Nehru and Indian Federalism

8/10/2019 Nehru and Indian Federalism

1/15

Indian Political Science ssociation

NEHRU AND INDIAN FEDERALISMAuthor(s): H.M. RajashekaraSource: The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 55, No. 2 (April - June 1994), pp. 135-148Published by: Indian Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41858802.

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2/15

NEHRU

AND INDIAN

FEDERALISM

H.M.

Rajashekara*

The institutional abric

of a

political system

s sustained

by

leaders endowedwith

tatesmanship

nd

political

vision. Even

to-day,

thetheoretical

rguments

dvanced

by

federalistsike Jefferson

rovide

legitimacy

or federalism

n

the United

States. Jawaharlal

Nehru,

the

'gentle

colossus' of modern

ndia,

played

a critical role in

nurturing

democratic

nstitutions

n

this

country.

Nehru's

dynamic

eadership

and dominant

ole

during

heone-and-a-half ecades after

ndependence

was a

positive

factor

n

protecting

he

federalfabric nd in

promoting

cooperative

ederalism.

His role has

unquestinably

ontributed o an

era of unpralleled political stability. This paper is addressed to an

analysis

fNehru's

perceptions

ffederalism

nd his

paradoxcical

egacy

that

combines

nstitutional alance

in

the

political

arena with erosion

of

state

autonomy

under a centralised

economic edifice.

Jawaharlal

Nehru's

perceptions

f federalism

hanged

from

time to

time,

keeping

in view the

notion of

unityduring

the

period

of freedom

truggle

nd,

ater,

he

security

nd

nation-building

oncerns

and

theeconomic

development

trategy

ursued.

Although

he

Congress

leadershipwas initially n favour f a centralised ederal tructure, y

1943 it was

inclined

towards loose

federation s a concessionto the

Muslim

League

to

keep

India united and to

preempt

he demand

for

partition

f the

country.

The electionmanifestossued

by

the

Congress

Working

Committee

n 1 45

hadendorsed his

pproach.

Maulana

Abdul

Kalam

Azad,

who was the President f the

Indian National

Congress

from

939 to

1946,

also

proposed

classical federal

model and

opposed

partition f the sub-continent.2he resolution n thebasic objectives

*

Reader

n Political

cience,

niversity

f

Mysore, ysore.

Indian

ournal

f

Politicalcience

Vol.

55,

No.

2

April

June,

994.

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/15

136

The ndianJournal

f

Political cience

of the Constitution,movedby JawaharlalNehru in the first ession

of the Constituent

ssembly

nd

subsequently dopted by

it endorsed

the classical model of

federalism. To

quote

the resolution:

... whereinhe aid territories.. shall

possess

nd retain he tatus

of autonomous

nits,

ogether

ith

esiduary

owers

nd exercise

all

powers

nd

functionsf

government

nd

ministration,

ave

and

except

uch

powers

nd functionss are vested n or

assigned

o

the

Union,

r as are inherentr

implied

n the Union...3

Speaking

at the

oint

meeting

f the State

Negotiating

ommittee nd

the

Corresponding

ommittee

f

the Constituent

ssembly

Nehru tated:

Theunits ftheUnionwould ave

very

reat egree

f

utonomy.

Now,

the UnionConstitution

ill deal withUnion

ubjects

nd

common attersoncerned.o far s the ther

ubjects

re

oncerned,

the

provinces

nd

the states

will be

sovereign.4

With

heMuslim

League's

decision o

boycott

hethird ession

of the Constituent

ssembly

nd theannouncement f theMountbatten

Plan underwhich

partition

f the

country

ecame a

settled

act t

found

immediate eflection

n

the

changed

perspective

f Jawaharlal

Nehru

and

other eaders. The

change

s

reflected

n the

following

ssertion

of

Report

of the Union Powers

Committee

July

5,

1947)

of

which

Nehru was the Chairman:

