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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 March 2019
Some words said in closing to the recent International Conference on Federalism in New Delhi (hereinafter 4th ICF) could not help but bring to mind the lyrics of an old pop song: “Thank you India”, said George Anderson, President of the Forum of Federations, echoing the well-known refrain of his compatriot Alanis Morissette. In her hit single “THANK U”, Morissette expresses gratitude to India for the life lessons she learned during a visit. Anderson's words provoked at least this audience member to reflect upon “Unity in Diversity” and to “learn […] from each other”, the ICF's overall theme and goal. Ironically, the lessons that I draw are not dissimilar from Morissette's: “clarity”, “consequence”, and “disillusionment”. For these valuable lessons I would like to express gratitude too, namely to the Indian Government, the Conference host.
1
References to events and websites are up to date as of the end of 2007. All materials cited are available at <http://www.forumfed.org/en/global/indiaconference.php> or <http://www.federalism2007.org/> unless otherwise noted.+or+
2 The previous ICFs were held in Mont Tremblant, Canada in 1999; St. Gallen, Switzerland in 2002; and Brussels, Belgium in 2005.Google Scholar
3 See “Conference Programme, 4th ICF”.Google Scholar
4 I attended the plenaries and chose to participate in the dialogue tables on “Building on and accommodating diversity” and in the related sub-theme work sessions 1 and 13, “Can unity and diversity be reconciled?” (introduced by examples of India, Malaysia, and South Africa) and “Can deep differences be accommodated?” (examples of Ethiopia, Iraq, and Nigeria). While these dialogue tables and work sessions were only three of many, it was not possible to participate in more than one at a time. Moreover, the issues addressed in my selection offer arguably as good a perspective on the proceedings as a whole as any other would have.Google Scholar
5 Also see “Conference Reflections – Past International Conferences on Federalism”.Google Scholar
6 On one account, Indian society comprises 1.1 billion people, 22 official languages, and over 2000 dialects; seven religious and a dozen ethnic groups, further divided into countless sects, castes, and subcastes; as well as some sixty socio-cultural sub-regions spread over seven geographic regions in a country the size of a continent. (Majeed, Ahktar, In Indien liegt der Schüssel zur Konfliktlösung in der Verfassung, Federations Magazine, Special Issue, 2002, at 21; available at <http://www.forumfed.org/en/products/federations.php>.).)>Google Scholar
7 For example, see Ahmed A.M. Sambi, Statement of the President of the Union of Comoros (5 November 2007). Sambi earnestly requested governments present at the conference to support the successful introduction of federalism on his diverse, conflict-ridden archipelago.Google Scholar
8 For example, see Somnath Chatterjee, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Address (5 November 2007) at 1: “India […] now is considered to be the symbol of Unity in Diversity”.Google Scholar
9 The 4th ICF was organized by the Inter-State Council Secretariat of the Government of India, an intergovernmental consultative body mandated to facilitate good relations between the Union and States, and by the Forum of Federations, an Ottawa-based IGO dedicated to promoting best practices in federal government through world-wide programmes of outreach, education, and networking.Google Scholar
10 Anderson, George, What India Can Show the World, Federations Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 1 (October / November 2007) at 32; available at <http://www.forumfed.org/en/products/federations.php>..>Google Scholar
11 Tellingly note the participation of a representative of the Scottish but not of the Westminster Parliament. See “List of Participants, 4th ICF”.Google Scholar
12 Pande, Amitabha, “Message from the Inter-State Council Secretariat”, Conference Information Booklet – 4th International Conference on Federalism, at 5. (Copy with author.)Google Scholar
13 At times, the proceedings took on almost an anti-intellectual tone. For example, see the claim that “an ounce of practice is worth more than a pound of theory”. (Fali S. Nariman, Federalism in India – Emerging Trends and the Way Forward, at 20.)Google Scholar
