India's Federal System: A Comparison to American Federalism on Independence Day

As we celebrate our 80th Independence Day today, the question that comes to mind is, what position do we stand in as a country? What has been the relationship between the two major centres of power - the Centre and the states? What is the current position? If we talk about the American system, the biggest difference between Indian and American federalism is the balance of power between the Centre and the states. In both, power sharing is between the Centre and the states, but there is a big difference in the constitutional structure and political behaviour of both. However, Indian federalism has been considered to be strongly centrally oriented from the beginning. For example, subjects such as defence, foreign policy, currency, and communications are with the Centre. Many important subjects such as police, public order, and health fall under the jurisdiction of the states. Despite this, there has been a long history of conflict between the Centre and the states over the exercise of powers, financial resources, the role of the governor, and the powers to impose President's rule in the states. To overcome this, the Supreme Court and the Justice Commission on the former government were formed in 1983.