Fresh Stirrings On Federalism As A New Politics

Context: Though Indian federalism is witnessing worsening trends, there are factors, if harnessed well, can create a political moment for a principled politics of federalism.

Issues in Indian federalism

• Continuing Administrative and Fiscal Centralisation: For e.g. -  

• • Vaccine wars.
  • Heated debates over Goods and Services Tax (GST).
  • Personnel battles like fracas over West Bengal’s Chief Secretary.
  • Pushback against controversial regulations in Lakshadweep.
  • Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Assam - Observed homogenising ideological project creating new forms of cultural alienation and associated regional tensions.

• Nationalism and Development over federalism: 

• • The idea of becoming  ‘one nation, one market’, ‘one nation, one ration card’, ‘one nation, one grid’ is fostered.
  • While federalism is claimed to be risky, being equated with regionalism and a narrow parochialism that is anti­development and anti­national.
  • Regional parties have failed to uphold principles of decentralisation even in their own backyard.

• The politics of federalism has remained contingent rather than principled:

• • Over the de­ cades, federal principles have been bent in all kinds of ways to co­produce a political culture of flexible federalism — “federalism for me, but not for thee”.
  • Federalism is reduced to a game of political upmanship and remains restricted to a partisan tussle rather than a regions’ genuine demand for accommodation.

• Divide among states: Due to increased economic and governance divergence between States.

• • Across all key indicators, southern (and western) States have outperformed much of northern and eastern India, resulting in a greater divergence rather than expected convergence with growth.
  • Collective action among States becomes difficult as their demands and aspirations vary. 
  • E.g. Difference in opinion (Southern states feared being penalised for successfully controlling population growth) in usage of 2011 Census rather than 1971 Census to determine revenue share across States by 15th Finance Commission.

• Worsening fiscal management: Weak fiscal management by Union, squeezing revenue from States by increasing cesses or giving GST compensation as loans and pandemic-induced economic crisis.
  
  
• Nature of regional politics by itself: The politics of regional identity is isolationist by its very nature.

Way forward: 

• Principled fiscal management: Richer states must find a way of sharing burden with poorer States.
• States will have to show political maturity: To make necessary compromises if they are to negotiate existing tensions and win the collective battle with the Union.
• Develop an inter-State platform: That brings states together in a routine dialogue on matters of fiscal federalism could be the starting point for building trust and a common agenda.
• Beyond principles, a renewed politics of federalism is also an electoral necessity: No coalition has succeeded, in the long term, without a glue that binds it. Forging a political consensus on federalism can be that glue.