In

particular

e

are

notnow

bound

y

he

imitationsn the

cope

of

Union

owers

.. We are

unanimously

ftheview hat t

would

be injuriouso the nterestsfthecountryoprovide or weak

Central

uthority...4

The

'partition-climate',

he

problem

f

refugees,

he Kashmir

question,

he ecessionist hreat

y

he

Naga

tribais,

he

fear

f

centrifugal

forces and the

hostility

f Pakistan

had influencedNehru

and other

members f the Constituent

Assembly

n

favourof a federal

system

with

strong

Union. As the Chairman

f both the

Union Constitution

Committee nd the Union Powers

CommitteeNehrumade it

clear that

he was stronglyn favour of a

powerful

Union. Therefore,he not

only

favoured he inclusion

of

residuary

owers

n

the

Union

list,

but

also

supported

he

principle

of

appointment

f State

Governors.7 He

believed hat 'the

lected

Governors

might

ncourage eparatist

rovincial



4/15

Nehru

and

Indian Federalism

137

tendencies nd reduce the common inks with the Centre .8 Further,

it

was

felt hat he

goals

of socio-economic

evolution ould be

achieved

rapidly

by

a

strong

Central

government.

Thus,

the

Congress

did not

allow he stablishmentf contractual

ederation

nd

ventually

ontributed

to the

victory

f

the

centripetal

orces.9

In

the words of Granville

Austin the Constituent

ssembly produced

a new

kind of federalism

to meet India's

peculiar

needs .10

II

A

study

of the

Indian

federal structure

s

envisaged

in

the

Constitution eveals

the dominant

osition

of the Central

government.

It

may

be described s

prefectorial

ederalism

under

whichthe

very

existence

f

states,

heir lected

governments,

nd

their imited

utonomy

are

dependent

pon

the

will of

the

Central

government

nd the states

are

subjected

o the command nd

control f

the Centre.11

Within he

frameworkf

prefectorial

ederalism ,

Nehru's

perspectives

n

Centre

-

staterelationsweredemocratic

nd

cooperative

nd constructive

ather

than onfrontational.nhis etter

April

15,

1959)

totheChiefMinisters.

Nehru worte:

We have full nddetailed

onstitutionf

ndia,

efining

he

ights

and

responsibilities

f theCentre nd

of the tates

.. The element

of

cooperation,

f

seeking

riendly

ounsel

with ach

other nd of

ever

keeping

he

arger

nd n

view,

re of

paramount

mportance.

I trust hat, s

in the

past,

o in the

future,

e shall have

that

intimate

elationship

f

comrades

orkingogether

or chievement

of commonndsand having aith n each other.12

Nehru's

extraordinary

ualities

of

leadership,

his

statesmanly

style,

preference

or

a decent

approach

and democratic

management

of Centre

state

relationshad won

him

accolade,

acclaim,

and

respect

from ll

quarters.

It was true that

all issues of

a federal

character

were based

on

'great

source

of

unity'13.

And decision

on the

issues

were

rrived

t

by

consensus,

oth t the

party

evel and

in

Government.

Tn

the

federal

set-up

he

was

above

regions;

in

the

party

et-up

he

was above factions; nd thushe acted as an umpire n intra-partynd

inter-state

onflicts'

4

.

Thecreation f

Andhra

n 1 53

and

he

eorganisation

of states

in

1956

were

the

glowing examples

of his deference

o

the

popular

will

nd

regional/linguistic

entiments.

s Professor

ajni

Kothari



5/15

138

The ndianJournal

f

Political cience

observes: the reorganisationesultedn rationalisinghepoliticalmap

of India without

eriouslyweakening

ts

unity 15.

The

reorganisation

of states not

only

provided

he

ground

for

national

integration' 5,

ut

also

gave

the tates a federal

utlookwhich

hey

ever

ossessed

before'1 .

The establishment

ffive onal Councils,under heStates

Reorganisation

Act of

1956,

to

develop

a

cooperative pproach

at the

institutional

level indicates

Nehru's

pproach

ow rds

cooperative

ederalism.

Under

Section

21 of this

Act,

the main functions f the

Zonal

Councils

nclude

discussions

and recommendations ith

regard

to matters

f

common

interestnthefield of economic nd social

planning,

matters

oncerning

water

isputes, inguistic

minorities,

nter-state

ransport

nd

other

matters

connectedwith the

reorganisation

of states.

In

his

letter

(Jan.

16,

1956

)

to the Chief

Ministers,

Nehru said:

The ormationfZonal

ouncilshould

ncourageooperation

etween

the

everal tates...

