Developments in Indian Federalism: 2005–2007

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The subject matter of this paper, in general, is federalism in India. Three recent instancesof the impact of Article 356*the ‘Emergency Provisions’*are analyzed to study twoquestions. How is federalism affected when different political parties are in power in theStates and at the federal level, and does the current coalition government’s experiencehelp or hinder federalism? As to the first question, the two States of Jharkhand and Bihar,with particular emphasis on the latter, in the aftermath of the 2005 elections areexamined. In both cases, it was blatant federal intervention that led to the dismissal ofthe duly elected governments in these States solely on political considerations and theadvice of the Governors who were appointed by the federal government. The third isthe case of the State of Uttar Pradesh where in 20062007 an attempted use of thisArticle was thwarted by the Election Commission. As to the second question, the use orthe very threat of using Article 356 to dismiss duly elected State governments under thepressure of coalition partners at the Centre does not augur well for constitutionalgovernment or coalitions, and certainly not for federalism. In any case, Indian federalismlives up to the moniker as pointed out by C. H. Alexandrovictz that it is sue generis.