Context:

• Federalism in India is facing multiple challenges, both minor and major, which require careful political negotiation.
• Issues such as delimitation, state representation, language disputes, and financial allocations have sparked tensions between the Centre and states.
• Additionally, structural issues like power distribution, administrative imbalances, and political dominance are impacting the federal structure.

Key Challenges in Indian Federalism:

• Regional representation and delimitation:
  • The issue of delimitation and balancing representation between North and South India remains a contentious topic.
  • Jammu and Kashmir still awaits the restoration of full statehood.
• Centre-State conflicts:
  • Tamil Nadu vs. Centre: Disputes over language and education policies.
  • Tamil Nadu accuses the Centre of withholding Samagra Shiksha funds and attempting to impose Hindi.
  • The Centre counters that Tamil Nadu is politicizing the National Education Policy (NEP).
  • States continue to express dissatisfaction over the Centre’s growing control over subjects like health and education, originally part of the State List.
• Horizontal and vertical imbalances:
  • There is an increasing gap in development across states, creating horizontal imbalances.
  • The division of power between the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists needs reconsideration.
  • Centralization of authority has been co-produced by both the Centre and states due to failures in governance.
• Political and administrative federalism:
  • The dominance of political parties affects the autonomy of states.
  • The anti-defection law has weakened legislative oversight, with political party structures superseding federal considerations.
  • National parties, while unifying different regions, sometimes override federal demands.
• Financial federalism and GST:
  • The Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework is a unique model where states collectively make binding decisions.
  • There is potential for extending such collective decision-making models to other domains, ensuring fair financial governance across states.
• Inter-State cooperation:
  • Current discussions on federalism often focus on Centre-State relations rather than State-to-State cooperation.
  • Issues like airshed management and water disputes require states to collaborate independently without Centre or judicial intervention.
  • The role of political parties further complicates independent state-level decision-making.

Conclusion

• Federalism in India remains a "messy affair" influenced by political, economic, and administrative complexities.
• While historically federalism has evolved through trial and error, modern challenges necessitate innovative solutions.
• The distinction between party politics and federal governance needs to be re-evaluated to ensure the autonomy and equitable development of all states.