They

re notmeant o take

away

nypower

from he states... The

functioning

f theseZonal Councils

will

not

nly

esult

n

settling

umerous

roblems

hich rise

from

ay-

to-dayetweendjoiningtates ut lsohelp neconomiclanning

of that

arger

rea.

The Zonal Councils were

very

active

during

the N

ehru era.

During

the seven

year

period

from

957

to

1963,

33

meetings

f

differentonal

Councils were held

(average being

4.7

meetings er year),

and

during

the

period

from 1963 to 1985

about

51

meetings

were held

(average

2.2

per year).19

The Sarkaria

Commission

n

Centre State

relations

hasreiteratedehru's

erspective

ndhasrecommended

teps

or

trengthening

the Zonal Councils.

Nehru

howed

isdemocratic

pproach

ndfederal

pirit

egarding

the official

anguage policy.

He did not

impose

Hindi as the

only

official

anguage.

He decided to continue

English

as an

associate

lingua-franca

f India and

thereby

voided

confrontationetween

the

Centre nd non-Hindi

peakingpeople,especially

f the

southern tates.

Speaking

in the

Lok Sabha he had assured:

Theremust e no imposition...or n indefiniteeriod.. I should

have

English

s an

associate additional

anguage

which an

be

used... So I wouldhave

it as an alternate

anguage

s

long

as

peoplerequire

t

and

thedecision or

hat,

would eave notto



6/15

Nehru and

Indian

Federalism

139

theHindiknowingeoplebutto thenon-Hindinowing eople.20

Nehru lso favoured o conductAll-India Sen ices examination

in

three

anguages

--

English,

Hindi and

regional language(s).21

his

'consensual

nd

conciliatorypproach'

to Centre state elations efused

many ossible

Centre-stateontroversies

ith

potential

or

ragmentation

and balkanisation f the

country.

One

foreign

cholar

rightly

emarked:

A

large

mount f

political nergy

as

expended

n

ameliorating

theanguage ontroversyuringhe1950s nd1960s... nd language

in

India

today

s not the

burning

ssue that t was in

1955 or

1965.

Ill

Given his

background

s a leader

of the freedom

movement,

as Gandhi's

choice for

eadership

n

post-Independence

ndia

and his

multi-faceted

nd charismatic

ersonality,

ehru weilded considerable

authoritynd unrivalled n the Partyand the Government.Yet, he

reposed

trust nd confidence

n

the

Chief

Ministers,

n their kills as

political

mobilizers nd as

powerful

eaders.

Nehru's

approach

owards

the

state evel leaders of the dominant

Congress

Party

was

extremely

helpful

n

nurturing

he delicate fabric f Indian

federalism.

Although

his

authority

as

great

and his decisions

were

final the

heightened

central

uthority

as not

generally

ruel and ruthless 23.

Despite

his

enormous

ower

Nehru id not ide

roughshod

ver

he tates.24Whenever

therewere

incumbency

rises' in

any

statehis task

consisted f

merely

facilitatinghe change over without ctive involvement.Most of the

time,

he

preferred

o observe trict

eutrality.

s Amai

Ray

notes:

By

and

large

therewas no

organised ttempt

o destabilise

he

governmental

process

or

to interfere ith the election of

the

party

eadership

t the

state evel

during

the Nehru era .25

When the

leadership

ssue

posed

a threat o

the

unity

f the

Congress

Party,

hen

only

Nehru nterfered

in the

political process

of a state.

In

1956,

there

was

a

seriouscontest

for

eadership

n

Andhra radesh.

The

Congress

High

Command

emained

neutral and

in the

contest

for

eadership

N.

Sanjiva

Reddy

defeated

B.

Gopala

Reddy. In Assam, Nehrurefused o issue any directive o

the

State

legislature

arty

o

support

B.P.

Chaliha,

in

1957,

although

his

preference

as for

him. The latter

was

elected

s the Chief

Minister



7/15

140

The

ndianJournal

f

Political cience

on his own strengths.n Bihar also Nehru did not interferen the

leadership

rises,

both

n 19S2

and

1957. In

Gujarat,

Balawantrai

Mehta,

a close associate

of

Morarji

Desai,

was

unanimously

lected leader of

the

Congress egislature arty

n 1963. In

Madya

Pradesh

too,

Nehru

remainedneutralwhen Ravishankar

hukla,

a follower f Sardar

Patel,

had won a vote of

confidence,

n

1954.

