Peculiar Features of Indian Federalism :

Indian Constitution differs from the federal systems of the world in certain fundamental aspects, which are as follows:

(1) The Mode of Formation: A federal Union, as in the American system, is formed by an agreement between a number of sovereign and independent States, surrendering a defined part of their sovereignty or autonomy to a new central organisation. But there is an alternative mode of federation, as in the Canadian system where the provinces of a Unitary State may be transformed into a federal union to make themselves autonomous.

India had a thoroughly Centralised Unitary Constitution until the Government of India Act, 1935 which for the first time set up a federal system in the manner as in Canada viz., by creation of autonomous units and combining them into a federation by one and the same Act.

(2) Position of the States in the Federation: In a federal system, a number of safeguards are provided for the protection of State’s rights as they are independent before the formation of federation. In India, as the States were not previously sovereign entities, the rights were exercised mainly by Union, e.g., residuary powers.

(3) Citizenship etc: The framers of the American Constitution made a logical division of everything essential to sovereignty and created a dual polity with dual citizenship, a double set of officials and a double system of the courts. There is, however, single citizenship in India, with no division of public services or of the judiciary.

(4) Residuary Power: Residuary power is vested in the Union. In other words, the Constitution of India is neither purely federal nor purely unitary. It is a combination of both and is based upon the principle that “In spite of federalism the national interest ought to be paramount as against autocracy stepped with the establishment of supremacy of law”.