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Every political system needs to be well-functioning and smooth-running in order to progress. Federalism is one means to achieve this as it distributes the political powers of a nation among national and regional governments, which makes the governing of vast nations feasible. India can neither be termed as a federal or unitary state because our founding fathers chose the mid path and incorporated a few features of unitary as well as some from a federal form of government. This has led the relations between the centre and states to be deteriorating, as states have been demanding a structural change in the provisions of the Constitution. After 2014, our 14th Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who seems to have brought back the one-party dominant system in India after two continuous major wins in Lok Sabha elections, has led many significant changes through his inclusive policies which follow the motto of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas"such as replacing the Planning Commission with NITI Aayog and talk about a Cooperative Federalism. Despite these efforts, we can witness a competitive and asymmetrical type of federalism prevailing in India due to the heated disputes between central and state governments. This article is based on secondary data and analytical and descriptive methods are used. In this paper we will analyse the nature of Indian federalism as well as it deals with the study of the dynamics of Indian federalism in the post 2014 era and analyses of the challenges to it.

In this paper we will analyse the nature of Indian federalism as well as it deals with the study of the dynamics of Indian federalism in the post 2014 era and analyses of the challenges to it.

Modern federalism was created at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the 10^th Amendment of the US Constitution (1791) laid the structure of federal system. USA is the first and oldest federation in the world. Unlike India, US is a ‘Coming Together’ form of federalism, as it combined various states to form a nation (Federal Constitutional Republic of 50 States).

India, on the other hand, as described by P. Bardhan, is a ‘Holding Together’ form of Federalism as it divides the power between the states and the centre.

A federal state must at least have the following features:

1. A written Constitution
2. A rigid constitution
3. Two-tier government
4. An independent judiciary
5. Supremacy of Constitution
6. Bicameralism
7. Division of Powers between states and centre, etc.

1. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, “The partition of legislative and executive power of the centre and units is the main criteria of federation.”
2. Prof. A.V. Diceydefined Federation as “A political contrivance intended to reconcile national unity with the maintenance of State Rights.”[3]
3. John Stuart Millhas listed three crucial conditions for a federation:sufficient mutual sympathy “of race, language, religion, and above all, of political institutions, as conducing most to a feeling of identity of political interest”.
4. Proudhondepicted federalism as the best way to achieveindividual liberty. While Laskifocused much upon the defects of federalism such as its inefficiency in dealing with capitalism as compared to efficiency of centralised system.[4]
5. Whearesaid that “The test which I apply for Federal Government is simply this. Does a system of Government embody predominantly a division of power between general and regional authorities, each of which in its own sphere, is coordinate with the other’s and independent of them? If so, that government is federal.”
6. Lord Bryce described the federal and State Governments as “distinct and separate in their actions”.
7. Robert Garan defined federalism as “A form of Government in which sovereignty or political power is divided between the Central and local Governments, so that each of them within its own sphere is independent of the other.”[5]

India As A Federal State

The views of various political scientists and constitutional experts differ on the nature of federalism in India. It is a federal nation with the seesaw weighed more towards the centre, as our Constitution vests higher power in the central government, but also follows the ideal of decentralization which was also supported by Gandhi. India borrowed the idea of federalism with powerful centre from Canada (not from the USA model of federation), though the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935 had already laid the basis for a federal form of government when the subjects of states and centre were separated for legislative, financial and administrative efficiency.

Adoption of a federal form was as answer to the heterogeneous population, vast geographic size, plurality of Indian situation at that time and to bring about a sense of unity and integrity among the centre and states for them to survive cooperatively in the political system. Justice P.N. Sapru also supported the idea of adopting federal system for India.[6] The very foundational principle of federalism is the segregation of legislative, administrative and financial powers between the centre and the states by the constitution itself.

Dr. BR. Ambedkar said, “it is unitary in extra-ordinary circumstances such as war other calamities and federal under normal circumstances”.