A

crisis

developed

within

the

Congress

Part)'

in

UttarPradesh

n

October

1960.

Nehru was

in

a fix. To sustain the

unity

f the

Congress Party

he

persuaded

Dr.

Sampurnanand

o handover

eadership

o C.B.

Gupta.

Thus the

Centre,

under Nehru's

leadership,preferred

otto dabble too much in state

politics except

n

exigencies.26

However,

he did not hesitate o

support

competent

nd able Chief Ministerswhenever

hey

faced a crisis

in

the

party.

Even when he had to defend ome ChiefMinisters

n

crisis

.

situationseoftenctedwithmoderationnd elf-restraintf a constitutionalist

and

in

a

style largely

noffensive .27

Nehru

often

exhorted

he state

governments

o be

in

close

touch with the

people

and to

develop policies

and

programmes

hat

would fulfil he

aspirations

f the

people.

A

few Chief

Ministers

ike

B.C.

Roy

West

Bengal),Kamaraj

Madras)

and

Y.B.

Chavan

Maharastra)

set a

pattern

f

independent

ehaviour.

In

areas reserved

trictly

or

the

Centre,

ome tates ad sserted hemselvesnd nterednto

egoatiations

on

specific

tems

of trade

with

foreign

ountries. The

matter ame

to

light

when

B.C.

Roy

had entered

nto a

trade

agreement

with a

foreign

oncern n behalf f his State. But

thiswas

ignored y

Nehru2 .

As a result f

Nehru's

pproach

he tates

njoyed

onsiderable

dministrative

autonomyn the 1950s.37 Nehru acted as a constitutional atriarch

in

coordinating

he work

of

Chief

Ministers f states

by

giving

them

administrative

uidance

nd

political

irection

hrough eriodic espatches.

Often,

he took

the initiative

y reminding

hemabout the

duties and

obligations

f tate

overnments

n

the

one nd tenor f n elder

tatesmen.

Consider

the

following quote

from

letter

(July

,

1952)

addressed

to the

Chief Ministersabout the

significance

f decentralisation:

I feel

more nd more hatwe must unction ore rom elow han

fromhe op... too much f centralisationeans ecay t theroots

and

ultimately

withering

f

branches,

eaves and flowers .

In

the of

appointments

f Governors

Nehru use

to consult



8/15

Sehnt

and Indian Federalism

141

the state governments. It was reported hatwhen Nehru wantedto

appoint

a

non-Bengali

as

the Governor f

West

Bengal

in

1952.

the

then

Chief

Minister. B.C.

Roy. strongly

bjected

on

the

ground

that

his State would not

tolerate

non-Bengali

Governor.

Then the Union

Government

ppointed

H.C.

Mukherjee. Bengali

by

domicile.

When

the

same

problem

arose

sometime

ater

(1957)

Miss.Padmaja

Naidu,

a

prominentersonality

th

bilingualparentage

mother

was a

Bengali

and father

n

Andhra)

was discovered

o the

satisfaction

f both

Nehru

and

Roy.

In

the'same

ear,

heformer

aharaja

of

Mysore.

Jayachamaraja

Wadeyarwas appointedGovernor fMysore. These instances ndicate

thatNehruwas a

firm

eliever

n

consultation

n

his

approach

o

Centre

-

state

relations.

He never

thought

f

the Governors

s

agents

of

the

Central

Government.

He

encouraged

the Governors

o

render

dvice

to the

respective

Chief

Ministers

nd

the latter

o deriv

benefit

rom

consultation

with the Governor.30

Some

writers

iewed

the

Kamaraj

Plan

adopted

by

the

All

India

Congress

Committee,

n

August

10,

1963,

as

Nehru's

political

conspiracy

o dethrone

owerful

hiefMinisters nd unwantedCentral

Ministers.

Although

he

was described

by

Kuldip Nayar

as

a God

that

had failed 31

fter

962,

Nehrudid not

ose

his hold over

Congress

Party

nd the

Government.

