Studies on federalism mainly focused upon the legislative, financial and
administrative relations between the centre and the state. As mainly federalism
talks about the relation between the centre and state. In other words,
Federalism is a type of government in which the power has been divided between
the two that is centre and state it basically contradicts with a unitary
government in which a central authority holds a power to take decision and d
confederation in which the state has no duty to make any type of decision.
If we
take the context of India it is quasi federal but in the real sense it is not
very much federal because if we take example of last year in 2020 the world has
ravaged with the pandemic and India was one of the countries and nationwide
lockdown has happened in the country most of the decisions were only made by the
central government and not by the states.
The deal with the conceptual analysis of federalism is on the basis of the views
of the various different theories namely classical, origin and functional
theory. The main attention has been drawn upon the certain theory of federalism
today majorly focus on the topic such as classical theory, origin theory, and
functional theory as mentioned earlier. There has been a certain type of common
trend has been observed or what we can say seen that in all the federations is
that a central government has taken a leadership in determining the powers such
as:
- Setting standards for the legislative policies.
- Review and implement and providing finances which are needed for the
various programmes.
This particular things might have result into the supremacy of the central
government and subordination of the state government in the federal features
states that there must be distribution of the power between the central and
state government. In the context of India in pursuant to that which is mentioned
above about the federalism Article 246 of the Indian Constitution gives power to
make laws to both central and state government to make laws in the respective
matters which are provided in the three list namely
- Union list:
Under this list it includes Defence, Foreign Affairs,
matters of Currency, War and Peace, Railways, Interstate trade and commerce etc.
- State list:
Under this it includes Law and order, Agriculture, animal
husbandry, Water supply, irrigation and canals, fisheries, road passenger tax,
etc.
- Concurrent List:
Under this list the subjects which are could be used
by both union and state subjects includes Health, Actionable wrongs, bankruptcy
and insolvency, education, contempt of court etc.
So these were some of the subject which comes under this three list mentioned
under Art 246 of the Indian constitution. Indian constitution is aid to the
federal structure because it has been clearly stated that it has a clear
demarcation of boundaries between central and state government similar to that
of the US. India is also legislative and executive authority divided between the
centre and state.
India sometimes claimed to be non-federal members as I mentioned earlier that in
some cases India has acted as a unitary form of government. Such as the Centre
can impinge upon the areas earmarked only for the state in some cases.
Therefore, it infringes the principle of federalism as it makes the state
dependent of the centre. Hence, every time it is also said that it is type of
unitary form of government.
There may be the legal demarcation of powers between the centre and the state
government, social services constitutes a feel to endeavor in which the federal
and the state government has become co sharer of common goals and for the main
purpose.
In one of the theories the author talks about the federalism is one way of
solving the problem of the government to expanding the society. The traditional
level of imperialism that is by enlarging the areas of political control and
government by founding an empire has become an unpopular and ultravires with the
advancing of human civilization,. As a political situation, federalism is the
result of the political bargain in the situation which follows either the
collapse of an empire or which seeks to strengthen the enlarged political
society.
There is only merit of the political theory is that it represents federalism as
essentially a political situation to different situation that involves the
potency of political bargain.
Conclusion:
Review of these theories show us that they deal with one or the other and covers
the particular aspect of federalism but not all aspects. Therefore each theory
of federalism requires some validity and usefulness but in cases if we review
these some created and some of them were not. So, therefore to understand the
aspect of federalism we need some amount of usefulness in it.
A well judicious combination of the important elements of all these theories
call upon us to formulate a new definition which may be stated as political
system which creates in a society broadly two levels of government that is
centre and state which assigns powers and the functions.
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