Distinctive Features of Indian Federation - Chapter 2 Group 1 & Group 2

A typical federation ought to satisfy the following conditions:

(i) Division of powers
(ii) Supremacy of the Constitution
(iii) Written Constitution
(iv) Rigid Constitution
(v) Special judiciary
(vi) Dual polity

Now let us examine how and to what extent the Indian Constitution fulfills these tenets of federalism:

In Short the Distinctive Features of Indian Federation are –

(i) Division of powers: It is a union of 18 States and 10 Union Territories. The latter are administered by the Centre. The federal character extends to all the States. Distribution of the subjects of administration between the Centre and the Federating Units is an essential requisite of a federation.
The Indian Constitutional clearly makes this division of subjects. Three different lists have been brawn up, viz: The Union List, The State List and The Concurrent List.
Both the Union Government and the State Governments are autonomous and independent within the spheres of powers allotted to them by the Constitution. In the Union List, only the Parliament can make laws.
In the Concurrent List, both the Parliament and the State Legislatures make laws but in case of conflict, the Union Law prevails. In the State List, normally, the State legislatures make laws.

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Constitutional Development in India

In 1773, the British Parliament enacted the Regulating Act, 1773, whereby the Governor of Bengal was designated as the Governor-General and made the supreme head of all the Presidencies. At about the same time, the legislative power in the Presidencies was also recognized.

The Charter Act of 1833, provided for the addition of a fourth member to the Governor-General in Council for the sole purpose of Legislation, and concentrated all the legislative powers in the Governor-General-in Council. It deprived the local government (Presidencies) of their power of independent legislation. The Presidency Governments were authorised merely to submit drafts or projects of any laws regulations deemed expedient or necessary to the Governor-General-in Council.

The Charter Act of 1853, which marked the next stage in the evolution of the Legislatures, made the Law Member of the Governor- in-Council a full member and enlarged the Governor-General's Council for legislative purposes by the addition of the Chief Justice of Bengal, one other Supreme Court Judge and one paid representative of each Presidency or Governor's Province. In all the Governor-General-in Council consisted of 12 Members. This enlarged Council paved the way for establishing the first Legislative body in India . From 1833 to 1861, the Governor General in Council was the sole administrative as well as the Legislative authority.

The Indian Councils Act of 1861 constituted a great landmark in the growth and development of the Legislatures. The Act for the first time associated with the Governor-General's Executive Council and the Executive Councils of Madras and Bombay, a small number of additional members half of them being non-officials and provided for the addition of not less than six and not more than 12 nominated members to the Governor-General's Council and the functions of the new Legislative Council were limited wholly to legislation. This Act restored the legislative power taken away by the Charter of 1833. The Legislative Council of the Madras Presidency was given the power to make laws for the "peace and good government." The Council of the Governor of Madras was enlarged for the legislative purposes by the addition of the Advocate -General and four to eight adhoc members of whom atleast half were to be non-officials nominated by the Governor for a period two years. The Act thus sowed the seed for the future Legislative as an independent entity separate from the Executive Council. The Provincial Legislative Councils established were mere advisory bodies by means of which Government obtained advice and assistance. The Provincial Legislative Council could not interfere with the laws passed by the Central Legislature.

The next milestone in the evolution of the Legislatures was reached when the Indian Councils Act of 1892 was passed by which the number of additional members of the Central Legislature was raised to a maximum of 16 and the number of additional members of the Madras Legislative Council was raised to a maximum of 20, of which not more than nine had to be officials. Non-official Members were recommended by the district boards, universities, municipalities and other associations. This Act enlarged the functions of the Council in two respects, namely, the Council could discuss the annual financial statement and ask questions subject to certain limitation. Members were to hold office for two years.

The seed sown by the Act of 1861 was quickened into life by the Act of 1909, popularly known as Minto-Morely Reforms. The Act still further enlarged the Legislative Councils both of the Governor-General and of the provinces. It introduced for the first time the method of election, though not direct election, and thus helped to quicken into life the seed of representative institutions. It dispensed with official majorities in the Provincial Legislative Councils and gave them power to move resolutions upon matters of general public interest and also upon the Budget and to ask supplementary questions. The additional members of the Governor-General Council were increased from 16 to a maximum of 60 and those of the Madras Council from 20 to a maximum of 50. Thus the Act carried constitutional development a step further.