It was

Kamaraj

who

conceived

this

Plan

in

the

first

lace

for

his State

i.e.,

Madras.

As a

man of

the

people

who

had somewhat

eluctantlyccepted

he

Chief

Ministership,

amaraj

felt

he was

losing

contact

withhis

people

and desired

o establish

apport

with them.32

According

o

Nejiru,

the

Kamaraj

Plan was

intended

to revitalise he CongressbytakingtheParty

back

to

its roots

n

the

people.

Referring

o

this

Plan,

Rajni

Kothari

comments:

It was

not he

removal

for

party

ork of

Central

Ministers

nd

Chief

Ministers

ut the

nduction

f

Partymanagers

nto

position

of

power

t

thenational

evel

which

roved

f

greater

onsequence.

By

putting

arty

managers

nto

power,

he

Kamaraj

lan

not

only

recognised

heir

mportance

n national

ffairs ut

lso

restored

o

the

Central

rganisation

he

prestige

nd

importance...

een

in

this

ight,

he

Kamaraj

Plan

was

no

coup

staged

by

adventurists;

it was rather restoration .32



9/15

142

The ndianJournal

f

Political cience

IV

Nehru did not resort o

frequent

se of Article

356 which

deals with the

imposition

f

President's rule

in

states. He

expressed

the view: It

would

not be

right

o

impose

President's rule till all

other

venues have been

explored .54

He used article

356

sparingly

and

selectively.

His Government sed it

only

7

times,

whereas t was

used twice

by

the Shastri

Government,

8

times

by

the Indira Gandhi

Government,

16

times

by

the Janata

regime,

6

times

by

the

Rajiv

GandhiGovernment,wicebythe V.P. SinghGovernmentnd 4 times

by

the ChandrashekarGovernment. P.V.'s

Government

as used it

9

times

during

Oct.

1991

-

Dec. 1993. The

imposition

f President's

rule for he first

ime,

n

1951,

n

Punjab

to unseat

GopichandBhargava

who

claimed to

be

the

follower

f

Sardar

Patel,35

nd the

imposition

of

President's rule to

prevent:

a)

the

United Front

Ministry

headed

by

Rarewala from

continuing

n

power

in

PEPSU,

in

1953;

(b)

the

Communists rom

orming

n alternative

overnment

n

Andhra after

the

collapse

of the

Congress

Government,

n 1954

(c)

the PSP

leader,

Pattom

hanu

Pillai,

from

orming

n

alternative

overnment

n

Travancore-

Cochin after

he

resignation

f the

Congress

Government,

n

1956;

and

(d)

the Communist

Ministry

o

continue

n

power

n

Kerala,

in 1959

were the

controversial

recedents

et

by

the Nehru Government.

Dr.

Ambedkar

describedthe

invocationof article 356 in PEPSU as the

most

violent kind of

rape

on the Constitution . Siwach notes that

in

Andhra

rticle 356 was

used not because constitutional

machinery

had failed

but because the

Governor nd the Central

Government

ere

both een opreventheCommunistsromomingnto ower .36 riticising

the

partisan

role

of the then

Rajpramukh

nd the

Central

Government,

the then

Speaker

of

the Travancore-Cochin

ssembly

ondemned t as

undemocratic.37

The

agitations

started

by

the

oppositionparties against

the

Communist

Governmentn

Kerala

did

create the

problem

f

law

and

order n

1959.

Nehruwas stated o

be

initially

eluctant

o

bring

Kerdla

under resident'

rule

despite

he

breakdown

f

aw

and order.

Provocative

statementsmadeby theCommunist eaders had created pprehensions

in

the minds of

the

central leaders. P.

Sundarayya

had stated that

if

the

Union

Government

id not

agree

with the

Kerala

Ministry's

policies,

the

Communist

arty

would resort

o other

means .3*

The



10/15


11/15

144 The ndianJournal

f

Political cience

relations nd an aberration rom rue federalism*. His Government

could have amended or deleted article

356

which,

n

the

opinion

of

JusticeV.R. Krishna

Iyer,

tantamounts o 'constitutional errorism'.

V

Jawaharlal ehru' earnest esire or

apid

conomic

evelopment

of he

ountry

ade

him

o ntroduce

olicies

imed t centalised

lanning.