KC Wheare has called India a ‘Quasi-Federal’ nation, which means that the “true flavours of federalism” is not seen in the political system of India, rather we observe a co-existence of the features of both federal and unitary system.

Indian Federalism can be defined as“Federation Sui Generis”, that is “A Federation of its Own Kind”, according to Alexandrwicz.

Ivor Jenningshas described the Indian Federalism as “a federation with strong centralising tendency.” He observed that “the Indian Constitution is mainly federal with unique safeguards for enforcing national unity and growth”.[7]

Morris Jones termed it as a “bargaining federalism”.

Granville Austin called the Indian Federalism as a “cooperative federalism” and described it as “a new kind of federalism to meet India’s peculiar need”.[8]

Article 1(1) in Part 1 of the Indian Constitution states that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a ‘Union of States’ and not a “federation of states”.Article 1 was debated upon on 15^th and 17^th November, 1948 and 17^th and 18^th September, 1949. Many members of the Constituent Assembly were confused that there was no use of term ‘federalism’ throughout constitution, and also the defining of India as a Union of States was questioned, to answer this, Chairman of Drafting Committee said that ‘the states did not have the right to secede (leave and become independent) from India’ therefore above terms were utilised deliberately.

In SR Bommai v/s the Union of India case (1994), the Supreme Court characterized Indian Constitution to be federal and declared federalism as its ‘Basic Feature’in the Kesavananda Bharti vs. State of Kerala (1976)along with secularism, democracy, separation of powers, and so on.[9]

Federal Features of Indian Constitution

The Founding Fathers of the Indian Constitution adopted the federal form of political system on the basis of following features:

1. Bicameralism : There is an existence of two houses, that is, Lok Sabha (Lower House)and the Rajya Sabha (Upper House).
2. Rigid Constitution : Amendments can be made to the provisions of federal importance under Article 368, by Special Majority and Absolute Majority (where Special Majority plus ratification of half state legislatures is required).
3. Division of Powers : The 7^th schedule divides three lists- Union List, State List and Concurrent List.
4.  Independent Judiciary : In order to settle the disputes between centre and states or states and states, an independent judiciary was established with the security of tenure of judges.
5. Written Constitution : Indian Constitution at present (2023)is the lengthiest written constitution in the world it has a Preamble and around 470 Articles, divided into 25 parts and 12 schedules.
6. Dual Polity : The political powers are distinguished between the central which looks into natters of national concern and the state governments which deal with the regional and local matters.
7. Supremacy of Constitution : Constitution is the supreme law of the land, the power of judicial review (only derived, not directly mentioned in the document) exists with the Supreme Court.

Unitary Features of Indian Federalism : There are various unitary features in the Indian Constitution, which makes our constitution a synthesis of both unitary and federal structure. They are as follows:

1. Single Citizenship : India, despite being a federal state, has single citizenship mentioned in Article 5 that is, only citizenship of India not of any particular state.  
2. Flexible Constitution : The amendment process of most of the constitutional provisions is not very much complicated and can be initiated only by the Centre by simple majority.
3. Destructible Nature of States : Article 3 empowers the Parliament to form new states, alter boundaries, areas and names of the existing states by unilateral action and only by simple majority. Hence, Indian Federation is “an indestructible Union of destructible States”. [10]
4.  Integrated Judiciary : We see an integration of the High Courts and other District or Session Courts under the Supreme Court which is the apex body of law.
5. Strong Centre : Centre has an upper hand at governance. It has an exclusive authority in the matters of the residuary powers and the final decisive call in the matters relating to concurrent list.
6. All-India Services : Indian states and centre also have separate public services, but there are All-India Services too including the IAS, IPS and the IFS which are common to both of them. These members are selected and trained by the centre but after recruitment are allotted powers in the states.
7. Emergency Provisions : There are three types of emergencies mentioned in the Indian Constitution, during which Indian political system becomes unitary, Article 352 (National Emergency), Article 356 (Constitutional Emergency or President’s Rule) and Article 360 (Financial Emergency).
8. Parliament’s authority over state list : The Parliament has overriding authority over any overlapping subject of any concern of lists in 7^th schedule. Article 249 even gives the Rajya Sabha an exclusive power to allow the Parliament to make laws on subject of the state list.
9. Appointment of Governor : Article 153 in Part 6 of the Indian Constitution states that there shall be a Governor of States who works at the pleasure of the President and is an agent of the centre in the states.
10. Absolute Veto over State Bills : The governor, under Article 200 has the power to reserve a bill passed by the state legislature for the President to review on which President can apply absolute veto.
11. No Equality of State Representation : Representation of states in the Rajya Sabha is on the basis of population of particular state. Membership ranges from 1 to 31.
12. Single Constitution : The power of forming a separate constitution to the states is provided in federal systems, but India is unitary in this concern.

