Question

Though unitary in spirit, India practises federalism in the way the country is governed. Substantiate the statement by citing relevant arguments.​

• Or

Discuss the unitary and federal features of the Constitution of India.

Answer 1

Solution:
The term quasi-federal means a federal set-up where despite having two clear sets of government – central and the states, more powers are given to the Central Government. It refers to a government system where the powers between the Center and the state are unequal. India is a federation with a unitary bias and is referred to as a quasi-federal state because of its strong central machinery.

The federal and unitary features of the constitution are discussed below.

Federal Features	Unitary Features
Supremacy of the Constitution The Constitution is the supreme law of the land in India.	Single Constitution In a true federation, the union and the states have a separate constitution. However, India has a single constitution that is applicable at both, the union and the state level.
Dual government polity ​ The legislative powers of the union and state governments are clearly ​divided between the Union, State, ​and Concurrent lists.	Uneven division of power In India, the central government has been given more legislative powers as compared to the ​ state governments.
Rigid constitution The Indian constitution is largely rigid. The provisions of Centre-State relations can be amended only by the joint actions of the Parliament and ​state legislatures.	Not strictly rigid constitution ​On many subjects, in terms of constitutional amendments, ​the Parliament does not require ​the approval of the state legislatures.
Independent judiciary The constitution provides for an independent judiciary which works without any external and undue interference.	Proclamation of emergency During a national emergency, the central government has greater control over the state governments.