His

Government

o created he

National

Planning

Commission

o

advise

thegovernmentntheplanning rocess.Althoughomewriters escribed

it as the Economic Cabinet5 f

India,

in

practice

t has not

superseded

federalism.

The

resolution

which the

Planning

Commission tates is

that

n

framing

ts

recommendations,

t will act

in

close

understanding

and consultationwith

the Ministriesof

the

Central

Government nd

the

overnments

f he tates.

urther,

ettingp

of heNational

evelopment

Council

NDC),

in

August

1952,

may

be

regarded

s the most

ignificant

step

for

promoting nderstanding

nd consultation etween he

Union

and the State

governments

n

planning

nd common conomic

policies.

Morris-Jonesas

expressed

he iew hat heNDC hasbecome

significant

manifestationf

cooperative

ederalism an

all-India

Cabinet

tanding

above both'Union and State

governments.

t

may

be noted

here

that,

following

riticisms

y

some

Chief

Ministers,

Standing

Committee

of the National

Development

Council was created n

1954,

to

promote

coordination

etween

he Centre nd the states n

the

field

of

planning.

During

the

Nehru era

many

Central Acts were enacted and

statutory

odies created to

promote

Centre

state collaboration nd

coooperation

n

vital

areas of

national

mportance.

n

1952,

the Union

government

ormulated

he National Forest

policy,

which set a

target

of

bringing

one-third

about

100 million

hectares)

of

the

total area

of India under

forest

over.

The

States, however,

did

not

seriously

implement

his

policy.42

n

1954,

the CentralCouncil of Local

Self-

Government as established or he

purpose

f

coordinating

he

policies

of th

states

relating

o

local

government.

The

Rivers

Board

Act of

1956,

enacted

by

the

Parliament,

rovides

or he establishment

f

River

Boards in consultation iththe tate governmentsor he reulation nd'

development

f nter-state

ivers nd river

alleys.

The Inter-StateWater

Disputes

Act of

1956

provides

for

adjudication

f

disputesrelating

the

sharing

f

water

f

nter-stateivers

y

theconcerned

tates. About



12/15

Nehru and Indian Federalism

133 rivervalley projectswere executedby the Central Government

forthe benefit f various states.43

n 1962

the Government

of India

hadconstitutedheCentral

ouncil

fHealth

or

romoting

nd

maintaining

cooperation

n

the

sphere

of healthbetween

he Centre nd the states.

Moreover,

during

Nehru's

period

reliance on some informal evices

tended o ensure

greater

armony

n Centre staterelations.

The

more

important

f such devices were:

(i)

ad hoc

committees f

specialists;

(ii)

regular

conferences;

nd

(iii)

Central

study

eams. The

Central

Government

ad

ppointed

number f Committeesf

pecialists

ealing

with arious spects f griculture hoserecommendationsere enerally

accepted

by

both the Union and the state

governments.

A

system

f

annualconferences as

encouraged

n

which

epresentatives

ftheUnion

and the states used

to discuss

problems

of mutual nterest.44

VI

Jawaharlal

Nehru,

an

embodiment

f the federal

spirit,

did

strivehardto

promote artnership

nd

collaboration

etween heCentre

and the states. The maintenance nd sustenance f balance between

the

requirements

f national

unity

nd the need for state

autonomy

was an

outstanding

ontribution f Nehru to the

theory

nd

practice

of Indian federalism. Under

his

stewardship ooperative

federalism

was instrumental

n

shaping

ndia's

politics,

n

discouraging

anaticism,

in

containing

ivisive

orces,

n

haping

national utlook nd

n

facilitating

the search

for

broadly cceptable

solutions.

His

penchant

ornational

unity

nd his commitment

o economic

progress

did not

stultify

he

'limited'

autonomy

f states

beyond

ertain

imits.

In

embarking pon

nationaleconomic

planning,

he did not intend to

usurp

the

powers

of the

states. He was

merely

nterested n

seeing

to it that national

minimal

tandards

f

well-being

ere nsured.

nfortunately,

he

Nehruvian

legacy

was carried

oo far

n

the economic

phere.