Hence, we observed until now that Federal structure of India is not pure and is rather an amalgamation of both federal and unitary systems, with several features adopted from both types. So, India is A Federal System with Unitary Bias.[11]

Types of Federalism

Cooperative And Competitive Federalism

Relations between the political entities in a political system can be distinguished into horizontal and vertical relations. Wherein, the relation between states with other states is horizontal relation while relation between states with the centre is vertical relation. The cooperation between centre and the states and states with each other is called Co-operative Federalism which is mainly seen to impeccably promote and carry out the implementations of policies.

Competitive Federalism refers to the healthy competition between the states and the centre and the states among themselves. Such competition exists in order to provide citizens with better facilities and better development as a whole. It is not a basic structure of the Indian constitution, but is an integral and decisive part.The instance when the states compete for central investments and attract FDI is competitive federalism.

We can observe that in cooperative federalism, cooperation between states and centre is emphasized while in competitive Federalism, competition among states is given more importance. NITI Aayog can be considered an instrument to enhance the cooperative and competitive Federalism which was emphasized by PM Modi. The subjects in the Centre and Concurrent list of the 7^th schedule have expanded gradually while the subjects in the state list have declined, which poses a significant question about the structure of co-operative federalism in India.

Obstacles in establishing Cooperative Federalism are:

1. Major powers given to the centre.
2. Interstate council has not proven to be beneficial.
3. Misuse of President’s rule by various political parties.
4. Problems related to taxation authority
5. States have the least role in the working of the finance commission.
6. Kerala used article 131
7. Heterogeneity of States is ignored while formulating policies. “One-size-fits-all approach” is followed.[12]

According to various thinkers we were supposed to go from federalism between centre and state, to cooperative federalism among states and then competitive Federalism but we have fallen one step below the foundation step that is at combative federalism. After elections in 2014, BJP soon started gaining control over state after state. Many opined that this might lead to the establishment of a new Indira Complex. At that time, it was thought that a cooperative federalism would arise as each state was ruled by single political party but politics is an ever-changing concept and it cannot remain static. The power balance in Indian federalism has shifted.

PM Modi in his Independence Day speech in 2022 assertively thanked the founding fathers of Indian constitution for giving the concept of federalism to India and he said, " Programmes can be different, working style can be different, but resolutions cannot be different, the dreams for our country cannot be different". Talking about his tenure as the CM of Gujarat he addressed that though at that time the centre had different ruling party, but he always focused on the development of Gujarat in order to achieve the development of India as a whole, which is a strong example of co-operative competitive Federalism.

He asserted that it is the need of the hour to bring cooperative competitive Federalism besides Cooperative federalism, so that each state competes with another to step forward to achieve new heights of development and progress. He said that cooperative competitive Federalism is necessary between states and other government services for collective national progress.

While laying light on the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat, in P. Parmeshwaran memorial on 5^th November in Thiruvananthapuram, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked about the need of centre and states to work cooperatively for a developed India.

