Federalism in South Asia: a constitutional analysis of India and Pakistan

Abstract

In South Asia, federalism has significant importance, which is the primary cause of the partition of Indo-Pak. Muslim League and Congress ideologically supported federalism. Simultaneously, Congress supports centralization, and the Muslim League prefers decentralization models. These opposite federalism models do not significantly support both states’ cultural norms and values. Therefore, the question arises: what type of federalism was adopted by Indo-Pak regions? How do constitutions differentiate the current federal models? Before 1973, both countries constitutionally followed the centralized tendencies and managed them in different dimensions. The Indian federalism model of federation succeeded in regulating ethnic conflicts. However, the Pakistani model failed to accommodate the cultural polarization that caused the disintegration of Bengal from Pakistan in 1973. This study analyzed and examined the constitutional analogous of both federal models. Therefore, it is essential to attempt the comparative analysis of the Indo-Pak Federal Models in light of the federalism theory. The federalist assumed the principles, i.e. Supremacy of the Constitution, Division of powers, Bicameralism, and Judicial review.

Keywords

• Federalism
• comparative perspective
• constitutional history
• India
• Pakistan
• Samuel Adu-Gyamfi, History and Political Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Scienceand Technology College of Arts and Social Science, Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana