ABSTRACT

India is not a textbook federal country. In order to appraise or to understand its particular federal arrangements, one needs to take into account the historical and geopolitical context in which these arrangements were formulated, for in this matter “context is king”. Evaluations of existing federal arrangements in the light of “ideal” or basic principles of federal governance may be possible “but only within a particular country or context.” 1 And so it is against a context of post-colonialism, the long fight for Independence, and subsequent nation-building tasks within a multiethnic and multicultural framework that the Indian experience with federalism can be best understood.