14 Haselbach, Anna-Elisabeth, Statement of The Vice-President of the Federal Council of Austria (6 November 2007).Google Scholar
15 Patil, Pratibha, Valedictory Address of the President of India (7 November 2007).Google Scholar
16 Friedman, Thomas, Democracy's root: Diversity, International Herald Tribune (11 November 2007); available at <http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=8281413>.Google Scholar
17 Anderson, , supra note 10.Google Scholar
18 Mukul Kesavan in Balveer Arora, Introduction to the Themes of the Conference: An Indian Perspective, § 10, § 5.Google Scholar
19 Friedman, , supra note 16.Google Scholar
20 Arora, , supra note 18, at § 5.Google Scholar
21 Patil, P., supra note 15.Google Scholar
22 The official photo that was sent out on the newswires of the Sikh Prime Minister celebrating New Year's Day with the Muslim Vice-President in a predominantly Hindu country has a similarly constitutive rather than declaratory air about it. While representatives of minority groups may go about public life without any visible anxiety about their identity and rights, the same cannot be said of members of minorities generally. In many parts of the country, minorities make little show of their distinct identities, but they live “with downcast eyes”. (Lobby group's description of the everyday reality of Muslims in Gujarat, in Gujarat – A la Modi, Economist (5 January 2008) at 48.)Google Scholar
23 For two recently published reviews, see Ramachandra Guha, India after Gandhi – The history of the world's largest democracy (2007), and Nussbaum, Martha C., The Clash Within – Democracy, religious violence and India's future (2007). For a summary and review of both, see Arnold, David, Sixty-Year Views, Times Literary Supplement (August 2007) at 10.Google Scholar
24 Gujarat, , supra note 22.Google Scholar
25 Gujarat's Election – Don't Mention the Massacre, Economist (8 December 2007) at 63. Similarly, see Amelia Gentleman, Amid Gujarat Campaign, Memories of Mass Killings in 2002 Still Smoulder, International Herald Tribune (6 December 2007); available at <http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=8578273>. One is reminded of the lines of W.B. Yeats: “The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity”.Google Scholar
26 The failure of the then BJP-led Uttar Pradesh State government to prevent Ayodhya's Babri Masjid being destroyed by Hindu nationalists in 1992 displays some unsettling parallels to the anti-Muslim riots. It also involved a complete rejection of national commitments to secularism and democracy. In contrast to the latter incident, however, the earlier incident mobilized secularists, and the State government in Uttar Pradesh was soundly defeated at the next election.Google Scholar
27 Summarizing, see: “India […] is a violent place. In each of the past two years, […] India lost around 1,300 lives to terrorism, putting it second only to Iraq”. India – Mad and Hyderabad, Economist (1 September 2007) at 44.Google Scholar
28 Further, see India's Sikhs – Heresy and History, Economist (7 July 2007) at 55.Google Scholar
29 Further, see Manmohan Singh, Inaugural Address of the Prime Minister of India (5 November 2007) at 3.Google Scholar
30 One plenary speaker's assessment of the contemporary situation was more sceptical. Meghnad Desai, the Anglo-Indian economist, argued that since 1989, there has not been a single national purpose, such as the freedom struggle or secularism, that all Indians agree upon. Bollywood and cricket have facilitated national cohesion instead. “A whole new story needs to be created as to why India is a nation with a true and organic unity in diversity and not one presumed”. (Meghnad Desai, Unity in Diversity (revised), Indian Express (29 November 2007); also in Not a Smooth Highway, Conference Newsletter (7 November 2007) at 7.Google Scholar
31 Specifically, the festival provided a platform for public hearings, youth parliaments, and children's workshops as well as opportunities for selected groups from different parts of India to learn about each other's customs through exhibitions, performances, and food and handicraft stands. (Generally see <http://www.asianheritagefoundation.org/sanjha_sa far_media_kit.pdf>.).)>Google Scholar
