After over ninety years of British domination and a bloody partition a new Indian nation emerged. Largely agricultural, with a rural and highly diverse population it was the task of the architects...Show moreAfter over ninety years of British domination and a bloody partition a new Indian nation emerged. Largely agricultural, with a rural and highly diverse population it was the task of the architects of what would become a united India to draft a constitution which would allow these different peoples to live together. Perhaps afraid of further separation but also aware of the need for unity in diversity the Constitution of India was attributed a federal, but also a centrist character. Due to the economic backwardness and political fragmentation it was a commonly held belief at the time that rule by the centre was the best way to improve the whole country’s welfare. Yet less than fifty years later this view has fundamentally changed. The balance of payments crisis showed that India’s development and future economic prosperity lay not in the distribution of investment from the centre to the states but in the active role of states on the global market. As a consequence of this the states have been given or have taken on a larger role in economic development. The question that this thesis will answer is: in what aspects has the liberalisation of the Indian economy changed the relationship between the centre and the state?Show less
