ABSTRACT
India today can claim to be the world’s largest federation, in terms of population. Since shortly after independence in 1947 it has been divided into a number of states (currently numbering 28), each with its own legislative assembly and ministry. Each state is proud of its language and traditions, and competes with its neighbours in economic development and social welfare. Yet in no other federal system does the central Government have as much reserve power as in India, where the President of the Union, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, can dismiss an elected state government and where state boundaries can be changed by parliamentary decision. Tensions and struggles between central (‘the Centre’) and state governments have been a recurrent feature of Indian politics. Especially in the regions away from the Hindi-speaking north, they can be translated into demands for greater freedom from central control in the name of language and historical tradition. In some cases, these have been dynamic tensions, with beneficial results for economic and social change, but in other cases they have had the opposite effect, with important development schemes delayed, or with damaging hostility to people from other parts of the country. As India moves steadily towards becoming the world’s most populous country, its future prospects will depend critically on its ability to resolve the tensions of federalism, to utilize its resources to the full, and to find ways to bring all its regions into the mainstream of development.
