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United in Diversity? Asymmetry in Indian Federalism

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  • Louise Tillin

Abstract

Many studies highlight constitutional asymmetry as a desirable feature of federal systems in multinational countries. This article looks at India which, mainly because of the special provisions for Kashmir in the 1950 constitution and the status of newer small states in the north-east, is generally described as asymmetrically federal. I show that, while India exhibits considerable de facto asymmetry, asymmetry in the constitutional powers granted to individual states has (i) not been important for India's ability to 'hold together' as often assumed and (ii) not entailed special protection of cultural or national minorities. I thus cast doubt on the normative political philosophy, particularly informed by Canadian and Spanish debates, that advances the idea of asymmetrical federalism as a model of governance in potentially divided societies. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Louise Tillin, 2007. "United in Diversity? Asymmetry in Indian Federalism," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 37(1), pages 45-67, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:publus:v:37:y:2007:i:1:p:45-67
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/publius/pjl017
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    Cited by:

    1. Muhammad Tariq, 2020. "The Concept of Symmetry and Asymmetry in Federalism with a brief sketch of Economic Federalism," Global Economics Review, Humanity Only, vol. 5(1), pages 166-176, March.
    2. Ashutosh Varshney, 2013. "How has Indian Federalism Done?," Studies in Indian Politics, , vol. 1(1), pages 43-63, June.

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