Debate Over Centralization: It was one of the most vigorously debated in the Constituent Assembly. 

• Among those arguing for a strong Centre was Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Division of Subjects: The Draft Constitution provided for three lists of subjects: Union, State, and Concurrent. 
  • Over the Union list the Central government had power, over the State list the power was vested with the States. 
  • Over the concurrent list, centre and state had shared responsibility. 
• Central Bias in Control: More items were placed under exclusive Union control than in other federations, and more placed on the Concurrent list too than desired by the provinces. 

• • Article 356 and Center’s Powers: The Union also had control of minerals and key industries. 
  • Article 356 gave the Centre the powers to take over a state administration on the recommendation of the Governor. 
• Complex Fiscal Federalism: The system of fiscal division of powers was complex. Some taxes. 
  • It shared them with the states; in still other cases (for instance, estate duties) it assigned them wholly to the states. 
  • State Revenue Generation: The states, meanwhile, could levy and collect certain taxes on their own, these included land and property taxes, sales tax, and the hugely profitable tax on bottled liquor.

Centre-Bias in the Constitution 

• Defense of State Rights: The rights of the states were most eloquently defended by K. Santhanam from Madras. 
• Strengthening the Centre: He was of the view that if the Centre was overburdened with responsibilities, it could not function effectively. 
• Concerns Over Allocation of Powers: By relieving it of some of its functions, and transferring them to the states, the Centre could be made stronger. 
• Impact on State Finances: Santhanam felt that the proposed allocation of powers would cripple the states. The fiscal provisions would impoverish the provinces since most taxes, except land revenue, had been made the preserve of Centre. 
• Revolt against the Centre: He said that in a few years all the provinces would rise in “revolt against the Centre”. 

The Need for a Strong Centre 

The argument for greater power to the provinces provoked a strong reaction in the Assembly. 

• Ambedkar View:  He had declared that he wanted “a strong and united Centre much stronger than the Centre we had created under the Government of India Act of 1935”. 
• Many members had repeatedly stated that the powers of the Centre had to be greatly strengthened to enable it to stop the communal frenzy.
• Gopalaswami Ayyangar declared that “the Centre should be made as strong as possible”.
• Balakrishna Sharma reasoned at length that only a strong centre could plan for the well-being of the country, mobilise the available economic resources, establish a proper administration, and defend the country against foreign aggression. 

• The violence of the times gave a further push to centralisation. A strong centre was seen as necessary, both to forestall chaos and to plan for the country’s economic development. 
• The Constitution thus showed a distinct bias towards the rights of the Union of India over those of its constituent states.

Language of the Nation

• By the 1930s, the Congress had accepted that Hindustani ought to be the national language. 
• Hindustani was a blend of Hindi and Urdu, it was a popular language of a large section of the people of India, and it was a composite language enriched by the interaction of diverse cultures.
• This multicultural language, Mahatma Gandhi thought, would be the ideal language of communication between diverse communities. 
  • It could unify Hindus and Muslims, and people of the north and the south. 
• Gandhi felt that everyone should speak in a language that common people could easily understand thus he favoured Hindustani as the national language. 
• But from the end of the 19th century, Hindustani as a language had been gradually changing. 
  • As communal conflicts deepened, Hindi and Urdu also started growing apart.  
• There was a move to Sanskritise Hindi, purging it of all words of Persian and Arabic origin. And Urdu was being increasingly Persianised. 
  • As a consequence, language became associated with the politics of religious identities. 

A Plea for Hindi

• R. V. Dhulekar, a Congressman from the United Provinces, made an aggressive plea that Hindi be used as the language of constitution-making. He made his speech in Hindi.
• The Language Committee of the Constituent Assembly had produced its report by 1947 and had thought of a compromise formula to resolve the deadlock between those who advocated Hindi as the national language and those who opposed it. 
• It had decided, but not yet formally declared, that Hindi in the Devanagari script would be the official language, but the transition to Hindi would be gradual. 
• They devised that for the first fifteen years, English would continue to be used for all official purposes. Each province was to be allowed to choose one of the regional languages for official work within the province. 
• They referred to Hindi as the official rather than the national language, hoping that it would placate ruffled emotions and arrive at a solution that would be acceptable to all. 

The Fear of Domination

• Shrimati G. Durgabai from Madras explained her worries about the way the language discussion was developing. 
• She informed the House that the opposition in the south against Hindi was very strong as it was felt that Hindi cuts at the very root of provincial languages. 
• Durgabai felt that any move that eroded the inclusive and composite character of Hindustani,  was bound to create anxieties and fears amongst different language groups. 
  • As the discussion became acrimonious, many members appealed for a spirit of accommodation. 
• T. A. Ramalingam Chettiar from Madras emphasised that whatever was done had to be done with caution because the cause of Hindi would not be helped if it was pushed too aggressively. 

Agreements over Central Features

• One central feature of the Constitution had substantial agreement. This was on the granting of the vote to every adult Indian i.e. Universal Adult Franchise (UAF). 

• • In many democracies vote was granted slowly, and in stages. 
  • In countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, only men of property were first granted the vote then, men with education were also allowed. 
  • After a long and bitter struggle, men of working-class or peasant background were also given the right to vote. 
  • An even longer struggle was required to grant this right to women.
• A second important feature of the Constitution which had almost unanimous consensus  was the emphasis on secularism. 
• Fundamental Rights to “freedom of religion” (Articles 25-28), “cultural and educational rights” (Articles 29 and 30), and “rights to equality” (Articles 14, 16, 17) were incorporated in the constitution. 
  • All religions were guaranteed equal treatment by the State and given the right to maintain charitable institutions. 
• But a certain legal space was created for social reform within communities. It was used to ban untouchability and introduce changes in personal and family laws. 
• India devised its own variant of Secularism, with no absolute separation rather a ‘principled distance from all religions’.

Conclusion

The Constitutional debates on state powers and language underscored the need for a strong Centre to ensure national unity and effective governance. Balancing central authority with state autonomy, addressing language diversity, and ensuring universal adult franchise and secularism were pivotal in shaping India’s democratic framework.

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