Federalism and Shared Rule Institution in India a study of zonal council

Abstract

Federalism has emerged as one of the defining features of the polities of the diverse countries in the world since its adoption in the United States. As a matter of fact, when the constitution of that country was being drafted after the decision of the different constituent units to come together to form a federation of the states, federalism was the only plausible system of government available to them to base their constitution on. Later in the theoretical discourses on the federalism, the system of characterised in the memorable words of Elazar as a political system affording both self rule and shared rule to its people. Subsequently, in whatever countries, federalism was adopted as a system of government, both kinds of institutions, that is, institutions of self rule as well as shared rule were constituted in such a way that not only people get the much desired opportunity of governing over them but also get an opportunity to share the basic tenets of the governance of the country along with the other units of the federation. Thus, the idea of shared rule institutions became somewhat the fundamental trait of the federal system without which there could not have been constituted a federation at all. newlineGiven that India is considered as one of the foremost federal countries in the world in contemporary times, it is quite interesting to study the shared rule institutions in the country. In India, the web of shared rule institutions is very wide and complex. When we look at the foundational background of such institutions, two distinct pattern of their formation can be seen. At the one side, when the constitution was being drafted, it was apparent in the minds of the constitution makers that the smooth functioning of the federal system in the country would not be ensured without making provision for a number of such shared rule institutions which can act as the basic bodies for consulted and consensual decisions affecting the general national interest of the country. Accordingly, a number of shared rule institut