The BJP government Is said to be much stronger at the centre than at the states level. The trust and ability to give and take is very crucial in the maintenance of the relations between centre and the state. Out of 14 NDA allies, 11 distanced themselves from NRC CAA, which shows that the nature of policies formulated matters crucially in deciding the relations. Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor (DMIC) would not have been built if states did not cooperate. Projects of national importance cannot take place without a cooperation between centre and stated.

The Intra basin river interlinking project also needs full support and coordination from the states which means the rivers within the same basin can be interlinked. One such project initiated in the reign of this government in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Initially, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had BJP governments but later they were replaced by Congress government which might pose a problem in carrying out the project with ease. The working of GST and FASTAG Also requires cooperation from the states. Therefore, a recovery of normalcy between the centre and the states is required first to undertake such projects of national importance.

Challenges To Indian Federalism

Distribution of authoritative powers, unity in diversity and decentralisation are various important features of Indian federalism, but these are also challenged due to various reasons:

1. Regionalism : The love for its own region causes states to demand autonomy and disregard and criticize the decisions of the union. The people in the south and northeast of India feel neglected due to a number of cases. Especially after the formation of Telangana in 2014, talks about the division of Uttar Pradesh, demand for formation of Gorkhaland from West Bengal, Vidarbha in Maharashtra, etc. have posed a problem for federal India.
2. Division of Powers : The 7^th schedule divides three lists- Union List, State List and Concurrent List. The Centre forms law on the subjects mentioned in the Union List (98 subjects, originally 97), States are responsible for making laws on the subjects of State List (59 subjects, originally 66) while both Centre and state have the authority to form laws on subjects of the Concurrent List (52 subjects, originally 47), though in case of any disagreements between the two, the Centre law prevails. The Residuary powers (not mentioned in any of the three lists) are vested in the Centre. We can clearly interpret the lack of importance given to the states and an upper hand of the centre in this concern as the subjects of national importance are handled by the union. Even after the division of powers being a significant feature of federalism in India, the nature of this division highly impacts the relation between centre and states.
3. Inequality in Representation of States : Unlike in the USA, where each state is represented by two members leading to the upper house of USA comprising of 100 members and depicting an equality of representation, Indian upper house provides representation to the states on the basis of population of each state, wherein the membership varies from 1 to 31 members, which depicts the least say of the states in decision making process.
4. Distribution of Amendment Powers : States also have a very nominal say in the constitutional amendment procedures. Amendments can be made to the provisions of federal importance (like centre-state relations and judiciary system) under Article 368, by Special Majority and Absolute Majority (where Special Majority plus ratification of half state legislatures is required). Unlike in the USA, where three fourth states are taken into confidence, Indian constitutional amendment requires as less as ratification from only half states. This is a major concern as states are demanding more powers in this concern.
5. The Perishable nature of states : India is a vast country consisting of a lot many states and union territories, if all of them were individually given power to make laws and form rules on their own for self-interest, it would have caused a havoc. So, for its own good functioning India is better defined as “an indestructible Union of destructible States”[13] and not “Indestructible union of indestructible states” like that of US. After the forced formation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh in 2014, it was made clear that the union has the final say in altering the names and boundaries of existing states and form new states. Hence, the states can be destructed by the union but the union cannot be destructed by the states.
6. Post of the Governor : In a true federal state, such as the US the governor is elected. While in India, the governor is appointed by the President and is accountable to the centre much more than he is towards the particular state. Article 200 in this concern is a matter of controversy and heat regarding the post of the governor, which has caused the use of his post by the party at centre for own motives, leading to disputes between centre and states.
7. Misuse of Article 356 : Article 356 has come to use for more than around 132 times out of which more than 90 times was seen in Congress led central government as asserted by Home Minister Amit Shah. Central rule was imposed in Jammu and Kashmir during the repealing of Article 370. In Arunachal Pradesh, a 26 days President Rule was imposed in 2016 after many Congress MLAs joined hands with BJP leading to problem in administration as stated by the then governor Rajkhowa, but when taken to the SC, this decision was declared unconstitutional and the apex court ordered restoration of congress government in the state. Uttarakhand also saw the influence of Article 356 twice in 2016, wherein the SC held the imposition to be unconstitutional and restored the government of Harish Rawat (INC). Maharashtra had to face the consequences of President’s Rule as a result of falling apart of the alliance in 2014 when the then CM Prithviraj Chavan resigned. [14]
8. Centre oriented plan : The states are at the mercy of the centre for any financial needs, the appointment of members of NITI Aayog by the centre, the less weightage given to powers of the states as compared to the centre, etc. are various problems and challenges. The Planning commission which transformed into NITI Aayog in 2014 works for the centre rather than states.
9. Conflicts on basis of religion and language : The government after 2014 seems to focus on the upliftment of Hindus and supports a secular ideology. In 2014, the Home Ministry initiated the use of Hindi by bureaucrats on government social media accounts, which was duly opposed by the political parties in south India. Such haywire was also spread during the demand for a separate Dravida Nadu state and strong opposition for the recognition of Hindi and it’s increasing significance over other languages have caused tensions between the centre and southern states. The constitution of India recognises 22 languages officially in the 8^th schedule and the problem arises only when the centre tries to force a particular language on states. So, we can say though the diversity of India is a boon to its functioning, it also causes a great threat to the relations of centre and states. [15]
10. External factors : The force of neighbouring countries upon the bordering states such as China upon north eastern states, Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu issues and Pakistan’s role in Khalistan Movement, all these affects and weakens the relations of centre and states.

