Issue 51 Vol III, November 15, 2007

A N A L Y S I S

Federalism
Gobind Thukral

India this week hosted an international conference on federalism in which 400 delegates from 26 counties participated. It should be considered a laudable step, particularly for a country as a multicultural, multi lingual and multi ethnic as India. It is beset as we all realise so painfully with unresolved problems. We have neither a unitary form of government for which there had been both subtle and brute attempt nor a truly federal construction. There has been much discord, bloodshed and hatred for the past six decades. We can ignore issues like ethnic assertions and economic aspirations in states like Kashmir, Nagaland, Assam and even Punjab. Thousands of innocent lives have perished and property worth billions lost.

At the outset, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh made pointed observations. He found, “Sometimes, the resolution of problems acquires an excessively political hue, and narrow political considerations, based on regional or sectional loyalties and ideologies can distort the national vision and sense of collective purpose.”

He  also wondered whether a coalition government at the national level - formed by parties with varying national reach - was capable of providing the unity of purpose that was needed to govern a country Or was it an essential outcome of federalism that successfully projects local aspirations at a national level. He asked, “This political dimension of the Centre state relations is yet another challenge facing a federal polity like ours." Or is a multi-party model, with national parties dominating the political scene, superior…where one can hope that all of them will take a national view on policy issues and help to reinforce the unity of the federation." In theory management of Centre-state relations should be smoother in a multi-party model. "However; the Indian experience suggests that even in this sort of world, the management of Centre-state relations can give rise to serious tensions."  He also debated if Centre-state ties can be smoother under a single party system. 'A major challenge for large federations is that of inter-regional disparities. Reducing such disparities is essential for the success of a federation. Dr Manmohan Singh can find an answer to his question as the Center state relations were appalling under the one party rule, the Congress Party.

The prime minister also cited water sharing between states as a major challenge to 'federalism' in India, saying it was becoming easier to arrive at water sharing agreements with neighbouring countries than to manage river water disputes between various states. 'It is perhaps no exaggeration to say that we have found it easier to manage bilateral agreements with neighbours on river water sharing than domestic disputes between states.'' He was referring to the contentious issues of water sharing between Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south and the dispute between Punjab and Haryana is the north. But why was he silent about the central role like a monkey among the states who were constantly treated like cats. Accept the internationally recognised riparian principle and problems are solved. Much of the mischief lies with the office of the prime ministered his Congress Party. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday regional loyalties or ideologies some- times could distort the national agenda and the sense of collective purpose. This comes in the wake of the Left parties opposing the operationalisation of the India-US civilian nuclear agreement. "Sometimes, the resolution of problems ac- quires an excessively political hue, and narrow political considerations, based on regional or sectional loyalties and ideologies can distort the national vision and sense of collective purpose," Singh said in his inaugural address at the fourth International Conference on Federal- ism attended by 400 delegates from 26 countries. Singh also wondered whether a coalition government at the national level - formed by parties with varying national reach - was capable of providing the unity of purpose that was needed to govern a country Or was it an essential outcome of federalism that successfully projects local aspirations at a national level, he asked. "This political dimension of the Centre- state relations is yet an- other challenge facing a federal polity like ours," he said. The PM also wondered whether Centre-state relations could be conducted better under a single party system. "Or is a multi-party model, with national parties dominating the political scene, superior.. where one can hope that all of them will take a national view on policy issues and help to reinforce the unity of the federation," he said. In theory, Singh said, management of Centre-state relations should be smoother in a multi-party model. "However; the Indian experience suggests that even in this sort of world, the management of Centre-state relations can give rise to serious tensions," he said and cit- ed water disputes as a major challenge. Sometimes, the resolution of problems acquires an excessively political hue, and narrow political considerations... can distort the national vision, says Singh. The PM also debated if Contro-state ties can be smoother under a singlo- party system.

