A federal government
is one which powers are divided between the national
government and the regional governments by the Constitution itself and
both operate in their respective jurisdictions independently.
Federal features of Indian constitution
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- Written constitution – which will provide stability to governments at different levels
- Dual government – The governments at centre and states draws their power from Indian constitution
- Division of powers – Powers are divided between National and State governments through schedule 7 etc
- Supremacy of the constitution – It ensures that Union government could not override regional governments in their jurisdictions
- Independent judiciary – to deal with the disputes between governments at various levels impartially
- Bicameral legislature – Rajya sabha has members from all the states representing regional aspirations
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But Indian constitution is termed as
quasi – federal due to its strong inclination towards centre.
- Strong centre – Important subjects are under Union or Concurrent list where central government has more powers and residuary powers were given to Union
- Institution of Governor – Though constitutional post, acts as an agent of centre
- Destructible states – Central government can create new states, change name of a state even without the state’s consent
- Single constitution and citizenship
- Emergency provisions – provided through Articles 352, 356, 360 turns the state into unitary under special circumstances
- All India services – selected, trained and appointed by the Union to ensure uniformity in administration.
- Flexible constitution – Most of the provisions can be changed unilaterally by the Centre
- No equality to states regarding their representation in Rajya sabha.
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Other provisions such as integrated
judiciary, audit & election machinery, veto over state bills, Parliament’s
authority over state list in the name of national interest etc.
Indian federalism is a unique
experiment performed by constitutional makers keeping in their mind the
historical perspectives and huge diversity to ensure the unity of the nation.