The union government set up the Sarkaria commission in 1983 in order to closely dissect the problems in functioning of Indian Federalism, but certainly its recommendations are yet to be properly implemented. [16]

Mechanism to Solve these disputes include the Doctrine of Pith and Substance (True nature of law and not the incidental version) and the Doctrine of Colourable Legislation (facts initiated only directly and not indirectly). There is a need of efficient equilibrium among the various constituents of federalism such as autonomy of states, centralization, decentralization, national integration, nationalisation, etc. [17]

Union-State Relations

The distribution of powers between the centre and the states has been done with respect to the administrative, legislative, and financial relations in the Constitution itself under various provisions.

Legislative Relations:

Article 245 to 255 deals with these relations and define the Territorial as well the Subject-Matter power distribution of centre and states. A particular state cannot exceed the  limit of making laws beyond its own territorial extent while the centre has the territorial jurisdiction to make laws for any part of India and even make any international treaties which are supposed to be accepted by the states (Article 253).

Article 200 (Power of Governor to reserve state bills for President’s assent), Article 249 (exclusive power of the Rajya Sabha), Article 252 (States requesting Parliament to form laws for them), are a few examples of centre state conflicts, Article 352 (Unitary control over state list in the times of National Emergency), Article 356 (President’s Rule).

The three lists mentioned in the 7^th Schedule, as adopted from the Government of India Act, 1935, distinguishes the subject matter of the states and the centre. The continuous reduction in the subjects under the state list and the overruling power of the Parliament in the case of Concurrent List and its hold over the residuary powers has been few reasons of agitations.

Administrative Relations:

Article 256 to 263 deals with the administrative relations.

Article 256 (Obligation of the states to ensure that the laws made by them comply with the laws made by the Parliament), non-compliance might lead to use of Article 356 (President’s Rule) by the centre, Article 312 (provides the Parliament with exclusive power to appoint the officers of ‘All-India Services’, i.e., IAS, IFS, IPS), Article 263 (deals with the provision of power to the President to define the Inter State Council and deal with the disputes between states), Article 262 (Inter-state river water disputes are to be handled by the Parliament and not by any courts, not even the Supreme Court).