The Government of India Act of 1919, which embodied the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms is but the natural and inevitable sequel to the long chapter of previous Parliamentary Legislation on the introduction of Representative Government in India with Legislatures composed of elected representatives of the people. The most important feature of the Act was the introduction of the system of dyarchy in the Provinces. Subjects were classified as Central and Provincial and in regard to provincial matters a further division was made into "transferred subjects" administered by the Governor and his ministers responsible to the Legislative Council and "reserved subjects" administered by the Governor and his Executive Council. The Governor could override both the Ministers and the Executive Council. The proportion of elected members of the Provincial Legislative Council was raised to over 70 per cent. The Legislative power of the Council extended to Provincial matters only. Every law of the Provincial Legislature for its validity required the assent of Governor-General as well as the Governor. The Governor could not be a member of the Legislative Council, but he could address the members in the Legislative Council. The Governor appointed the Speaker of the Legislative Council for the first four years and thereafter the members of the Legislative Council elected the Speaker. However, the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Council was elected by the members of the Legislative Council and the appointment ratified by the Governor.

In the Centre, however, the principle of responsible Government was not introduced. The Central Legislature thereafter called the Indian Legislature was reconstituted on enlarged and more representative character. It consisted of the Council of State consisted of sixty members of whom 34 members were elected and the Legislative Assembly consisted of about 145 members, of whom about 104 were elected and the rest nominated. Of the nominated members about 26 were officials. The powers of both the Chambers of the Indian Legislature were identical except that the power to vote supply was granted only to the Legislative Assembly.

Although this Act brought about representative Government in India, the Governor was empowered with overriding powers. If he considered that any Bill, which was to be introduced or already introduced, would endanger the security or disturb peace and tranquility in any part of the province he could reject the bill. Similarly, if the members of the Legislative Council decided to reject a bill relating to the reserved subjects or the recommendations of the Governor, the Governor could certify that such a bill was very essential for the functioning of the Government and then the Bill was deemed to have obtained the sanction of the Legislative Council.

The Madras Legislative Council

The Madras Legislative Council was set up in 1921 under the Government of India Act 1919. The term of the Council was for a period of three years. It consisted of 132 Members of which 34 were nominated by the Governor and the rest were elected. It met for the first time on the 9th January 1921 at Fort St. George, Madras. The Council was inaugurated by the Duke of Cannaught, a paternal uncle of the King of England, on the 12th January 1921 on the request made by the Governor Lord Wellington. The Governor addressed the Council on the 14th February 1921. The Second and Third Councils, under this Act were constituted after the general elections held in 1923 and 1926 respectively. The fourth Legislative Council met for the first time on the 6th November 1930 after the general elections held during the year and its life was extended from time to time and it lasted till the provincial autonomy under the Government of India Act, 1935 came into operation.

Bi-Cameral Legislature

The Government of India Act 1935, marked the next great stride in the evolution of the Legislatures. The Act provided for an All-India Federation and the constituent units of the Federation were to be the Governor's Provinces, and the Indian States. The accession of the State to the Federation was optional. The Federal Legislature was to consist of two Houses, the House of Assembly called the Federal Assembly and the Council of States. The Federal Assembly was to consist of 375 members, 125 being representatives of the Indian States, nominated by the Rulers. The representatives of the Governor's provinces were to be elected not directly but indirectly by the Provincial Assemblies. The term of the Assembly was fixed as five years. The Council of State was to be a permanent body not subject to dissolution, but one-third of the members should retire every three years. It was to consist of 260 members. 104 representatives of Indian States, six to be nominated by the Governor-General, 128 to be directly elected by territorial communal constituencies and 22 to be set apart for smaller minorities, women and depressed classes. The two Houses had in general equal powers but demands for supply votes and financial Bills were to originate in the Assembly.

The Act established a bi-cameral Legislature in the Province of Madras as it was then called and provided for responsible Government subject to two limitations, namely, (1) special responsibilities were given to the Governor in regard to certain matters save as regards Finance and (2) certain matters were placed entirely outside ministerial control and within the absolute discretion of the Governor.

