What is federalism

Compare India's political map of 1947 with today's: state boundaries, names and numbers have changed many times (Mysore became Karnataka, Madras became Tamil Nadu). These maps tell the story of how federalism has worked in India.

Why federalism matters. Several federations have broken up: the USSR after 1989, partly because of excessive centralisation and the domination of one region over others with their own languages and cultures; also Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia; Canada came close to splitting between English- and French-speaking regions. India, despite a painful Partition, has stayed united for over seven decades. So it is not just having a federal constitution, but the nature and practice of federalism, that matters.

• The West Indies federation, formed in 1958, was dissolved in 1962. The islands later created shared institutions (a common court, currency and, in part, market) in the Caribbean Community.
• In Nigeria, a federal constitution could not by itself produce unity when regions and communities did not trust each other; ethnic, religious and economic differences over control of oil revenues continue to strain it.

India's diversity: more than 20 major languages and hundreds of minor ones, several major religions, millions of indigenous people, yet a common land and a common history, especially of the freedom struggle. Our leaders imagined India as unity in diversity.

Key ideas of federalism (which has evolved differently in different countries):

• An institutional arrangement for two sets of polities, one regional and one national, each autonomous in its own sphere. Some federations have dual citizenship; India has single citizenship.
• People have two identities and loyalties: to their region and to the nation (Gujarati or Jharkhandi, and Indian). Each level has distinct powers and its own government.
• The details are set out in a written constitution, which is supreme and the source of both governments' powers. National matters like defence and currency go to the Union; regional and local matters to the states.
• An independent judiciary settles disputes between the Centre and the states over the division of powers.
• In practice, politics, culture, ideology and history decide how a federation works. A culture of trust, cooperation, mutual respect and restraint helps; if one unit, language group or ideology dominates, resentment and even demands for secession can follow.

Example (new): a person in Pune may support Maharashtra's cricket team in the national championship and India's team in a World Cup: two loyalties that fit together, like the two levels of a federation.