Consider the following four statements.
A. In a federation, the powers of the federal and provincial governments are clearly demarcated.
B. India is a federation because the powers of the Union and State Governments are specified in the Constitution and they have exclusive jurisdiction on their respective subjects.
C. Sri Lanka is a federation because the country is divided into provinces.
D. India is no longer a federation because some powers of the States have been devolved to the local government bodies.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
The Indian Constitution seeks to maintain the balance of power between the Centre and States by providing for a federal system of government. However, the term 'federation' has nowhere been used in the Constitution. Article 1 of the Indian Constitution describes 'India, that is Bharat' as a 'Union of States', an expression which implies two things. Firstly, the Indian federation is not the result of an agreement between the States. Secondly, the states do not have a right to secede from the federation. In fact, the States of the Indian federation have no independent existence of their own. Parliament can alter their names and territories without their consent.