Dr B.R.AMBEDKAR’S Contribution to Federalism Enshrined in the Constitution of India

Abstract

The founding fathers of the Constitution of India felt a need for a strong Centre because of prevailing social economic and political conditions. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said in the Constituent Assembly: “The Indian Constitution is a federal Constitution in as much as it established what may be called a dual polity which will consist of the Union at the Centre and the States at the periphery each endowed with sovereign powers to be exercised in the field assigned to them respectively by the Constitution”. However, he asserted that the Indian Constitution avoided the tight mould of federalism in which the American Constitution was trapped, and could be both unitary as well as federal according to the requirements of time and circumstances. Federalism in brief constitutes a complex governmental mechanism in which the powers of the government are divided between a government for the whole country and government for the parts of the country in such a way that each government is legally independent within its own sphere. The draft Constitution prepared by constituent assembly under the wise leadership of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar provided for the division of power between Union government and the government in the states have been successful for a large and diverse country like India.