We can observe through few examples mentioned above that the status of the centre is higher than that of the states.

Financial Relations between the union and the states are dealt in Article 268 to 293 in Part XII of the Constitution. Article 268 (Tax levied by Union, collected by states), Article 275 (Grants-in-aid handled by the Parliament and given to the states in need of such assistance), Article 274 (Prior sanction by the President to introduce any bill or agreement), etc. are some disputable provisions which lead to a demand of structural change in the system by the states.

Changes In Nature After 2014

The changes in the nature of Indian federalism after Independence can be studied in four phases, viz., One party Federalism (1952-1967), Expressive Party Federalism (1967-1989), Multi-Party Federalism (1989-2014), and the return of the Dominant Party Federalism (2014 to present).[18] The advent of a dominant national party at the centre has raised new questions about the federalism and the democracy of Indian system as a whole.

After aroundthree decades, since 1984, a similar win in elections was seen like that of Rajiv Gandhi who had won with a massive majority of 404 seats out of 514. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won with absolute majority of 282 seats out of 543, while defeating the second majority party INC at only 44 seats (worst in history). Despite gaining majority BJP formed an alliance called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).The 2014 manifesto of BJP listed the promise of ‘cooperative federalism’ and Team India’ and also a rhetorical commitment of fiscal decentralization[19].BJP again raised flags in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019 with a better parliamentary majority win of 353 seats (303 of BJP alone, and rest of NDA alliances).[20] In the fourth phase we can witness some significant federal disagreements between the Centre and the Opposition-ruled states as they do not tend to agree on all the policies formulated and decisions made by the centre, such as, agitations regarding the UPA-appointed governors, power od governor to call for a floor test (party to prove majority),farm laws, the jurisdiction of BSF in states,CAA, GST compensation and assistance during peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Indian states have been seen to be protesting, withdrawing or avoiding giving any support to the Central politics, due to which the Centre can also be observed taking adverse advantage of the loopholes in the provisions of the Indian Constitution.

An agitation between the government and the judiciary arose with the enactment of the 99^th constitutional amendment act (2014) and the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act. The Modi government aimed at the replacement of the judicial collegium by NJAC comprising of the CJI and two of his senior most colleagues plus the Union Minister of Law and Justice and two ‘eminent persons’ nominated by a committee comprising PM, CJI and the leader of the official opposition party (with at least 10% seats in the Lok Sabha) or the largest opposition party in the house under the amended Constitution and the conforming legislation. However, this was declared unconstitutional by the judiciary as it violated the ‘basic structure’ of independent judiciary.[21]

 The “cooperative-competitive federalism”is current focus of Modi government which talks about shared decision-making, power sharing, etc. between the centre and the states. This will increase the role of the states and promote better democracy.We can see the example of unilateral decision-making when the central government declared demonetisation which ended the legal tender value of 500 and 1000 rupee notes and brought about new notes of 1000 and 2000 rupees. This decision caused the Indian economy to see a major decline and it depleted the revenues of state governments and also hampered the spirit of democracy and cooperative federalism.

The 14^thFinance Commission(2015-2020) along with many other suggestions, also altered the key for the inter-state (horizontal) distribution of shared tax receipts. The share of special levies in the gross tax revenue of the Central  Government increased from 8.8% (in 2012-13) to 1.2% (in 2016-17), which is regarded as a violation of the spirit of cooperative federalism by the state governments. The successful enactment of the Good and Services Tax Act (passed in parliament on 29^th March 2017, came into effect on 1^st July 2017) required the support and consent of not only the Lok Sabha members but also of the states. The GST Act has been a landmark for being the most ambitious tax reform backed by centre and state relations and strengthened the dimension of fiscal federalism in India under the government post 2014 as it is a Dual GST wherein the State and Centre have separate tax collections (SGST and CGST).

