A Federation with a Unitary Bias — KSLU Constitutional Law 2 Notes

A Federation with a Unitary Bias

India is described as “quasi-federal” (K.C. Wheare): it has the federal marks — a written constitution, a division of powers (Seventh Schedule), an independent judiciary — but a strong unitary tilt, and the Union is indestructible while the States are not (Parliament can reorganise them under Art. 3).

In Simple Terms: India is a federation for normal times that turns strongly unitary in a crisis — power is shared, but the Centre holds the trump card. S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) confirmed federalism is part of the basic structure, yet upheld the Centre’s strong role.