DEMAND FOR SMALLER STATES: A CHALLENGE TO INDIAN FEDERALISM

Abstract

The increasing demand for new states in India raises a number of questions with regard to the well-being of India’s federal democratic polity. There are four measures that must be considered while devising any framework to address the issue of federal reorganization. These are: the constitution of a Permanent State Reorganization Commission, amendment of the Constitution to ensure that the demand for a new state emanates from the state legislature and not at the centre, examination of economic and social viability rather than political considerations and clear-cut safeguards to encourage democratic concerns like development and governance rather than religion, caste and language as valid grounds for a new state. The present study is an attempt to understand the reasons for the demand of new states and different dimensions of new smaller states.