Adv. Taniya Salim, LLM in Constitutional and Administrative Law, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India
“Federalism isn’t about states’ rights, it’s about dividing power to better protect individual liberty” – Elizabeth Price Foley
ABSTRACT
India is a country with a huge federal structure even though there are differences of opinion among various eminent jurists and political thinkers. Indian federalism is a dynamic system. It has changed over time to become mostly a parliamentary system. The Union of India is permanent and indestructible under the Indian Constitution, which has federalism as one of its fundamental principles. As independent institutions that cooperate and coordinate, the Centre and the States must exercise their respective authority in a spirit of respect, cooperation, and understanding. The Indian Constitution's drafters were proponents of federalism as a practical tool for building an Indian nation and a powerful, united states. Articles 245 to 263 of the Indian Constitution provide the legal framework for federalism, a key component of our democratic system. The aforementioned provisions clearly define the legislative, administrative, and financial functions that fall under the purview of the Centre and the State. The Constitution's 7th Schedule is separated into three lists: the Union List, State List, and Concurrent List, which provide full information on the legislative authority of the Parliament and the State Assemblies. Despite such obvious differences, the problem of Centre-State disagreements has persisted over time. These disagreements occur when the Centre passes any additional laws that have an impact on the State's legal or constitutional rights or when the Centre encroaches into the State's authority by passing laws on issues that are on the State list.
Keywords: Federalism, Centre-State Relation, Indian Federal Structure, Central laws & State laws, Repugnancy