Indian experience in creating true federation of states has been very painfully indeed. Right at the point when the constitution was being drafted, there were heated debates. Finally a middle course was struck with the central list of subjects, concurrent and the state lists. Over the years, the center, first under hegemonic Congress rule usurped more and more powers, leaving states paralysed without sufficient funds to undertake promised development. The central list kept expanding and much from the states list was either pushed to the central list or to the concurrent list. There is no autonomous sphere left for the states.  Centre has all the crucial powers and total economic leverage. Most elastic resources of revenue; income tax, corporate and capital tax, excise tax and other duties are with the union. It is unlike in Canada and America. Canada has even right to succeed from the federation. But over the years despite referendum, there had been no such case.

If we look at the creation of states on the basis of language and geographic continuity, we suffered as the central government under the Congress ran away from its promise. People and parties struggled hard to create states like Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. What Indian political class lacked was the confidence that India can not break if it was made a true federation with full autonomy for the states to develop.

System of proportional representation is one answer towards a different form of federalism in our parliamentary system. Those who come to power at the Centre in the first-past-the-post system are dodgy about reforms that would take away their leverage in coalition governments thrown up by fractured mandates. Real federalism means much more than reducing the power of the Centre. It also means devolution of power to the last unit, the panchayats.

Not political parties believe and accept the core principles of a coalition so as to ensure representative democracy in a full federal sense. These are only oppositionist alliances and should not shock our prime minister who leads one such arrangement. Also Indian political parties are authoritarian and resistant to decentralisation of power and authority. National level parties seek unitary form as their turf is larger and regional parties are more so because their turf is smaller. They also safeguard it fanatically, and tyrannically.

Listen to former President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who advocated a region-oriented approach to development in a federal set-up.  He pleaded that developmental schemes and solutions to problems need to be region-based, because our resources, climate and terrain are region-based with unique cultures of regions. The states should work to their core competence and complement one another.  Similarly Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee found democratic governments better equipped to maintain a cohesive policy amidst diverse interests and priorities.

Akali Dal leaders, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and Cooperation Minister Capt. Kanwaljit Singh need to be taken seriously when they say that conclave of political patties should review the  constitution  to make it a truly federal to fulfill regional and minority aspirations. Kanwaljit Singh feels sad over the consistent encroachment on the rights of the states by the Union Government.

Sadly Dr Manmohan Singh, a leader who has never been elected to parliament or state assembly and himself came to power because of what he bemoans as fractured verdict, provides no answer to the questions he has raised. It is time to follow earnest what justice Ranjit Singh Sarkaria recommended and amend the constitution. All the Left parties, the Akali Dal, the DMK and a dozen odd other parties support. India is no longer a monopoly of one political party or one particular ideology. We have to learn to manage diversities and move forward. There is no place for bogus slogans of national unity and integrity to capture more and more political and economic space.

BACK

Sonia’s China Trip: Will India Turn East?
Swaraj Singh

Sonia Gandhi was very impressed by the progress made by China and said that India has a lot to learn from China on economic reforms. She described the pace of change in China as truly astounding and outstanding. However, will India give up its pro-Western policies and start looking to the East remains to be seen.

Addressing the School of Public Policy of Management of Tsinghua University, a meeting organized by the International Department of the Communist Party of China, she said that pragmatism and mutual self-interest are the laws for the future development of the relationship.

She said that the world today recognized the Asian renaissance and the reemergence of China and India, and the two countries must work and prosper together as the world is big enough to accommodate the growth and aspirations of both of the nations. She praised the Chinese pragmatism, clarity of vision, and determination of efforts.

She said that China and India were not merely catching up with the developed world, but will actually surpass them in the coming decade, when China will become the largest and India will become the third largest economy of the world. She said that as in China, India focused on balanced economic development to ensure growth with social welfare and justice. She said that both countries sought an open and inclusive world order based on the principles of Panchsheel.

She said that both countries must be guided by the vision that dialogue and partnership must be pursued with consistency and focused effort. She also said that there was peace and tranquility on the border and outstanding issues relating to the boundary question were being discussed in a comprehensive manner by the special representatives of the two countries.

