A high-level committee appointed by the Tamil Nadu government has submitted a report calling for a new federal compact to address centralization in Indian federalism. Chaired by retired Justice Kurian Joseph, the report proposes reforms across constitutional, political, fiscal, and cultural domains. It emphasizes the principle of non-domination among states.
The High-Level Committee on Union-State Relations, constituted by the Tamil Nadu government last year, has recently submitted its report. Chaired by Justice (retd) Kurian Joseph, with members retired IAS officer K Ashok Vardhan Shetty and professor M Naganathan, the committee revives the discourse on Indian federalism in the tradition of the 1969-71 Rajamannar Committee.
The report argues that the Constitution's original design leaned toward centralization due to the circumstances at independence, but this has persisted unnecessarily. It notes that the rise of regional parties in the 1990s balanced powers temporarily, but the past decade has seen a reversal toward centralization, now embedded in ideas like 'One Nation One Something.'
According to the report, a federation 'that trusts its states, respects subsidiarity, empowers local governments, and accommodates heterogeneity does not weaken sovereignty; it deepens democracy.' Unity is sustained 'not by command but by consent, not by enforced uniformity but by negotiated accommodation, and not by the concentration of power but by its principled distribution.'
Key proposals include a constitutional reset: eliminating the Centre's unilateral power to redraw state boundaries and requiring consultation with states for constitutional amendments affecting them. It also seeks to restore education to the state list and curb central encroachments on state subjects like health and agriculture.
For a political reset, it recommends a constitutional code to regulate the governor's office, closing loopholes in the anti-defection law, and transferring assembly elections to the State Election Commission.
On representation, it opposes 'One Nation, One Election' and advocates continuing the delimitation freeze until fertility rates stabilize, possibly making it permanent to maintain balance of power.
The fiscal reset examines options for reworking the GST regime, while the cultural reset challenges the misconception that national unity requires linguistic uniformity, though the author notes the report's advocacy for uniform imposition of English in resisting Hindi hegemony.
Yogendra Yadav, in his column, praises the report for opening a conversation on a new federal compact based on non-domination, suggesting discussions on power balance between Hindi and non-Hindi states.
