Challenges to Cooperative federalism in India

Best Citation – Komal Chauhan, Challenges to Cooperative federalism in India, 3 IJLR 66, 2022.

ABSTRACT

All democratic governments depend on statutory principles for their continued existence and expansion. In multi-cultural societies, the growing relevance of decentralization of authority cannot be ignored if the government is consistently committed to the freedom of all community groups. A democratic government can only use coercive force against its citizens to a limited extent, although the threat may be substantial. Therefore, governments should work with marginalized and sectarian groups to prevent their citizens from perceiving state authority as a threat. The objective is to avert any threat to the nation’s very survival, and the government should intervene with solutions that benefit all segments of society. Consequently, cooperative federalism is becoming increasingly vital to the functioning of modern state governments. In cooperative federalism, the Centre and the state maintain a horizontal relationship in which they cooperate for the greater good of the citizens. It is a crucial device that allows states to participate in the formulation and implementation of national policy. As the Centre and the states are required by the constitution to cooperate on matters specified in Schedule VII, this research paper attempts to assess the extent to which cooperative federalism has been ingrained in the Indian constitution from its inception. The paper thus attempts to identify the various challenges faced by the Indian federal system and to discuss the judiciary’s role in resolving these issues.

Keywords: Federalism, Cooperation, challenges, India Constitution, Centre-State