 The Planning Commission was criticized by many on the basis that it promoted much of a centralising objective and so it was replaced by the NITI Aayog in January 2015 to induce the input of state governments in policy farming process and give way for a ‘competitive-cooperative federalism’. Although even the NITI Aayog turned out to work as a think tank attached to the Office of the Prime Minister degrading the federal system and creating an institutional vacuum.

We can see an under-functioning of the major inter-governmental institutions like the Inter-State council, Zonal council, NITI Aayog, GST Council, etc. in solving the centre-state disputes over vital issues, due to such political division and what not. The most radical decision of the BJP government was to end the subnational constitutionalism in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on 5^th August, 2019.[22]

Many turning points in the nature of federalism such as the centralization of the planning commission for better involvement of the states was a major step, the states and the centre were made equal fiscal partners with the introduction of the GST, and formation of GST Council ensures this cooperation. The central government also agreed to the recommendations of the 14^th Finance Commission to give the states a 42 percent share of funds then the previous 32 percent.

After the massive win in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, PM Modi gave his first Independence Day speech on August 15, 2019 in which he asserted, “I can proudly say that every Indian today can speak of one nation, one constitution”, the focus on ‘one nation, one tax, one grid, one mobility card, one election, one ration card’. The use of “One Nation” is the major slogan of the BJP government and its ideology.

The implementation of all the newly renamed schemes,with prefix “Pradhan Mantri” (Prime Minister),was doneas CSSs (Centrally Sponsored Schemes) to influence a direct relation with the psychology of the voters and establish a connection between them.A great emphasis has been laid on the Prime Minister Office centralising the decision making between the centre and the states by creating a direct link of communication between the bureaucrats at state level and the PMO.However, as this linkage excluded the state chief ministers, it was gravely accused.

The history of centre-state relations has not been smooth. It has been evolving throughout time. With the advent of the BJP-led government the nature of Indian federalism cannot said to be stable. On August 15, 2019, Prime Minister Modi made his first Independence Day speech after the resounding mandate his party earned in India’s 2019 general election.“I can proudly say that every Indian today can speak of one nation, one constitution,” remarked Modi. [23]

PM Modi led BJP government’s slogan of “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” (One India, Great India) in reference to cultural unity in diversity of India is an important factor. BJP’s Hindu nationalist project aligns better with the unitary form rather than federal form of state. In 2014, BJP spreadslogans such as “maximum governance, minimum government” and “Make in India” promoting welfare of the states and redistribution.[24]

As L.K. Advani, then party president, set out in 1987: ‘India is multi-lingual, it is multi-religious; but it is also one nation. Indians are one people. The Indian Constitution is also based on this acceptance. It is, therefore, that our Constitution-makers made the Indian Republic federal in form but essentially unitary in content.’[25]

A shift in the policy toward centralization in matters of political, administrative and fiscal fields can be observed. With the moto of “One India”, PM Modi is seen as an epitome among the world leaders due to the all-inclusive and comprehensive policies that have come into effect during his tenure.

The talks about Cooperative-Competitive Federalism can be said to be the future of Indian Federal System, if continued practically and efficiently.

