Advanced International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research

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Federalism, Pluralism, and Indian Democracy: A Critical Perspective

Author(s) Dr. Kyasaram Kishtaiah
Country India
Abstract India is the world’s most populous democracy and among its most plural, yet its Constitution describes it as a “Union of States” rather than a federation, and its federal practice has oscillated between centralisation and negotiated accommodation. This paper critically examines how federalism and pluralism have interacted in Indian democracy since 1950. Drawing on constitutional texts, Finance Commission reports, Census of India data and landmark Supreme Court judgments, and situating the analysis in comparative federal theory, it argues that India is best understood as a “holding-together” federation with a strong unitary bias, which has nonetheless accommodated diversity through three mechanisms: the linguistic reorganisation of states, asymmetric constitutional provisions, and coalition-era bargaining. The paper then shows that these accommodations are under strain from fiscal centralisation, contested gubernatorial powers, the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, language politics and the looming question of delimitation. It concludes that the resilience of Indian democracy depends less on formal constitutional change than on restoring the conventions of cooperative federalism, strengthening independent intergovernmental institutions, and treating plurality as a constitutive value rather than a threat to national unity.
Keywords federalism; pluralism; Indian democracy; Centre–State relations; asymmetric federalism; fiscal federalism; linguistic reorganisation; cooperative federalism
Discipline Other
Published In Volume 2, Issue 3, May-June 2024
Published On 2024-06-04
DOI https://doi.org/10.62127/aijmr.2024.v02i03.1531
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