commission formed?
ruled both states and centre so there was not much tension.
A1. States Reorganisation commission was formed in 1954 to recommend
But in 1960s congress dominance declined and in states large number of
creation of states on the linguistic basis.
opposition parties came to power. they wanted greater autonomy and
Q2. On what basis has the states been formed?
independence. They did not want centre to intervene in their state's affairs
A2. In 1950s , states were formed on the basis of language. For example:
everytime. And the congress which was ruling at centre in 1960s was also
haryana and punjab in 1966, gujarat and maharashtra in 1960. But after
not very comfortable in dealing with different and opposition parties in
1990s states are being formed on the need for development. For example:
states.
Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chattisgarh in 1990s.
And in 1990s, coalition government came to power. Congress dominance
Q3. How did demand of new states become the source of conflict for
had ended. And states also had different opposition parties. So there was
federalism?
a different government at centre and different government at states.
A3. Demand of new states became the source of conflict for
So,this resulted in greater say for the states, a respect for diversity and
federalism because in 1950s many groups rose to demand statehood for
beginning of more mature federalism. So therefore, in this second phase,
preserving their culture and identity. And post 1990s, new states have
issue of autonomy became very powerful.
been demanded on the basis of development.
Q2. How was the centre state relations in 1990s?
Q4. When was gujarat and maharashtra formed?
A2. in 1990s, coalition government came to power. Congress dominance
A4. In 1960
had ended. And states also had different opposition parties. So there was
Q5. When was haryana separated from punjab?
a different government at centre and different government at states.
A5. In 1966
So,this resulted in greater say for the states, a respect for diversity and
Q&A
beginning of more mature federalism. So therefore, in this second phase,
Q1. What are the source of inter state conflicts?
issue of autonomy became very powerful.
A1. Boundary issue: states have been formed on the basis of language.
Q3. What kind of federalism did we see in 1990s?
But on the border sides, there is a possibility that people speaking more
A3. In 1990s we saw more of mature federalism where states had greater
than 1 language resides. So, states lay claim over the territories. One of
say and less intervention by centre. coalition government came to power.
the long standing dispute is between maharashtra and karnataka over the
Congress dominance had ended. And states also had different opposition
city of belgaum. Both Punjab and chandigarh has laid claims over
parties. So there was a different government at centre and different
chandigarh and both declare chandigarh as their capital
government at states. So,this resulted in a respect for diversity and
River dispute: this is more important because water is required for
beginning of more mature federalism. And the issue of autonomy became
agriculture and drinking purposes. Cauvery water dispute is a very famous
very powerful.
dispute where tamil nadu and karnataka are fighting over the share of
Q&A
cauvery water. Gujarat, madhya pradesh and maharashtra are fighting
Q1. What kinds of autonomy demands were made by states?
over narmada river.
A1. Autonomy demands made by states were:
Q2. What are the causes of tension in our federalism?
parties like DMK, akali dal, CPI-M, had demanded division of powers in
A2.
favor of states and more important powers to be assigned to states.
centre- state relations
They also demanded financial autonomy. States should have independent
demand for autonomy
sources of revenue and greater controlof resources.if you remember , we
role of governors and president's rule
learnt that centre has control over items generating revenue. In 1977, left
demand for new states
front government in west bengal brought out a document demanding
inter state conflicts
restructuring of centre and state relations. Tamil nadu and punjab also
Q&A
demanded the same.
Q1. What is article 370?
They are also angry about greater administrative control through all india
A1. Article 370 gives special provisions to jammu and kashmir under indian
services. States do not want centre to control their administrative
constitution.
machinery.
Q2. What is article 371?
The autonomy demands are also related to cultural and linguistic issues.
A2. Article 371 gives special provisions to north eastern states under
For example: Tamil Nadu was opposed to domination of hindi and the
indian constitution.
punjabi culture. In 1960, some states were opposed to the imposition of
Hindi language. Because these states thought that they are trying to
spread hindi and punjabi culture and this will destroy their own south indian
culture.
Q&A
Q1. How the position of governor has centralised our federalism?
A1. The position of governor has centralised our federalism. The governor
is not an elected office and many governors have been retired military
officers or civil servants or politicians. The appointment of governor has
been by central government. So governor is seen as an interference in the
affairs of state.
Article 356 has also been used by centre to assert its control over the
state. This article provides for president's rule in any state. It means that if
the government of the state cannot be carried in accordance of the
provisions of the constitution then the president's rule is declared. And the
state government is taken over by union government. And alongwith this