large extent on how the ruling parties and leaders follow these arrangements. For a long time, the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the States. This meant that the State Governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units. As and when the ruling party at the State level was different, the parties that ruled at the Centre tried to undermine the power of the States.
In those days, the Central Government would often misuse the Constitution to dismiss the State Governments that were controlled by rival parties. This undermined the spirit of federalism. All this changed significantly after . This period saw the rise of regional political parties in many States of the country.
This was also the beginning of the era of coalition governments at the Centre. Since no single party got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the major national parties had to enter into an alliance with many parties including several regional parties to form a government at the Centre. Coalition government: A government formed by the coming together of at least two political parties. Usually partners in a coalition form a political alliance and adopt a common programme.
Why Hindi? Why not Bangla or Telugu? Here are two cartoons showing the relationship between Centre and States. Should the State go to the Centre with a begging bowl?
How can the leader of a coalition keep the partners of government satisfied? Are you suggesting that regionalism is good for our democracy? Are you serious? The States Plead for More Powers © Kutty - Laughing with Kutty © Ajith Ninan - India Today Book of Cartoons Perils of Running a Coalition Government This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State Governments.
This trend was supported by a major judgement of the Supreme Court that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state governments in an arbitrary manner. Thus, federal power sharing is more effective today than it was in the early years after the Constitution came into force.