Nehru's admiration

for he ovietmodel

f conomic

lanning

ad theunintended

onsequence

of

crippling

asic

thrust f the federal

olity.

Whatever ittle

nitiative

the states

had

in

the economic

sphere

had

got dissipatedby

centralised

economic

planning.

Dependence

of the stateson the Centre

ncreased

enormously.Discretionary rants

urned ut to be

political

handouts.

With he

mergence

f

non-Congressovernments

n

many

tates,

atronage

and

partisan

pproaches

ecame

prominent.

A

centralised

nd command

-

centred

conomy

had the most

damaging

nfluence

n

the

autonomy



13/15

146

The

ndian

Journal

f

Political

cience

of the states. Nehru,being its originalauthor,had to take part of

the blame

for ts

onslaughts

n federalism.

Had he been at the

helm

of

ffairs or

onger,

e wouldhave

perhaps

ntroduced

uitable

lterations.

On

balance,

Nehru was

a democrat nd a

firm

belifevern

federalism

nd decentralisation.

He did not

deliberately

misuse the

Constitution

or

ersonalhegemony.

f the

1

constitutional

mendments

enacted

during

1951

-

1964,

only

one of

the

them

the

3rd

amendment

of

19S4)

empowered

he Centre

to

legislate

on matters

elating

o a

state subject .e., essentialcommodities.42 Most of the abuses such

as

the blatant

recourse o Article

3S6,

Prime

Ministerial

hegemony

f

the

Congress-I arty,

xtension

f Union

authority

ntonew

areas which

made the states subservient o

the Union are later

developments.

In

retrospect,

Nehru's

perceptions

f

Centre

-

state

relations re more

relevant

oday

han

ver

before.

The emulation f

his

federal

erceptions

would

go

a

long way

n

safeguarding

nity

n

diversity,

n

strengthening

political stability

n

various states and

in

helping

them to

regain

the

spirit

of the Constitution

nvisaged

by

the

founding

athers. Most of

the

subsequent

berrations nd central

ntrusions nto the

sphere

of

the states that contributed

o the

emergence

f the 'federal

octopus'

need

correctivesnd radical lterationso restore

he

nstitutionalalance.

NOTES

1. See

Azad,

Maulana bdul

alam,

ndia

Wins reedom

OrientLongman,

adras,

1988,

.

130.

2.

Ibid,

p.

150-152.

3.

Quoted

n S.C.

Kashyap,

awaharlal

ehrund

the Constitution

Metropolitan

Book

Co.,

New

Delhi,

982,

.76.

4.

Ibid,

.

257.

5.

Ibid,

.

85.

6.

Brecher,ichael,

ehru A Political

iography,

xford

niversity

ress,

London,

961,

.

165.

7.

See Shiva

Rao,B.,

Framing

f

ndia

sConstitution,

ol.

I

,

Indiannstitute

ofPublic

dministration,

ew

Delhi,

p.

456.

8. Ibid.

9. See

Ray,

Amai,

nter-governmental

elations,

sia

PublishingHouse,

ombay,

1960,

.

20.



14/15

Nehru

and Indian

Federalism

147

10. Austin.ranville,hendian onstitution:ornerstonef Nation.larendon

Press,

xford.

966,

.

186.

11. In the onstituent

ssembly.

.

Hanumanthiya

alled t a 'Union

onstitution*.

H.Y. Kamathescribedt as

a centralised

ederation .

o Damodar

warup

it s a

unitary

onstitutionn

the ame f

federation .cholarsike

K.C.

Wheare

escribedhe

ndian

olity

s a

quasi-federation .

ee

Wheare,

.C..

Federal overnmentOxford

niversity

ress,

ondon.

964,

.

27.R.L.

Watts

has

alledt

territorial

ederation .ee his ew

Federations

Experiments

in

theCommonwealthOxford

niversity

ress, ondon,

966,

.

14.

12.

Nehru,

.Letterso

Chief

inistersVol.

2,

1950-52 overnment

f

ndia,

NewDelhi, 986, . 578.

13.

Brecher,

ichael,

uccession

n

ndia

A

Study

n

Decision-Making

Oxford

University

ress, ondon,

966,

.

135

14.

Bhambhri,

.P.,

olitics

n

ndia 1947-87

Vikas,

ew

Delhi, 1988,

.

