Rethinking Indian Federalism

In the fiftieth year of our sovereign existence as a modern state, it is critically significant for us to rethink our federal polity and plural society in order to design a Federal India which can successfully combine `Federalism' and `pluralism' in the institutional framework of `self rule plus shared rule'. Pluralism and Federalism now appear as the two essential principles for organizing heterogeneous societies into a viable pattern of political sharing of power, by reconciling the twin processes of political unification and social diversity; of commonality for certain purposes and specificities for others. In its praxis, federalism builds and sustains the unity of polity and simultaneously preserves and promotes the plurality of society. It is from this perspective, and ideological premises of federal nation, participatory democracy, secularism and social justice that we should re-examine our federal polity and plural society.

The book broadly reflects upon the following macro rubrics of Indian Federalism -- quest for a new federal identity, and recasting centre-state relations in order to build a more equipoised and cooperative federal polity; socio-cultural pluralism and their accommodation and harmonization within federal polity and society. In this exercise the critical relevance of secularism and composite culture has been examined; and, India being a multi-regional federation, the problems of regionalism and federation, the problems of regionalism and territorialization of federal polity have also been examined. Formulations on macro themes have been supplemented by certain micro-studies (case-studies) of specific issues concerning the problems of federal nation-building.

Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla: 1997
ISBN 81-85952-50-7 Rs.350/-

Contents:

1. Federalism in India:A Quest for New Identity - Rasheeduddin Khan
2. Towards a Federal India:A Conceptual Exploration and an Empirical Explication. - T. K. Oommen
3. Federalism in Multi-cultural Societies: Issues for Consideration. - Harish K. Puri
4. Ecology, Regional Differentiation and Cultural Synthesis:Rethinking India's Cultural Pluralism. - Aijazuddin Ahmad
5. Real Issues of Indian Federalism. - P.R. Dubhashi
6. Coordinating Pluralism:The Federal Experience in India. - Amal Ray
7. The Importance of Article 356 in Centre-State Relations in India:A Critical Review of its Use and Misuse. - Arshi Khan
8. Reflection on Cooperative Federalism and Its Relevance for India. - Nalini Pant
9. Secular Democracy and Challenges of Communalism - Sandeep Shastri
10. Implication of the Concept and Ramification fo Hindutva in the Process of Federal Nation-Building. - Kumar Suresh
11. Caste, Politics and Indian Federation - S.K. Chaube
12. Regionalism, Alienation and Federation. - A.S. Narang
13. Centrifugalism in the Indian Federalism:A Sociological Study. - Pradeep Kumar
14. Jharkhand Movement:Assertion of Socio-Culture Identity and the Demand for a Separate State. - Ajay Kumar Singh
15. Uttar Pradesh and Federal Balance in India - Rasheeduddin Khan

RETHINKING INDIAN FEDERALISM