Discuss asymmetrical federalism in India. (2018, 15 Marks)
Charles D. Tarlton (“Symmetry and Asymmetry as Elements of Federalism”, 1965) argued that federal theory had wrongly assumed uniform units. In practice, social and economic differences make each unit relate differently to the whole. India, a “holding-together” federation in Alfred Stepan‘s terms, has made this asymmetry its principal method of accommodation.
Two kinds of asymmetry
Ronald L. Watts distinguished political (de facto) asymmetry, which arises from size, wealth and population, from constitutional (de jure) asymmetry in legal powers. India shows both.
Political asymmetry
- Uttar Pradesh sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha and 31 to the Rajya Sabha; Sikkim sends one to each. Seats follow population, not equality. Stepan calls this demos-enabling, unlike the equal-state US Senate.
- A north–south gap in income and demography feeds the transfer debate. The 16th Finance Commission (2026–31) retained the 2011 population but added demographic performance (10%) and a new contribution to GDP criterion (10%). Southern fears over delimitation are the same asymmetry in political form.
Constitutional asymmetry
- Art. 370 gave Jammu and Kashmir its own constitution and confined Parliament’s power. It was rendered inoperative in August 2019, and the state was split into two Union Territories. In Re: Article 370 (2023) upheld the move and directed statehood “at the earliest”, which has not been restored as of September 2026.
- Art. 371–371J make bespoke provisions:
- development boards for Vidarbha and Saurashtra (371);
- protection of Naga (371A) and Mizo (371G) customary law and land, where Parliament’s Acts apply only if the Assembly so resolves: a state veto;
- regional equity in employment and education in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (371D) and Hyderabad–Karnataka (371J).
- The Fifth Schedule, with PESA 1996, provides for Scheduled Areas. The Sixth Schedule creates ten Autonomous District Councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
- Union Territories vary: some have legislatures (Delhi, Puducherry, J&K) and some do not. Art. 239AA gives Delhi an elected government without police, public order or land. The GNCTD (Amendment) Act, 2023 reversed the Constitution Bench’s May 2023 ruling on services.
- Special Category Status arose from the 1969 Gadgil formula as an asymmetry of transfers, not of powers, and lapsed after the 14th Finance Commission. Bihar and Andhra Pradesh still demand it.
Accommodation or inequality?
For: asymmetry lets the Union concede to one region without conceding to all. Nagaland (1963), Sikkim (1975) and Mizoram (after the 1986 accord) were integrated this way, and Louise Tillin shows the federal map remains open to renegotiation.
Against:
- Concessions reward whoever presses hardest.
- Sixth Schedule councils are financially dependent, and state law prevails over theirs.
- Asymmetries survive at the Centre’s discretion. J&K’s status was ended unilaterally, and Ladakh’s unresolved Sixth Schedule demand, behind the Leh violence of September 2025, shows asymmetry denied rather than extended.
Conclusion
Asymmetry is how India holds together, part of what Granville Austin saw as a new kind of federalism fitted to India’s needs. Its legitimacy, however, depends on its being negotiated and entrenched rather than conceded or withdrawn at the Union’s discretion. Restoring J&K’s statehood and settling Ladakh’s demand are the present tests.