The Legislature consisted of the Governor and the two Chambers called the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Council was a permanent body not subject to dissolution but as nearly as one-third of the members thereon retired every three years. It consisted of not less than 54 and not more than 56 members composed of 35 general seats, 7 Mohammedan seats, 1 European seat, 3 Indian Christian seats, and not less than 8 and not more than 10 nominated by the Governor. The Legislative Assembly consisted of 215 members of which, 146 were elected from general seats of which 30 seats were reserved for Scheduled Castes, 1 for Backward areas and tribes, 28 for Mohammedans, 2 for Anglo-Indians, 3 for Europeans, 8 for Indian Christians, 6 for representatives of Commerce and Industry, etc., 6 for Landholders, 1 for University, 6 for representatives of labour, 8 women of which, 6 were general.

The Act made a division of powers between the Centre and the Provinces. Certain subjects were exclusively assigned to the Central or Federal Legislature, others to the Provincial Legislatures and in regard to another field, the two had concurrent powers.

The Federal structure contemplated in the Act did not come into being and so the Government of India Act, 1919, continued to be in force as far as the Central Legislature was concerned.

Although the Government of India Act was passed in 1935, only that part relating to the Provinces came into operation in 1937. The first Madras Legislative Assembly under this Act was constituted in July 1937 after general elections. The Congress party in the Legislature formed the Government. The Ministry however resigned in October, 1939 due to the proclamation of emergency on account of world war-II and the Legislature ceased to function. After the war was over, the General Elections were held in March, 1946 under the Government of India Act, 1935. The first Session of the Second Legislative Assembly under the Government of India Act, 1935 constituted in 1946, met on the 24th May 1946. After prolonged negotiations, the British transferred power under Lord Mountbatten Plan and the Indian Independence Bill was presented to the British Parliament on July 4th 1947 and was passed by the Parliament on July 18th 1947 and the transfer of power took place on 14/15 August, 1947.

The Indian Independence Act 1947, constituted the culmination of the origin and growth of the Indian Legislatures from modest expansions of the Executive Councils of the Governor-General and the Governors in the Provinces into separate sovereign legislative bodies. The Act created two independent Dominions in India known respectively as India and Pakistan. The paramountry of the British Crown lapsed and the power of the British Parliament to legislate for India ceased. The federal Legislature of India became sovereign and the power of the Legislature became exercisable by the Constituent Assembly which was not subject to any limitation whatsoever. Until the new Constitution was framed, the Government of India Act of 1935, subject to certain adaptations and modifications, remained the Constitutional Law of India. The Constitution of India came into force with effect from 26th January 1950 and the existing Legislature was allowed to function as provincial Legislatures.

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Important Terms in Indian History

Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khanan: He lived during the reign of Akbar. He translated Babur’s Memoirs from Turkish to Persian.
Abdussamad: He was hon­oured with the award of “zari­qalam” by Akbar.
Ages, Chronological order of: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic
Agrahara: Tax-free villages granted to the learned Brahmanas in ancient India were known as Agrahara.
Akot: is a town, about 42 km from Akola, from where a stone idol of Lord Adinath, the first Jain Teerthankara, was found in 1993.
Alien Powers in India, chronological sequence of: Indo-Greeks, Scythians, Kushanas, Huns.
Amarasimha: was one of the nine gems in the court of the legendary Vikramaditya. His work Amarkosha occupies a dominant position in Sanskrit lexicography.
Amoghavarsha-I: was the long ruling Rashtrakuta king (A.D. 814-78). He represented the height of development of his dynasty.
Asanga: was a Buddhist philosopher. He was the origi­nator of Buddhist Yogachara idealism.
Ashvaghosha: was the spiritual adviser of Kanishka (the Kushan emperor) who took a leading part in the Fourth Buddhist Council at Srinagar which was presided by Vasumitra. He was a renowned Mahayana Sanskrit scholar and author of Sariputra-prakarana and Buddha Charitam. He was the greatest literary figure at Kanishka’s court.
Atisa Dipankara: was the most famous teacher of Vikramasila university founded in A.D. 810 by king Dharmapala of Pala dynasty.
Battle of San Thomas: This battle during the Carnatic Wars (1746-61) definitely proved for the first time the superiority of European arms and discipline over the traditional Indian methods of warfare.
Battle of Waihand: was fought between Mahmud Ghaznavi and Anandpala.
Bhaskaravarman: was the king of Kamarupa (Upper Assam). He was a contempo­rary of king Sasanka of Gauda and was his arch-enemy. Bhaskaravarman was the east­ern ally of king Harsha.
Bilhana: was a Sanskrit historian and poet born in Kashmir. He left Kashmir about
A.D. 1065 and became the court poet at Kalyana where he wrote an epic, Vikramadeva-charita to celebrate the reign of Vikramaditya-VI, the Chalukya king of Kalyana.
Blue Water Policy: The “Blue Water” policy is attrib­uted to Don Francisco de Almeida, the first Viceroy of the Portuguese possessions in India. His “Blue Water” policy was to be powerful at the sea instead of building fortresses on Indian land.
Boghaz Koi inscriptions: are important in Indian history because inscriptions of the four­teenth century B.C. discovered here mention the names of Vedic gods and goddesses.
Brahmagupta: (598-660) of Ujjain, was a great mathemati­cian of his time.
Brahui: is a language of Baluchistan. Linguistically, it is Dravidian.
Busa Munda Revolt: occurred in Bihar.
Catching the butterflies and setting them free: was the prominent feature of the foreign policy of Samudragupta.
Chandernagore: was a French possession before its merger with India.
Charvaka: is known as the greatest of the materialistic philosophers of ancient India.
Chauth: was a tax levied by Marathas—a contribution exacted by a military leader, which was justified by the exi­gencies of the situation.
Coinage in Ancient India: Coins in ancient India were made of metal—copper, silver, gold, or lead. Nishka and Satamana in the Vedic texts were taken to be names of coins, but they seem to be only prestige objects. Coins made of metal first appeared in the age of Gautama Buddha. The earliest were made largely of silver though a few copper coins also appear. Coins made of burnt clay belong to the Kushan peri­od i.e., the first three Christian centuries.
Dadu: was the saint from Gujarat who preached non-sec­tarianism in medieval times. He founded the “Brahma-Sampardaaya” (the sect of Brahma).
Dahar (or Dahir): was the Brahmana king of Sind who was defeated by the Arab inva­sion in A.D. 712 by Mohammad­bin-Kasim, nephew and son-in­law of al-Hajjaj, governor of Irak. The Indian ruler (Dahar) offered a brave resistance in the battle near Raor but was defeat­ed and killed.
Darius: was the Iranian ruler who penetrated into north-west India in 516 B.C. and annexed Punjab, west of Indus, and Sindh.
Devapala: (A.D. 830-850) was successor to Dharmapala, the famous Pala ruler. He estab­lished the third important Pala university of Somapura. He shifted his capital to Monghyr from where he maintained diplomatic relations with the Sailendra kings of Sumatra.
Dhammapada: was the first major work to say that sal­vation by means of devotion is open to humans regardless of birth, gender or station in life.
Dharmachakra: In the Gandhara art, it is the preaching mudra associated with the Buddha’s First Sermon at Sarnath.
First Congress Split: took place in 1907 at Surat.
First metal used by man: Copper.
First Muslim invaders of India: Arabs were the first Muslim invaders of India.
First Sultan of Delhi: was Qutb-ud-din who succeeded Muhammad Ghuri as sovereign of the new Indian conquests, and from 1206 may be reckoned as the first Sultan of Delhi.
