LAXMIKANT POLITY NOTES
📌 UNION OF STATES
🔸️ Article 1 describes India, that is, Bharat as a ‘Union of States’ rather than a ‘Federation of States’.
🔸️ This provision deals with two
things: one, name of the country; and two, type of polity. There was no unanimity in the Constituent Assembly with regard to the name of the country.
🔸️ Some members suggested the
traditional name (Bharat), while other advocated the modern name (India). Hence, the Constituent Assembly had to adopt a mix of both (‘India, that is, Bharat’)
🔸️ Secondly, the country is described as ‘Union’ although its Constitution is federal in structure.
🔸️ According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the phrase ‘Union of States’ has been preferred to ‘Federation of States’ for two reasons:
• one, the Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement among the states like the American Federation;
• and two, the states have no right to secede from the federation. The federation is an Union because it is indestructible.
▪︎UNION and ITS TERRITORIES.
📌 ARTICLE 1
🔸️ According to Article 1, the territory of India can be classified into three categories :-
1. Territories of the states.
2. Union territories.
3. Territories that may be acquired by the Government of India at any time.
🔸️ The names of states and union territories and their territorial extent are mentioned in the first schedule of the Constitution.
▪︎UNION and ITS TERRITORIES
📌 ARTICLE 2
🔸️ Article 2 empowers the Parliament to ‘admit into the Union of India, or establish, new states on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit’.
🔸️ Thus, Article 2 grants two powers to the Parliament: (a) the power to admit into the Union of India new states; and (b) the power to establish new states.
🔸️ The first refers to the admission of
states which are already in existence, while the second refers to the establishment of states which were not in existence before.
▪︎UNION and ITS TERRITORIES.
📌 PARLIAMENT’S POWER TO REORGANISE THE STATES. (ARTICLE - 3)
🔸️ Article 3 authorises the Parliament to:
(a) form a new state by separation of territory from any state or by uniting two or more states or parts of states or by uniting any territory to a part of any state;
(b) increase the area of any state;
(c) diminish the area of any state;
(d) alter the boundaries of any state; and
(e) alter the name of any state.
🔸️ However, Article 3 lays down two conditions in this regard: one, a bill contemplating the above changes can be introduced in the Parliament only with the prior recommendation of the President;
🔸️ and two, before recommending the bill, the President has to refer the same to the state legislature concerned for expressing its views within a specified period.
▪︎UNION and ITS TERRITORIES.
📌 ARTICLE 4
🔸️ Article 4 itself declares that laws made for admission or establishment of new states (under Article 2) and formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states (under Articles 3) are not to be considered as amendments of the Constitution under Article 368.
🔸️ This means that such laws can be passed by a simple majority and by the ordinary legislative process.
📌 INTEGRATION OF PRINCELY STATE.
🔸️ At the time of independence, India comprised two categories of political units, namely, the British provinces (under the direct rule of British government) and the princely states (under the rule of native princes but subject to the paramountcy of the British Crown).
🔸️ The Indian Independence Act (1947) created two independent and separate dominions of India and Pakistan and gave three options to the princely states which are :-
• joining India, joining Pakistan or remaining independent.
🔸️ Of the 552 princely states situated within the geographical boundaries of India, 549 joined India and the remaining 3 (Hyderabad, Junagarh and Kashmir) refused to join India.
🔸️ However, in course of time, they were also integrated with India–Hyderabad by means of police action, Junagarh by means of referendum and Kashmir by the Instrument of Accession.
