PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Indian Federalism
Does the actual working of Indian federalism conform to the centralizing tendencies in Indian polity? Give reasons for your answer.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
rR) federal in form, but Centre-tilted by design → actual working confirms the tilt R2 Wheare's "quasi-federal" → Partition / integration / secession / uneven development explain the strong Union
Body flow
constitutional bias (residuary powers, Union List, emergency, Art. 356, Governor, boundary power under Arts. 2-3) → political centralisation (Kothari → one-party dominance; Indira era misuse of 356, Emergency, Governor) → fiscal centralisation (GST, CSS, conditional grants; Govinda Rao on cesses/surcharges) → administrative centralisation (AIS, central agencies, Governor's discretion; Mehta's "vanishing act")
Counter-view
conformity not complete → Bommai limits 356, judiciary guards basic structure → Morris-Jones's bargaining federation → coalition politics + regional parties + GST Council bargaining
Conclusion routes
Rr! conforms, but not wholly → federal spirit stressed, not destroyed R2 dynamic balance of centralisation and federal resistance
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