73.

15.

Kothari,

ajni,

oliticsn ndia Orient

ongman,

elhi, 970,

14.

16. See

Morris-Jones,

.H

,The

overnmentndPolitics

f

ndia

Hutchinson,

London,

971,

.

100.

17. See

Aiyar,

.P.,

Competitive

nd

Cooperative

rends

nthe ndian

ederal

System ,nS.P.AiyarndUshaMehtaEds.), ssays n ndian ederalism

Allied,

ombay,

965,

.

118.

18.

Nehru,

etters

o

Chief

inisters,

ol.

4,

1954-57,

1988),

.

336.

19.

Report

f heCommissionn

CentreState elations

Sarkaria

ommission

Report),

overnment

f

ndia,

ew

Delhi,

988,p.336.

20. See

LokSabha

ebates,

ol.

XXXII,

ugust

3-14,

959,

ols.

1287-1305.

For

ater

evelopments

ee

Gupta,

.C.,

ndian

Government

ndPolitics

Vikas,

New

Delhi,

977.

Chapter

VII.

21. Jawaharlalehru's

peeches,

ol.

3,

Government

f

ndia,

ewDelhi,

958,

p. 29.

22.

King,

obert,.,

The

Language

ssues evisited

n

James .Roach

Ed.):

India 000 TheNext

ifteen

ears

Allied,New

elhi,

986,

.

136.

23.

Ray,

Amai,

From onsensus

o

Confrontation ,

conomic

ndPolitical

eekly

October

, 1982,

.

1619.

24.

See

Brecher,

p.

cit.,

.

136.

25.

Ray, p.

cit.,

.

1619.

26.

Dua,

B.D.

Presidentialule

n

ndia,

.

Chand,

ew

Delhi,

979,

.

158.

27. Ibid, . 386.

28.

See

Kothari,

p.cit.,

.

119.

29. See

Nehru,

etters

o

Chief

inisters,

p.cit.,

ol.

3,

1985.



15/15

148

The

ndianJournal

f

Political cience

30. SeeNehru,etterso Chief inisters,p.cit., ol.2, p.612.

31.

Nayar.

uldip.

etweenhe ines

Allied,

ombay,

969,

.

2.

32.

Karanjia.

.K..

The

hilosophyf

Nehru,

eorge

llen

Unwin,

ondon,

1966.

.

135.

33.

Kothari,

ajni,

The

Congressystem

n

ndia ,

n theCentre

or he

tudy

of

Developing

ocieties,

artyystem

nd

lection

tudies,

llied,

ew

elhi,

967,

p.

16.

34.

Nehru,

etters

o

Chief

inisters,

p.cit

,

Vol.

2,

p.564.

35. SeeNayar,aldev aj, Punjab nMyron einerEd.):StatePoliticsn

India,

rinceton

niversity

ress, rinceton,968,

.

467.

36.

Siwach, .R.,

olitics

f

President's

ule n

ndia,

ndiannstitutef

Advanced

Study,

imla, 979,

p

108-109.

37.

Quoted

n

Siwach,bid,

.

318.

38.

Quoted

n

Sinha,

.B.,

The

RedRabel n

ndia,Associated,

ew

Delhi,

968,

p.

102.

39. See

Nossiter,.J.,

ommunismn

Kerala

A

Study

n Political

daptation

Oxford

niversity

ress,

elhi,

982,

p.

144.

40. QuotednVasudev,ma,ndira andhiRevolutionn Restraint,ikas, ew

Delhi,

974,

.

273.

41.

Ibid.,

.

268.

42. See

Sarkaria

ommission

eport,

art

.

op.cit.,.

55.

43.

See,

Ramachandran,

.G.,

spects

f

Federalism ',

n

Aiyar

t.

l.,

op.cit

,

p.

0.

44.

For

etails

ee

Narain,

qbal

P.C.

Mathur,

Union-State

elationsn

ndia

-

A Case

Study

n

Rajasthai

S.P.

Aiyar

ndUsha

Mehta

Eds.),

p.cit.,

pp.

103-105.

45.

See

Joshi,.N.,

Aspectsf

ndian

onstitutional

aw,

University

f

Bombay,

Bombay,

965.

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