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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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10/15
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
This content downloaded from 210.212.129.125 on Sat, 1 Nov 2014 06:36:00 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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.jsp8/10/2019 Nehru and Indian Federalism
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.