[Assam] Autonomy for the States, federalism at the Centre - M. Karunanidh/The Hindu

[Ram Sarangapani]

Any takers?
--Ram

*Autonomy for the States, federalism at the Centre *

Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi

  *The time is ripe now for establishing a true federal system that will
strengthen the bonds of mutual cooperation, unity, and cordiality between
the Centre and the States. *

 The DMK is of the view that for proper and ideal Centre-State relations,
there should be more powers for the States. To be more appropriate and
precise, there should be autonomy for the States and federalism at the
Centre.

The demand for restructuring Centre-State relations is as old as the
adoption of the Constitution of India in 1950. The creation of a new
structure of constitutional government for independent India deserves to be
seen in historical context, particularly by taking into account the
objective political situation that existed then. In fact, political
imperatives emerging out of the independence movement historically as well
as the immediate imperatives of the Partition of India influenced the design
of government incorporated in the Constitution. On the one hand, the
framers, drawing the spirit of the independence movement, found the federal
scheme appropriate for India; on the other hand, Partition created a fear of
centrifugal elements in the nascent nation.

Indeed, the major part of the history of the struggle for self-rule and
independence reflects efforts to find a solution to India's gigantic
diversity. Even the mobilisation for the national movement was based on
federal principles. The acceptance of language as the basis for redrawing
the provincial boundary, for example, was a result of such a mobilisation.
The history of federalism and Centre-State relations in India is marked by
political mobilisation and intermittent struggle to fashion a more federal
set-up. Even though such efforts have not yet resulted in any major
constitutional changes towards a more federal orientation, the struggle has
not been entirely fruitless.

In the phase lasting until the last 1960s, the task of nation building and
development was the main concern of the nation's rulers. However, this
period was not solely dominated by the trend of centralisation. One of the
major democratic movements in the post-Independence period — the movement
for the formation of the linguistic States — took place in the 1950s, which
resulted in the formation of linguistic States in 1956. The Central
government resisted this demand and gave in — in the face of strong popular
movements. This laid the basis for the later assertion by the States for
greater powers.

"It is the Sappers and Miners who go in advance clearing the bushes and the
thorns and preparing the way for the tanks in the Army. I plead with the
ruling party to use us as Sappers and Miners to clear the way for them. We
are not mindful of the dust we would gather in the course of this task. The
ruling party should utilise our services for getting more powers transferred
from the Centre to the States." It may be borne in mind that these were the
words Arignar Anna [C. N. Annadurai, who became Chief Minister a decade
later] spoke fifty years ago, on May 6, 1957, in the Tamil Nadu Legislative
Assembly.

The second phase began with the 1967 general elections. Non-Congress State
governments came into being. The demand for restructuring of Centre-State
relations picked up momentum. In this connection, it may be useful to recall
the impression of Arignar Anna, gathered by him as the Chief Minister. In
his last epistle to his brethren titled "Hail, The Dawn!" published in *Home
Rule* in January 1969, he wrote about "Federalism" and about our
Constitution, "w hich on paper is federal but in actual practice tends to
get more and more centralised." After the passing of Arignar Anna in
February 1969, when I was asked to bear the burden of responsibility, I
continued the tenor and tone of our towering teacher and mentor.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam decided to carry on a campaign on Centre-State
relations in a systematic and scientific manner. It was on March 17, 1969,
during my first visit to New Delhi as Chief Minister — in the course of
answering searching questions on a wide range of subjects by over fifty
newsmen representing newspapers from all over the country — that I said the
Government was considering the setting up of an Expert Committee to go into
the question of Centre-State relations and recommend the powers that should
be transferred from the Centre to the States. On August 19, 1969, I
announced on the floor of the Legislative Assembly the formation of a Three
Member Committee with Dr. P.V. Rajamannar as Chairman and Dr. A.L. Mudaliar
and P. Chandra Reddy as Members.

In February 1970, in the DMK Conference in Tiruchy, in order to take the
Will of Arignar Anna to the hearts of partymen, a popular slogan, "Autonomy
for the States; Federalism at the Centre," was given and it started
reverberating through the length and breadth of the States.

