- a.India follows a completely federal system.
- b.India follows a completely unitary system.
- c.India has a quasi-federal system with a strong Centre.
- d.States have more power than the Centre.
Answer: (C) India has a quasi-federal system with a strong Centre.
India's Constitution is federal in form with a strong unitary bias, which K.C. Wheare described as 'quasi-federal'; Article 1 calls India a 'Union of States'. Federal features: a written Constitution, division of powers through the Union, State and Concurrent Lists of the Seventh Schedule, an independent judiciary and a bicameral Parliament. Unitary features: single citizenship, an integrated judiciary, All-India Services, Governors appointed by the Centre, residuary powers with Parliament (Article 248), Parliament's power to alter state boundaries (Article 3) and the emergency provisions. So it is neither completely federal (A) nor completely unitary (B), and the States are not stronger than the Centre (D). In S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994) the Supreme Court held federalism to be part of the basic structure.