Divergent Paths of Federalism: A Comparative Analysis of Pakistan and India’s Constitutional and Political Evolution

Abstract

The development of federalism in Pakistan and India, though these countries have common historical origins, has been different, based on political, constitutional, and historical elements. The quasi-federalism of India, enshrined in its 1950 Constitution, grants high central power, but state freedom, although the central federal state can encroach through provisions such as Article 356. Conversely, military rule has destabilised the federalism of Pakistan, and the 1973 Constitution and the 18th Amendment of 2010 tried to decentralise authority. The fiscal form of federalism is also different: the Finance Commission of India and GST Council are in favor of mutual revenue sharing, whereas in Pakistan, the NFC Award cannot keep up with inequities between provinces, especially the dominance of Punjab. Ethno-regional conflicts within Pakistan, e.g., Baluchistan, threaten the federal security, but linguistic reorganisation of the state in India has coped with diversity much better. Although both countries are center-state conflict states, the federalism in India is more institutionalized compared to Pakistan, where it is usually persistently weakened by political instability. The comparison explains that democratic continuity in India enhances the strength of federalism, and the military intervention and centralized rule in Pakistan undermine federalism, despite the recent attempts to decentralize.