German lessons for Indian federalism

It was the Autumn Revolution, a popular uprising in 1989, that led to a bow-out of the East German Government and the fall of the 140-km-long Berlin Wall surrounding West Berlin. At that moment, half a century of Cold War division came to an end.

I recall those icy cold winter days when I had just moved to Europe. For leaders of the unified Germany, they seemed truly challenging. One leader who stands tall is the Federal Chancellor, Mr Helmut Kohl. He deserves great credit and will be remembered as the chancellor who brought German unification.

Among several other issues like cultural integration of ‘DDR-Menschen' (East Germans) with the West at that time, a foremost area of Chancellor Kohl's focus was the operation of federalism in a unified Germany. That essentially involved a massive constitutional reform concerning fiscal federalism and devolution of more powers to the ‘Laender' (States).

The Laender had also been concerned about the growing interference by Brussels in their affairs. As a result of vast changes in their Constitution, the German States strengthened their position in relation to the federal government and the European Union.

Today, the 16 federal States in Germany have substantial authority. Their citizens elect their own parliaments, who then choose their own State governments, headed by veritable Prime Ministers.

Significantly, these politicians exert legitimate political power. They are responsible for all affairs pertaining to regional taxation, local governance, internal security, the media and so forth. In addition, the Laender has a significant say in national affairs.

Germany has a bicameral legislature like that in India. But the members of the Bundesrat (the Upper House) represent specific regions. In legislative practice, a majority in the Bundesrat has the right to obstruct all laws that directly or indirectly affect the interests of the regions.

This mechanism has effectively protected the States against intrusion of their Constitutional rights by the Central Government.

Although Germany has had successful grand coalitions of the two largest parties — the Christian Democrats (together with the Bavarian CSU) and the Social Democrats — the governing coalitions have never bowed down to the whims of partners in the name of ‘coalition dharma' on issues of national interest.

Indian Federalism

As in every other representative democracy, state power in Germany is channelled into the executive, the legislative and the judicial branches of government. But it is also distributed vertically between the nation or federation and its regions, the States, where a horizontal division of power is reproduced.

In Germany, France and Switzerland, it was the pre-existing sovereign States, Provinces and Cantons that decided to form a confederation. The Indian States, on the contrary, have remained the effects, rather than the cause of, the Indian federation. The approach taken to make the Indian federation was top-down rather than bottom-up.

It is for this reason that the Indian Constitution calls India “a Union of States,” not a federation. Except for the Preamble, the term ‘federation' has nowhere been used in the Constitution. The Indian federation, constitutionally speaking, is an ‘eternal' union of re-organisable States.

‘Work-in-Progress'

For almost two decades after the Constitution came into force, India was governed only by the Congress. Since then, regionalism, and resultant linguistic politics and casteism, have raised their heads. Today, we no longer seem to be an emotionally homogenous nation. Indian federalism, as everywhere else, has to face the awesome challenges of the new times. Therefore, it must go back to work-in progress mode.

We need a new Constituent Assembly that will review the 60-year-old Constitution. What is required is a working Constitution that factors in the aspirations of a modern generation, where the State Administration is not sacrificed at the altar of proven federal incompetence and questionable motives. We need a comprehensive understanding of the way regions relate to each other and the Centre.

For Greater Autonomy

A new federalism requires flexibility, cooperation and sophistication and should also be indicative of the Centre's ability and preparedness to accommodate societal complexity.

This Assembly will also see how to ensure autonomy to the pillars of the Constitution such as the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, the Central Vigilance Commission, the CAG and the CBI. There is need for a widespread unscrambling of powers, so that responsibility can once again be clearly attributed to its proper bearers. This would appear to be the only way to bring around the many States to a coordinating mood and avoid the acrimony which has recently been witnessed in the country between the States and the Centre.

To quote Aristotle, “To live by the rule of the Constitution ought not to be regarded as slavery, but rather as salvation.”

(The author is former Europe Director, CII and lives in Cologne, Germany. >blfeedback@thehindu.co.in )

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