India is a country with a rich and diverse political history, which has shaped its current system of government and society. India is a parliamentary democracy, where the people elect their representatives to the lower house of the legislature, called the Lok Sabha, and the upper house, called the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha has more power than the Rajya Sabha, as it can pass bills without the consent of the latter, except in some matters related to the federal structure of the country. The executive branch of the government is headed by the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party or coalition that has the majority in the Lok Sabha. The President of India is the nominal head of state, who is elected indirectly by an electoral college of members of the parliament and state legislatures. The President has mostly ceremonial powers, but can also exercise some emergency powers in times of crisis. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, and is headed by the Supreme Court, which has the power to interpret the Constitution and protect the fundamental rights of the citizens.
India’s politics is influenced by various factors, such as its colonial past, its cultural diversity, its social and economic inequalities, its regional aspirations, its religious and caste identities, and its international relations. India has a multi-party system, where several national and regional parties compete for power at the central and state levels. Some of the major national parties are the Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Aam Aadmi Party. Some of the major regional parties are the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Telugu Desam Party, the YSR Congress Party, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Shiv Sena, the National Democratic Alliance, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Janata Dal (United), the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Trinamool Congress, and the Biju Janata Dal. These parties have different ideologies, agendas, and support bases, and often form alliances or coalitions to gain or retain power.
India’s politics is also characterized by various issues and challenges, such as corruption, poverty, unemployment, education, health, environment, security, terrorism, communalism, separatism, federalism, and foreign policy. These issues often generate debates, protests, movements, and conflicts among different sections of the society and the political class. India’s politics is also influenced by the role of the media, the civil society, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, the military, and the external actors. India’s politics is dynamic and evolving, as it reflects the aspirations and grievances of its 1.3 billion people, who are the largest electorate in the world. India’s politics is also complex and fascinating, as it showcases the diversity and unity of the world’s largest democracy.
One of the most important aspects of India’s politics is the process of federalism, which defines the relationship between the central government and the states. India is a union of states, which are divided into 28 states and 8 union territories, each with its own government and constitution. The Constitution of India grants the central government the power to legislate on matters of national importance, such as defence, foreign affairs, currency, communication, and taxation. The states have the power to legislate on matters of local importance, such as public order, health, education, agriculture, and land. The Constitution also lists some concurrent subjects, such as criminal law, civil procedure, labour, and economic planning, on which both the central and state governments can legislate, but the central law prevails in case of a conflict. The Constitution also provides for the creation of autonomous regions within states, such as the Sixth Schedule areas in the northeast, where tribal communities have a degree of self-governance.
The federal structure of India has undergone several changes since independence, as the demands and aspirations of different regions and groups have emerged and evolved. One of the Congress Party’s long-standing resolutions had called for the reorganization of British provincial borders into linguistic states, where each of India’s major regional languages would find its administrative reflection, while English and Hindi would remain joint national languages for purposes of legislation, law, and service examinations. Pressure for such reorganization increased in 1953, after the former British province of Madras was divided into Tamil Nadu (“Land of the Tamils”) and Andhra (from 1956 Andhra Pradesh), where Telugu, another Dravidian tongue, was spoken by the vast majority. (Andhra Pradesh itself was divided in 2014, with the northern, Telugu-speaking portion being split off to become the new state of Telangana. Hyderabad [in Telangana] served as the capital of each state.) Nehru thus appointed the States Reorganisation Commission to redesign India’s internal map, which led to a major redrawing of administrative boundaries, especially in southern India, by the States Reorganisation Act, passed in 1956. Four years later, in 1960, the enlarged state of Bombay was divided into Marathi-speaking Maharashtra and Gujarati-speaking Gujarat1.
The creation of linguistic states was not without its challenges and controversies, as some regions and communities felt marginalized or discriminated by the dominant linguistic groups. For instance, the Kannada-speaking people of the former Mysore state demanded a separate state of Karnataka, which was granted in 1956, but the issue of the status of the city of Bangalore, which had a large Tamil population, remained unresolved. Similarly, the Punjabi-speaking people of the former Punjab state demanded a separate state of Punjab, which was granted in 1966, but the issue of the status of the city of Chandigarh, which was also claimed by the newly created state of Haryana, remained unresolved. Moreover, some regions and communities demanded statehood on the basis of their ethnic, cultural, or historical identities, rather than linguistic ones. For instance, the hill people of the former Assam state demanded a separate state of Nagaland, which was granted in 1963, but the issue of the integration of the Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Myanmar remained unresolved. Similarly, the people of the former princely states of Jammu and Kashmir demanded a separate state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was granted in 1957, but the issue of the accession of the state to India or Pakistan remained unresolved.
The federal structure of India has also been affected by the rise and fall of different political parties and coalitions at the central and state levels. Since independence, the Congress Party has been the dominant party in Indian politics, having ruled the central government for most of the time, and many state governments as well. However, the Congress Party has also faced several challenges and splits, both from within and outside. Some of the prominent leaders who left the Congress Party and formed their own parties or joined other parties are Subhas Chandra Bose, C. Rajagopalachari, Morarji Desai, Jagjivan Ram, Charan Singh, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh, Chandra Shekhar, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Some of the prominent parties that emerged as alternatives or rivals to the Congress Party are the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Aam Aadmi Party, and the regional parties mentioned above. The emergence of these parties and coalitions has led to the formation of various governments at the central and state levels, some of which have been stable and some of which have been unstable. Some of the notable governments that have been formed at the central level are the Janata Party government (1977-1979), the National Front government (1989-1990), the United Front government (1996-1998), the National Democratic Alliance government (1998-2004, 2014-present), and the United Progressive Alliance government (2004-2014).
The federal structure of India has also been influenced by the changing nature and scope of the central-state relations, which have been marked by both cooperation and conflict. The Constitution of India provides for various mechanisms and institutions to facilitate the coordination and consultation between the central and state governments, such as the Inter-State Council, the Finance Commission, the Planning Commission (later replaced by the NITI Aayog), the National Development Council, the Zonal Councils, and the National Integration Council. These mechanisms and institutions have played an important role in addressing the issues and challenges faced by the federal system, such as the allocation of resources, the implementation of policies, the resolution of disputes, and the promotion of national integration. However, these mechanisms and institutions have also been criticized for being inadequate, ineffective, or biased, as some states have felt that the central government has encroached upon their rights and autonomy, or has discriminated against them on the basis of political, regional, or ideological factors. Some of the issues and conflicts that have arisen between the central and state governments are the imposition of President’s rule, the use of Article 356, the role of governors, the formation of coalition governments, the sharing of river waters, the delimitation of constituencies, the reservation of seats, the grant of special status, the demand for autonomy, and the secessionist movements.
The federal structure of India is thus a complex and dynamic phenomenon, which reflects the diversity and unity of the country, as well as the challenges and opportunities of its development. The federal structure of India is also a living and evolving phenomenon, which adapts to the changing needs and
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