1. https://www.insightsonindia.com/polity/functions-and-responsibilities-of-the-union-and-the-states-issues-and-challenges-pertaining-to-the-federal-structure-devolution-of-powers-and-finances-up-to-local-levels-and-challenges-therein/issues-and-challenges-pertaining-to-the-federal-structure/federal-system-of-india-federalism-with-tilt-towards-centre/
2. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/indian-federalism-75-the-foundation-of-a-strong-democracy/#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16766419651816&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.orfonline.org%2Fexpert-speak%2Findian-federalism-75-the-foundation-of-a-strong-democracy%2F
3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298630721_Indian_Federalism
4. https://philoid.in/lab/viewer/?n=keps207.pdf
5. https://aryabhattacollege.ac.in/samplepaper/637215121892375249Federalism%20-%20Conceptual%20analysis.pdf
6. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41856217
7. file:///C:/Users/ROHIT/Downloads/INDIAN%20FEDERALISM-AN%20ANALYSIS.pdf
8. https://www.academia.edu/34829736/CHAPTER_II_NATURE_OF_THE_INDIAN_FEDERAL_SYSTEM
9. https://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/686/Federalism-in-India.html
10. https://archive.org/details/unionstaterelati0000sant
11. Santhanam, K., 1960, “Union-State Relations in India”, New York: Asia Pub. House
12. https://www.tamildigitallibrary.in/admin/assets/book/TVA_BOK_0009072_Report_of_the_centre-state_relations_inquiry_committee.pdf
13. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14736489.2020.1744994
14. . Narendra Modi, “PM’s Address to the Nation from the Ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day,” PMIndia, Government of India, last modified August 15, 2019, https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pms-address-to-the-nation-fromthe-ramparts-of-the-red-fort-on-the-73rd-independence-day/(accessed on 02 April, 2023)
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[6] [Tiwary, Rakesh, “Chapter-II Nature of the Indian Federal System”, https://www.academia.edu/34829736/CHAPTER_II_NATURE_OF_THE_INDIAN_FEDERAL_SYSTEM]
[7] [Laxmikanth: 2021: p3.2-3.3]
[8] [Basu: 2011:60-62]
[9] [Laxmikanth: 2021:13.11-13.12]
[10] [Laxmikanth:2021: p13.3-13.4]
[11] [Laxmikanth:2021: p3.2]
[12] [Kumar, 2021, “No ‘one size fits all’ approach for localisation of SDGs: India at UN”, Hindustan Times, URL= https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/no-one-size-fits-all-approach-for-localisation-of-sdgs-india-at-un-101625802791716.html ]
[13] [Laxmikanth:2021: p13.3-13.4]
[14] [Gupta. Nishtha, 2019, “Four States have gone under President’s Rule since 2014”, India Today, URL= https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/four-states-have-gone-under-president-s-rule-since-2014-1618317-2019-11-12 ]
[15] [Seetharaman & Aravind, 2018, “Why the disgruntlement on several issues by the southern states is more of an anti-centre rhetoric”, Economic Times, URL= https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/why-the-disgruntlement-on-several-issues-by-the-southern-states-is-more-of-a-anti-centre-rhetoric/articleshow/63861915.cms ]
[16] [Rout, 2017, ClearIAS article, URL= https://www.clearias.com/indian-federalism-issues-challenges/ ]
[17] [URL= https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/federalism-and-emerging-challenges]
[18] [Ghosh:2022: URL= https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/indian-federalism-75-the-foundation-of-a-strong-democracy/#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16766419651816&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.orfonline.org%2Fexpert-speak%2Findian-federalism-75-the-foundation-of-a-strong-democracy%2F]
[19] Yamini Aiyar & Louise Tillin (2020) “One nation,” BJP, and the future of Indian federalism, India Review, 19:2, 117-135, DOI: 10.1080/14736489.2020.1744994, URL=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/14736489.2020.1744994?scroll=top&needAccess=true&role=tab
[20] [Singh: 2021: Chapter 2]
[21] [Singh:2021]
[22] Ibid.
[23] [. Narendra Modi, “PM’s Address to the Nation from the Ramparts of the Red Fort on the 73rd Independence Day,” PMIndia, Government of India, last modified August 15, 2019, https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pms-address-to-the-nation-fromthe-ramparts-of-the-red-fort-on-the-73rd-independence-day/]
[24] SuhasPalshikar, “Toward Hegemony: The BJP beyond Electoral Dominance,” in Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism Is Changing India, ed. Angana P. Chatterji, Thomas Blom Hansen, and Christophe Jaffrelot (London: Hurst & Co., 2019), 101–16.
[25] LK Advani speech to the BJP’s national council in Vijayawada, January 1987. Cited in Tillin Remapping India, 60.