Union and State Relations—1 Rajni Kothari This Is the First of a Series of Articles on Some Aspects of Political Organisation in India
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THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY April 29, 1961 Form and Substance in Indian Politics—I Union and State Relations—1 Rajni Kothari This is the first of a series of articles on some aspects of political organisation in India. The subjects which will be covered are: panchayat Raj; Instititions of parliamentary Government ; party system; and prospects of Democracy. It is proposed, in each case, to examine (i) the relationship between the form of an institution and Us substantive character as revealed in its actual working; and (ii) the prevalling opinions about the nature of that institution- as well as the assumptions underlying those opinions—in order to see if they need modification in the light of the experience gained. In this, the first article, the theory and practice of federal Government in India are studied. Does a federal Constitution necessarily give greater powers to the people? It is suggested that it may not, that actual excercise of power by the people depends not on formal divisions laid down in the Constitution but on quite other conditions the absence of which such divisions may hamper rattier than help the democratic process. THE: theory and practice of fede- trative judicial, fiscal functions and plans and reconstruction programmes. ral government in India has extension services have come to be Professor Appleby is the chief ex hitherto received a treatment which so organised that the emergent pat ponent of this argument. It is con is excessively formalists. It has be tern of coordination is one of const tended that the Centre has hardly come the normal idiom of political ant directives from New Delhi. any autonomy in respect, of adminis controversy to speak in terms of in trative resources; that it is all 'staff creasing encroachment hy the Union VARIANTS OF THE ARGUMENT and no 'line'; that, its financial com Government on the functions of the 1 mitments far exceed its tax resources states. Attention is drawn to the There is a variant of this argu and that consequently the pattern spurt of directives and instructions ment in the opposive suggestion that of government tha'.f has emerged is from one or other organ of the Union the pattern of government in the one of dependence of the Centre on Government to the Governments of Indian Union is one of "co the States; that the situation does the States. It is pointed out that operation and not competition" 3 not look as serious as it should so this has become the normal routine between the Centre and the States ; Jong as there is a homogeneous and of administration, little resort being that the separation of functions in well-knit leadership and so long as made to the extraordinary articles the Constitution itself sets the tone the same political party wields po of the Constitution specially provid of such cooperaion by virtue of List wer all over the country; that this ing for Central intervention. We are 'C' as well as the considerable over- cannot be a permanent state of further told that the situation will lapping be ween Lists 'A' and B'; affairs and that, therefore. some he aggravated once another party that the fact that the same party thing should be done about it before takes over one or more of the State rules the country as a whole not only it is too late." What is common to Governments. thus tempting the 'facilitates but also necessitates co all these schools of thought is that Centre to invoke those Articles in operation between Centre and States; each of them invokes the ideals of dealing with a. recalcitrant State; ihat the needs of planning make democracy and good government in that the Planning Commission is such cooperation even more neces its support! making nonsense of the Seventh sary; and that this is only the re Schedule as under its impact there flection of a marked tendency in REALITY IN INDIAN POLITICS is emerging a "vertical federation" federations all over the world of is which each Central Ministry re increasing cooperation between the Against this background of current gularly issues directives to the cor federal governments and the states ideas, the most usual question posed responding Ministry in the States; (or provinces) not simply as a re is one of possible friction between that even parts of the planning ma sult of grants-in-aid from the former a federal structure that assumes chinery dealing with State subjects to the latter but also under the uni constant cooperation between the which were set up as separate Ad versal impact of the Welfare States.4 Union Government and State Gov ministrations with a view to coordi- This school does not deny the usur ernments and a political situation nated functioning (eg the Com pation by the Central Government of in which oppossing parties wield po munity Project Administration esta the functions formerly belonging to wer as the Centre and one or more blished in March 1952) have beer. the States, but explains the same of the States. (The argument, it can subsrquently incorporated in a Gen in terms of changed conditions. be seen, cuts both ways: Let's have ual Ministry which forms the apex v. stronger and more independent of a hierarchy of corresponding gov Of course, there is a third line of Centre; or, let hero bo greater auto ernmental administrations at the reasoning according to which the nomy for the States,) state level, the District level, the Centre in India has not enough Taluka (or the Block) level and the powers or resources vis-a-vis the To my mind the question is wrong village level-; and that the adminis States to efficiently Implement the ly posed and reflects our tradition 679 April 29, 1961 of thinking in formal terms. In fact, can see that the relationship is in FEDERAL CONSTITUTION there are two levels of reality in verted: It Is not) that the undermin HAMPERS DEMOCRACY Indian politics. There is first, the ing of the inherent advantages of a formal or constitutional reality: the .federal structure by a Constitution The immediate need is to break ratified Constitution, the amend with a unitary bias is concealed through the formal controversy on ments, the courts, the fascinating when the same party rules the Sul Centre-State relations and try to Articles, and the directives, procla tan and the Nawab: or that ouce the analyse the true concept of federal mations, resolutions, and the remain- Nawab is replaced by a Peshwa, the ism, to identify the substantive politi ins stock-in-trnde. But, secondly, conflict latent in the Constitution is cal process taking place in this coun there is what I would call the sub bound to erupt into the open. The try and to examine the bearing of stantive realiy: here a group of question that is now posed is in an both upon the formal structure of leaders launched a Swarajya move entirely different context, a context authority as spelt out by the Indian ment against the British and won that I have suffered to call substan Constitution. There can be nothing political independence for the coun- tive. It consists In the fact that a intrinsically wrong in a structure tary, many of them helping them- single team of politicians started which gives greater power to the selves to power at New Delhi. Bom working with more or less harmony people nearer the base: self-govern bay, Madras, Calcutta, Cuttack. Patna and identifiable lines of command; ment is after all, the ideal of poli and so on. The next stage was of the possibility of disturbance in such tical democracy. What needs to be consolidation as well as of a jolly a system of close collaboration "occur- inquired into is whether a federal game of absorption of the Maharajas' ved largely by the imposition of a Constitution necessarily gives such estates: the finesse and muddling misconceived institutional apparatus power to the people. It is suggested, used in this game of absorption we on this political process through the here that it may not, that such an prefer to nickname as statesmanship. adoption of a certain constitutional exercise of power depends not on Well, then came the "master-plan." framework which no doubt smacks formal divisions laid down in the Or, indeed, a. series of master plans. of so many democratic slogans but in Constitution but on quite other con India was never short of grey matter, effect only frustrates all real attempts ditions and that in the absence of and the Prime Minister, who is also at flexibility, freedom, devolution and these conditions, such divisions may the are intepecetual. found out. like decentralisation. It is a. classic ex hamper rather than help the demo Aladin with his lamp, the magicians ample of the form suffocating the cratic process. who could "transform" the country. substance. The function that the The plans having been drawn up federal structure set up under the In what, follows, I have tried to aw! India having taken the route so Constitution is at present performing examine the assumptions underlying elaborately charted in the Kuruk- in the substantive process is of provid a federal policy, to see how far its shetra, the AICC Review and the ing rallying-points for centrifugal claims are justified with reference to Yojna, THe hard task of realising the forces in the country. As the process the basic values of democracy and to Utopia fell on the tried shoulders of largely operates within the ruling evaluate the current debate on "Cen the leadership that organised itself in party—even the various ''movements" tre-States relations" in the light of tho.