Question

India is described as a federal state with subsidiary unitary features. Identify two of these unitary features.

India is sometimes described as a federal state with unitary features. Justify the statement by giving any four unitary features of the constitution of India.

Write short notes on any two unitary features of the government in India. 

Answer 1

 The unitary features of the Indian federal state are:

• Strong center.
• Absence of separate constitutions for states.

Answer 2

Four unitary features of the Constitution of India:

1. Presence of a Strong Central Government: When the centre is situated like a colossus, the distribution of powers is unequal. It can approve laws about every item on the Union List. The Centre and the States both receive items from the Concurrent List, but in the event of a conflict, the Centre has the final say. The Centre may also pass regulations on a State List item under certain conditions. The Centre is also in charge of residual subjects.
2. The centre can reorganise the states and change their boundaries: The center has the power to modify India's political boundaries. As a result, a state's territory can be expanded, narrowed, or combined with another state. In other words, a state may split into two or three, and the affected state may or may not have a say.
3. Emergency provisions of the constitution: The States may receive directives or instructions from the center that they must follow. If it refuses to, the center may view it as a “breakdown of constitutional machinery” in that location. Then, according to Art. 356, the State government may be dissolved.
4. Single Integrated Judiciary: There is a single, integrated judiciary in India. At the very top is the Supreme Court. It has the authority to confirm or reject the High Court's judgments. Its decisions bind all national courts and tribunals. The Union Government is concerned about the structure and power of the High Courts.