Federal and Unitary Features of a Constitution

At a Glance

• What it is The federal features and the unitary (non-federal) features that are found together in the Constitution of India
• Federal features Seven: dual polity, written Constitution, division of powers, supremacy of the Constitution, rigid Constitution, independent judiciary and bicameralism
• Unitary features Fourteen, from a strong Centre to the Governor’s appointment and the President’s veto over state bills
• Article 1 Describes India as a “Union of States”; the word “federation” is not used
• Description by K.C. Wheare Quasi-federal; a unitary state with subsidiary federal features
• Supreme Court in the Bommai case (1994) Federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Polity: Basic Concepts

Where Does It Fit?

The earlier topic showed that constitutions can be federal or unitary. This topic applies that idea to India. It lists the features that make the Constitution federal and the features that make it unitary, and it shows how scholars and the Supreme Court have judged the balance. The general comparison of the two forms of government is in a later topic of this category.

What Do Federal and Unitary Mean?

Governments are classified as unitary or federal on the basis of the relations between the national government and the regional governments. In a unitary government all powers are vested in the national government, and the regional governments, if they exist at all, derive their authority from it. In a federal government the Constitution itself divides powers between the national government and the regional governments, and both operate independently in their own jurisdictions.

Why Did India Choose a Federal System?

The Constitution provides for a federal system of government. The framers adopted it for two main reasons: the large size of the country and its socio-cultural diversity. They realised that a federal system not only ensures efficient governance but also reconciles national unity with regional autonomy.

The term “federation” is nowhere used in the Constitution. Article 1 describes India as a “Union of States”. According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, this phrase was preferred to “Federation of States” to indicate two things: (i) the Indian federation is not the result of an agreement among the states, as the American federation is; and (ii) the states have no right to secede from the federation. The federation is a union because it is indestructible.

The Indian federal system is based on the Canadian model and not the American model. The Canadian model establishes a very strong Centre. The Indian federation resembles the Canadian federation in its formation (by way of disintegration), in its preference for the term “Union”, and in its centralising tendency, that is, giving more powers to the Centre than to the states.

What Are the Federal Features?

1. Dual polity: The Constitution establishes two governments, the Union at the Centre and the states at the periphery. Each has sovereign powers in the field assigned to it. The Union deals with matters of national importance like defence, foreign affairs, currency and communication, and the states with matters of regional and local importance like public order, agriculture, health and local government.
2. Written Constitution: It is the lengthiest Constitution in the world. It specifies the structure, organisation, powers and functions of both the Central and state governments and the limits within which they must work, and so avoids misunderstandings between the two.
3. Division of powers: The Seventh Schedule divides powers in three lists: the Union List with 98 subjects (originally 97), the State List with 59 (originally 66) and the Concurrent List with 52 (originally 47). On the Concurrent List the Central law prevails in a conflict, and the residuary subjects go to the Centre.
4. Supremacy of the Constitution: It is the supreme law of the land. Laws made by the Centre and the states must conform to it, and otherwise the Supreme Court or the high courts can declare them invalid through judicial review.
5. Rigid Constitution: The provisions concerned with the federal structure, that is, Centre-state relations and judicial organisation, can be amended only by the joint action of the Centre and the states. They need a special majority of Parliament and the approval of half of the state legislatures.
6. Independent judiciary: The judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court, protects the supremacy of the Constitution through judicial review and settles disputes between the Centre and the states or among states. Security of tenure for judges and fixed service conditions keep it independent.
7. Bicameralism: The Rajya Sabha represents the states and the Lok Sabha represents the people as a whole. The Rajya Sabha has to maintain the federal equilibrium by protecting the states’ interests against the Centre’s undue interference.

What Are the Unitary Features?