First to issue gold coins in India: Mauryas.
First to set up department of agriculture: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq was the first to set up a department of agriculture in India.
First to start sea trade with India: Portugal.
Gautamiputra Satakarni: was the great king of Satavahana dynasty.
Gayatri mantra: is con­tained in Rig Veda.
Gopuram: It has been the main feature of the South Indian temple architecture.
Hasan Gangoo: entitled Zafar Khan was founder of the Bahmani kingdom in Deccan.
Ibadat Khana: is a build­ing at Fatehpur Sikri where Akbar held discussions on reli­gious matters.
Ibn-Batuta: was a great scholar and traveller from South Africa who came to India in
A.D. 1333 during the reign of Mohammad Tughlak and wrote about him.
Iqta: It was the land-grant system adopted by Ala-ud-din Khilji to grant his officers as reward for services rendered. Qutabuddin Aibak was assigned the first iqta in India by Mohd of Ghor.
Jimutavahana: was a famous jurist of medieval India (fifteenth century). His work Dayabhaga is a commentary on the srutis, specially on Manu.
Kalachuri era: counted from A.D. 248, it was mostly current in Central India. Their capital was Tripuri near Jabalpur. Kalachuris were the feudatories of the Pratiharas but soon acquired independence.
Karshapana: was the most commonly used coin in the Chola kingdom.
Khiraj: was the land tax imposed by Mohd-bin-Qasim after the Arabs’ occupation of Sind.
Magazines started by National leaders: Young India (M.K. Gandhi); Kesari (B.G. Tilak); New India (Annie Besant); Bengali (S.N. Bannerji).
Maski Rock edict: This minor Rock-edict is the only edict in which Ashoka refers to himself as the king of Magadha.
Moplah Rebellion: broke out in Malabar (Kerala) in August 1921.
Nastaliq: was a Persian script used in medieval India.
Nauroj festival in India: Balban introduced the famous Persian festival of Nauroj in India.
Nicolo Conti: was the Italian foreign traveller who vis­ited Vijayanagar about A.D. 1420 during the reign of Deva Raya-II.
Palas: who controlled most of Bengal and Bihar, was the third power involved in the three-sided conflict between Rashtrakutas and Pratiharas over the control of Kanauj. Pala dynasty was established by Gopala in the eighth century A.D. He attained renown from the fact that he was not hereditary king but was elected.
Paragana: During the rule of the so-called Slave dynasty in India, the empire was divided into provincial units called Paraganas placed under the charge of a military officer.
Prakrit: This language received royal patronage during the reign of Satavahanas.
Rajsekhar: was the Sanskrit poet who lived in the court of Mahendrapala-I.
Ratika: or rati is a weight between 1.5 to 3 Gunjas; between 5 to 8 grains of rice. It was the basic weight (measure) in ancient India.
Ratnakara: denoted the Arabiasn Sea in ancient Indian historical geography.
Rishabha: is supposed to be the mythical founder of Jainism.
Sardeshmukhi: was an additional levy of 10%, which Shivaji demanded on the basis of his claim as the hereditary Sardeshmukh (chief headman) of Maharashtra.
Shahrukh: It was silver coin of the Mughals. Sharada script: The Kashmiri language was origi­nally written in Sharada script.
Subuktigin: was the first Turkish invader of India.
Tanka: was a silver coin of the Sultanate period of India.
Tehqiq-i-Hind: Alberuni’s work on India. It contains obser­vations on Indian civilization which are remarkably incisive and acute.
Turushkadanda: was a tax collected by the Gahadavalas during the early medieval India.
Vagbhata: is regarded as unrivalled in his knowledge of the basic principles of Ayurveda.
Vatapi (or Badami): now in the Bijapur district of Karnataka, where Pulakesin I, founder of the Chalukya dynasty in the middle of the sixth century, established him­self as lord of Vatapi or Badami (capital of Chalukyas). It is well-known for Chalukyan sculpture found in the cave temples here.
Vidushaka: the constant companion and confidant of the hero in Sanskrit dramas, was nearly always a Brahmin.
Vikramasila University: was a great Tantrik University founded by the Pala king Dharmapala in A.D. 810. It was a hotbed of moral corruption, sorcery and idolatry. In A.D. 1198, the soldiers if Ikhtiar Khilji raised the structure to the ground and killed every monk in the University.
Wood's Despatch of 1854: It related to educational reforms. Lord Dalhousie took measures to carry out the scheme embodied in the famous despatch of Sir Charles Wood (July 1854) which embraced ver­nacular schools throughout the districts, and above all the glori­ous measures of grants-in-aid to all schools, without reference to caste or creed.
Yakshagana: was the south Indian dance tradition that appeared for the first time in the Vijayanagar period.
Zabti System: was intro­duced by Akbar for land rev­enue administration. In Zabti system, land was measured and assessment of land revenue was based upon it.

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