Indian Federalism and the Telangana Movement
Anirudh, MA Development Studies (Class of ‘23), TISS-Hyderabad
The makers of the Indian Constitution envisioned a strong central government complemented with relatively weaker state governments to protect the interests of the nation as a whole. This was primarily because of secessionist tendencies exhibited by regional outfits in a nation that was already facing the brunt of a partition (Ghosh 2020). Furthermore, Jawaharlal Nehru had fired a warning that a weak centre would not be capable of ensuring peace or coordinating important matters (CAD 1947). Hence, India’s constitution was designed to make it a “federation with a unitary bias” (Guha 2015).
The provisions that show a unitary bias include the power to — declare a state of emergency, impose president rule in a state, legislate on state list subjects in extraordinary circumstances, appoint governors, and more. Such powers, when exercised, have often caused friction between the state and central governments, even more so when the centre and state governments belong to different political outfits.
This paper lays out the various issues that have been plaguing the centre-state relations and uses the Telangana movement’s example to highlight the shortcomings of the federal structure.
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https://tisshmads.wordpress.com/2023/03/20/indian-federalism-and-the-telangana-movement/