1. Strong Centre: The Union List has more subjects than the State List and the more important ones; the Centre overrides the Concurrent List and has the residuary powers.
2. States not indestructible: Parliament can, by a simple majority, change the area, boundaries or name of any state. India is “an indestructible Union of destructible states”, while the American Federation is “an indestructible Union of indestructible states”.
3. Single Constitution: States cannot frame their own constitutions. The only exception was the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, which had its own constitution until 2019.
4. Flexibility of the Constitution: Most of the Constitution can be amended by Parliament alone, and only the Centre can initiate an amendment.
5. No equality of state representation: States are represented in the Rajya Sabha by population, so their membership varies from 1 to 31.
6. Emergency provisions: In the three types of emergency, national, state and financial, the Centre becomes all-powerful and the federal structure turns unitary without a formal amendment.
7. Single citizenship: There is only Indian citizenship, as in Canada, and no separate state citizenship.
8. Integrated judiciary: One system of courts, with the Supreme Court at the top, enforces both Central and state laws.
9. All-India Services: The IAS, IPS and IFoS are common to the Centre and the states, but they are recruited and trained by the Centre, which has ultimate control over them.
10. Integrated audit machinery: The Comptroller and Auditor-General audits the accounts of both the Centre and the states, and he or she is appointed and removed by the President without consulting the states.
11. Parliament’s authority over the State List: If the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution in the national interest, Parliament can legislate on a State List subject, even when there is no emergency.
12. Appointment of the Governor: The Governor is appointed by the President, holds office during the President’s pleasure, and acts as an agent of the Centre. India followed the Canadian system here.
13. Integrated election machinery: One Election Commission conducts elections to the Central and state legislatures, and the states have no say in its constitution or in the removal of its members.
14. Veto over state bills: The Governor can reserve certain bills for the President, who can withhold assent in the first instance and again in the second. The President therefore has an absolute veto, and not a suspensive veto, over state bills.

How Does India Compare With the USA?

What Do Scholars and the Courts Say?

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar told the Constituent Assembly that the Constitution is federal in that it establishes a dual polity: the Union is not a league of states, and the states are not agencies of the Union, since both are created by the Constitution and derive their authority from it. He also said that it avoids the tight mould of federalism and can be both unitary and federal according to the needs of time and circumstances. The Centre, he said, cannot by its own will alter the boundary of the partition of powers, nor can the judiciary.

In the Bommai case (1994), the Supreme Court held that the Constitution is federal and described federalism as its basic feature. It said that the greater power given to the Centre does not make the states mere appendages of the Centre. The states have an independent constitutional existence and are supreme within their allotted spheres. The overriding of their powers in emergencies and certain other situations does not destroy the essential federal feature, because those are exceptions, and exceptions are not the rule.

What Trends Show the Federal Spirit?

Federalism in India is a compromise between two considerations: the normal division of powers, under which states enjoy autonomy in their own spheres, and the need for national integrity and a strong Union government in exceptional circumstances. Its federal spirit shows in territorial disputes between states (such as Belgaum), river-water disputes (such as the Cauvery), the rise of regional parties, the creation of new states (such as Mizoram, Jharkhand and Telangana), demands of states for more grants, their assertion of autonomy, and the procedural limits the Supreme Court has set on the use of Article 356.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• The core of Indian federalism: It sets out exactly which features are federal and which are unitary, and it names the scholars who judged the balance.
• Basic structure link: The Supreme Court has held in the Bommai case that federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution.
• A frame for later topics: Centre-state relations, the Governor, emergency provisions and the Rajya Sabha all return to these features.

Key People and Terms

• Union of States The description of India in Article 1; the federation is indestructible
• Dual polity Two governments, the Union and the states, each with its own sphere
• Residuary powers Powers on subjects not in any of the three lists; with the Centre in India
• Indestructible Union of destructible states The description of India; the US is an indestructible Union of indestructible states
• Absolute veto The President’s power to withhold assent to state bills, not only suspend them
• K.C. Wheare Called the Constitution quasi-federal
• Bommai case The 1994 judgment that called federalism a basic feature

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

This is a core topic for any Mains question on Indian federalism. Use these points to add depth.

• A federal form with a unitary bias: The Constitution has seven federal features but fourteen unitary ones, which tilt the balance of power towards the Centre. This is why Wheare called it quasi-federal.
• Not an agreement among states: Article 1 describes a Union of States, because the Indian federation is not the result of an agreement among the states and no state can secede.
• The case for a federal reading: Ambedkar pointed out that both the Union and the states derive their authority from the Constitution, and that the Centre cannot alter the division of powers on its own. Appleby, Morris Jones, Jennings and Austin also stressed its federal or cooperative character.
• The Supreme Court’s view: In the Bommai case the Court held that federalism is a basic feature, and that the overriding of state powers in emergencies is an exception, not the rule.
• A compromise: Indian federalism balances state autonomy in normal times with the need for national integrity and a strong Union in exceptional circumstances.
• Federal spirit in practice: Inter-state disputes, regional parties, new states, demands for funds and the limits the Supreme Court has set on Article 356 show a federal spirit at work.