The Indian federation under Narendra Modi today is vastly different from the “union of states” imagined by the constituent assembly.
There are many aspects to this. Take the growing marginalisation of Parliament and the defiant refusal of the union government to consult with opposition leaders and chief ministers on important matters. The latest blow was the aborted attempt to thrust on the country a constitutional amendment enabling a countrywide delimitation of parliamentary constituencies and the possible reduction of seats in southern states.
Take the weak and uncertain defence of constitutional rights by the judiciary. Take the deployment of every institution including most recently the Election Commission to interrogate their citizenship. Take the conversion of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA from a guarantee of the right to work guaranteed by the centre to a discretionary grant from the centre with major budgetary burdens on the states; and the repackaging of welfare schemes such as of food and housing from rights to the largesse of the prime minister. Take the questionable tactics of coming to power in the majority of states at all costs. Take the surge of crony capitalism. Take the criminalising of dissent. All of these have profoundly shaken democracy and India's federal character.
Federal institutions like...
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