Redeeming the federal pledge in Constitution

India's aspiration to become a developed country by 2047 will depend on improved Centre-state cooperation in implementing second-generation reforms

- Duvvuri Subbarao

India's federalism as enshrined in the Constitution has proven to be remarkably resilient. In what is a masterly feat in political engineering, the Constitution skillfully blends federal characteristics such as division of powers, a written Constitution and an independent judiciary with unitary attributes like a strong central government, emergency provisions and centrally appointed governors. It is this unique federal structure with unitary features that has helped us navigate the governance of a large and diverse nation with distinct regional identities and challenges.

For sure, there have been Centre-state tensions. But which federal country hasn't had problems? Canada has its long-standing Quebec separatist movement and Spain has the Catalan independence movement. Amazon deforestation has been a source of centre-state friction in Brazil while Nigeria and Ethiopia have been roiled by ethnic tensions. And notably, East Timor separated from Indonesia entirely because of a deep-seated grievance about resource sharing. By comparison, we have been able to manage our tensions without allowing them to boil over which is a testament to the checks and balances instituted in the Constitution.

As much as our federalism has adapted to changes along the way, it's disconcerting that it has also moved from being cooperative federalism to combative federalism. On the political dimension, the fault line has been the growing view of states governed by Opposition parties, including regional parties, that they get discriminatory treatment when it comes to central patronage.