She stressed that the relations between China and India went beyond commerce. She said that it was a relationship between two civilizations rather than two trading partners or two nations. She said that the two countries must strengthen their cultural ties. She said that the educational institutions, media, tourism, industries, and business sectors of both nations should intensify their efforts to bridge the information gap so that they no longer retain stereotyped images of each other.

She said that more frequent interactions between the scholars and intellectuals and joint projects can become visible and powerful symbols of bilateral cooperation. The areas of cooperation include education, public health, science and technology, and local governance. She said that she saw only one possibility between the two countries, that of coexistence with cooperation.

She was given a rousing welcome by the Chinese. Hu Jintao, the President of China and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, as well as Wen Jiabao, the Prime Minister of China, welcomed her in the Great Hall of People in Beijing. The Chinese leaders emphasized that they wanted to strengthen the strategic partnership with India.

While Sonia was in China, a report was issued by the Ministry of Commerce during the ongoing 102nd China Import and Export Commodities Fair that the total volume of China’s foreign trade may exceed $2.1 trillion. This is up 20% over last year. The foreign direct investment also rose 10.9% year on year. According to the report, China’s trade volume would top $2.4 trillion in 2008, up by around 15%.

We continue to hear the dollar’s slide against the Euro, collapse of the housing market, and talks of recession in America. It should be very clear to India that the two major trends of the contemporary world are: Rise of the East and Decline of the West. However, India is still hesitating in giving up its pro-Western tilt. India is still trying to salvage the nuclear treaty with America and has risked the oil pipeline treaty with Iran, even though oil is the major source of energy for India and the nuclear component contributes less than 3% of its total energy needs.

[Swaraj Singh M.D. F.I.C.S is Chairman, Washington State Network for Human Rights]

BACK

Trilateral Alliance with Russia and China India’s Only Option
Swaraj Singh

THE Indian Prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has just concluded his visit to Russia. This is an event of great historical importance.  Russia and China are now very close allies. President Putin made it clear to Dr. Manmohan Singh that he would like to see a trilateral alliance of Russia, China and India. President Putin feels that this is the only way to restore balance of power in the world. This is the only alliance that can balance the unmatched power of the only super power in the world, the USA.

Russia has been the only country that has proved to be the most reliable friend of India over the last 60 years.  One can only see the voting pattern in the United Nations, Russia and India are the two countries that have voted together and against the USA most of the time.

Russia has been the most important country to support India’s defense. Russia still is the largest supplier of weapons to the Indian army.  After the fall of the Soviet Union, India tried to tilt to the West. However, India could never get deals from the Western countries such as it got from Russia.  Russia always treated India as the equal but the West has never treated India as the equal.

The Western countries main interest in India is to use India against China. This can prove extremely risky for India. Not only India is no match for China but also India can end up losing its most trusted friend, Russia.  Russia sees China as the only country that can stand up against the Western domination and hegemony.

India should understand that with Russia and China united, the balance of power has already shifted to the east. Even if India joins the Western alliance, it will be unable to shift the power. India will be going against the fundamental interests of its people as well as people of Asia and third world. The consequences of India’s alliance with the West can be disastrous for India therefore; the only sane option for India is to take Russia’s advice and join the trilateral alliance of Russia, India and China.

Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit proved to be a great success.  India and Russia have decided to strengthen their economic as well as military ties. The two countries signed agreement to jointly develop a military transport craft and start a joint mission to the moon. Russia wants to supply more than a 120 fighter planes to India and both countries are collaborating on the next generation of fighter planes.

Russia and India are also increasing cooperation in the energy sector. They are working on an agreement that would allow Russia to build four nuclear reactors in India. Russia is already involved in building a nuclear power plant in India.

During this visit they were able to break the chill between the relations and restore the traditional warmth in the relationship.

[Swaraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. Chairman, Washington State Network for Human Rights]

BACK