With a view to taking the concept of State autonomy to the people, the DMK
conducted on September 12 and 13, 1970, a State Autonomy Conference at Anna
Nagar, Chennai. Thanthai Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, Quaid-e-Milleth Ismail, the
then West Bengal Chief Minister, Ajoy Mukherjee, Pranab Mukherjee, N.
Srikandan Nair, Arangil Sridharan, S.M. Krishna, and a number of MPs and
leaders participated. I presided over the conference.

In its 1971 Election Manifesto, the DMK announced: "Though the Constitution
of India is described as a Federal one, the balance is more tilted towards
the Centre and hence the States are not able to function freely in the
administrative and financial spheres. Only such powers as are necessary for
the Centre to preserve the strength of India should be assigned to the
Centre and all the other powers should be left to the States without
impairing the ideal of a strong India."

The report of the Rajamannar Committee was received on May 27, 1971. On
April 16, 1974, I moved a historic resolution in the Tamil Nadu Legislative
Assembly requesting the Central government to accept the views of the Tamil
Nadu government on State autonomy and the recommendations of the Rajamannar
Committee and proceed to effect immediate changes in the Constitution of
India to establish a truly federal set-up. In 1974, Murasoli Maran, an
inimitable ideologue of the DMK, brought out a brilliant treatise on State
autonomy. He explained in simple and effective language decentralisation and
federalism; devolution and provincial autonomy; the nature of the Indian
Constitution; and the basis for State autonomy.

For the first time, in 1989, a National Front coalition government headed by
V.P. Singh, which included major regional parties like the DMK, took office
at the Centre. Though short-lived, this government took certain steps to
strengthen the federal principle. The Inter-State Council was constituted in
1990. The entry of regional parties in coalition governments at the Centre
became a regular feature in 1996 with the formation of the United Front
government and in all subsequent ones — and presently in the United
Progressive Alliance government functioning under the esteemed guidance of
Sonia Gandhi. The Left parties, which supported both the National Front
Government in 1989 and the United Front government in 1996-1998 and the
present UPA government, are strong supporters of the federal principle.

Attempts have been made to impose a unitary form of government in the
country. The character of India as a multinational, multilingual,
multi-religious state has been blatantly ignored. The relevant
recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission on the restructuring of
Centre-State relations have not been accepted and implemented in true spirit
— as a result of which there has been a persistent trend of centralisation
of economic and political powers in the country. The time is ripe now [for a
transformation] with almost every major political party realising — by sheer
experience and because of objective conditions — the need to establish a
true federal system that would strengthen the bonds of mutual cooperation,
unity, and cordiality between the Centre and the States.

It needs to be remembered that only the spirit of "co-operative federalism"
— and not an attitude of dominance or superiority — can preserve the balance
between the Union and the States and promote the good of the people. Under
our constitutional system, no single entity can claim superiority.
Sovereignty does not lie in any one institution or in any one wing of the
government. The power of governance is distributed in several organs and
institutions — a sine qua non for good governance. Even if we assume that
the Centre has been given a certain dominance over the States, that
dominance should be used strictly for the purpose intended, not for oblique
purposes. An unusual and extraordinary power like the one contained in
Article 356 cannot be employed for furthering the prospects of a political
party or to destabilise a duly elected government and a duly constituted
Legislative Assembly. The consequences of such improper use may not be
evident immediately. But those do not go without any effect. Their
consequences become evident in the long run and may be irreversible.

As the DMK is wedded to the principle of more powers to the States to ensure
a true federal set-up in India, it has been ceaselessly and tirelessly
underlining this principle wherever the occasion arises. It may be recalled
that in the Governor's address of January 20, 2007, in the Tamil Nadu
Legislative Assembly, it has been explained that "this Government, holding
Arignar Anna's principle of State Autonomy close to its heart, while voicing
its demand for rights and at the same time extending a hand of friendship,
shall endeavour to secure the due rights and benefits for our State from the
Union Government."

*(The writer is Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and president of the Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam. His unprecedented record of half a century as a
legislator was celebrated recently in Chennai.)*
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