after 1990 throw light on tha centre state relation in India
Answers
(i) Prior to 1990, except for once, the Congress ruled at the centre for about 40 years. These were the years when the single party made the government.
(ii) The government at the centre ruled the states with biased views. It supported those states which had a government formed by the same party. The government at many occasions dismissed the state governments formed by other parties in the name of law and order situations. In other words, the centre dictated the states and the states had no alternative except to follow the centre.
(iii) The rise of regional politics in many states has changed the Centre-State relations significantly after 1990. This was also the beginning of the era of coalition governments at the centre.
(iv) Since, no single party got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, major national parties had to enter into an alliance with many small regional parties. Hence, regional parties do take care of their states.
(v) This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of state government. It became difficult for the central government to dismiss state governments in an arbitrary manner.
Before 1990, India had been mostly ruled by Congress governments at both centre and state. As a result, most state governments were subservient to the central government. State governments under Congress rule mostly acted according to the wishes of the central government. Few state governments that were ruled by non-Congress governments were in constant threat of dismissal by the Centre.
However, after 1990, centre state governments changed significantly. The Congress lost its dominant position in the Centre. Many regional parties became coalition partners in the Central government. As a result, the Centre could no longer control state governments as they used to do earlier. Hence, state governments became more autonomous and assertive. Centre-state relations became one of equals, as it should in a federal system.