States and the union: the beginning of the relationship

feature-image

Play all audios:

Loading...

This thinking about a weak Union government continued in the initial days of the framing of the Constitution. It was a middle ground to prevent the breaking up of the country. But after the


British government announced the country's partition, there was a change in how the Constitution framers thought about the relationship between the Union and the states.  The Union


Powers Committee of the Constituent Assembly, Chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru, reflected this shift. In its second report in July of 1947, it stated, "Now that partition is a settled fact,


we are unanimously of the view that it would be injurious to the interests of the country to provide for a weak central authority which would be incapable of ensuring peace, of co-ordinating


vital matters of common concern and of speaking effectively for the whole country in the international sphere." The committee proposed that the "soundest framework for our


constitution is a federation with a strong centre". It also recommended that the residuary powers be in the domain of the Union government.