32 As a report on the outreach festival argued, “[a]ny conceptual learning needs to be complemented through the actual ground based knowledge of challenges to development”. (Briefing the Volunteers at Sanjah Safar, Conference Newsletter (8 November 2007) at 3.)Google Scholar
33 Jennings, Ivor in Nariman, , supra note 13, at 2.Google Scholar
34 Arora, , supra note 18, at § 11.Google Scholar
35 Khilnani, Sunil, The Idea of India (2003) at 179. For a summary and review of the first edition, see Sen, Amartya, The Vision That Worked, Times Literary Supplement (8 August 1997) at 3.Google Scholar
36 Nonetheless, the federation remains under pressure to safeguard the interests of all types of minorities. The youngest State of the Union, Jharkhand, which was created seven years ago to fulfil regional aspirations, has a comparatively small population of 28 million, but its citizens display deep differences in language, religion, caste, and economic status. (Akhtar Majeed, India's Extreme Diversity Makes Pluralism Imperative, Federations Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 1(October/November 2007) at 10; available at <http://www.forumfed.org/en/products/federations.php>.).)>Google Scholar
37 Strengthen the Institutional Arrangements at the Grassroots Level, Conference Newsletter (7 November 2007) at 4.Google Scholar
38 Arora, supra note 18, at § 9. Here the example of the Gurkhas is typically cited to demonstrate that deep differences can be accommodated. In the 1980s, Gurkha nationalists in West Bengal sought to gain independence through violence; an offer of broad autonomy short of full-fledged statehood enticed advocates of the rights of Nepali-speakers to campaign non-violently as political parties in the State.Google Scholar
39 The word “Union” was chosen in Article 1 to describe the coming together of the States.Google Scholar
40 Nariman, , supra note 13, at 3.Google Scholar
41 Wheare, K.C. in Nariman, supra note 13, at 16. Also see “India is not a federal set up in its truest form” (Chatterjee, supra note 8, at 4) and “Indian federalism has moved beyond textbook formulations; it bristles with many paradoxes”. (Ash Narain Roy, Cajoling and compromise drive India's multi-party system, Federations Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 1 (October / November 2007) at 7; available at <http://www.forumfed.org/en/products/federations.php>.).)>Google Scholar
42 Women in particular have been empowered through an accompanying system of reservation.Google Scholar
43 For example, see Chatterjee, , supra note 8, at 3. Generally see Outcome and potential for further improvements, Conference Newsletter (8 November 2007) at 5.Google Scholar
44 Anderson, , supra note 10. Also see Haselbach, supra note 14, who describes the European Union as another endeavour to develop unity in diversity. Lastly, see Arora, who argued that Europe will have to decide whether it wants to be the type of integrated union that India is. If it decides to be so, it will have to solve the problems that India has solved, such as multilingualism and cooperation between levels of government. (Interview with Balveer Arora, Conference Newsletter (6 November 2007) at 7).Google Scholar
45 Arora, , supra note 18, at § 12.Google Scholar
46 Kesavan in Arora, supra note 18, at § 10.Google Scholar
47 Id.Google Scholar
48 Similarly, see: “[t]he future of Western political theory will be decided outside the West. And in deciding that future, the experience of India will loom large.” (Khilnani, supra note 35, at 198.)Google Scholar
49 Arora, , supra note 18, at § 3.Google Scholar
50 Mukherjee, Prahab, Keynote Address of the Minister for External Affairs of India (5 November 2007) at 8.Google Scholar
51 Jayal, Neerja Gopal in Outcome, supra note 43.Google Scholar
52 Friedman, , supra note 16.Google Scholar
53 Singh, , supra note 29, at 1.Google Scholar
54 Pande, , supra note 12, at 2. Also see Khilnani, , supra note 35, at 17.Google Scholar
55 Mukherjee, , supra note 50, at 2.Google Scholar
56 Appropriately, the Constitution of India emphasizes not only the common future but also the common past of the Indian nation.Google Scholar
57 Further see Sen, Amartya, The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity (2005), Part I.Google Scholar
58 Pande in Koller, Arnold, Welcome Address (5 November 2007) at 3.Google Scholar
59 Thürer, Daniel, “Analytical Written Summary for Subtheme 1.3 – ‘Managing Conflict and Diversity’”, at § 11 (emphasis in original; copy with author).Google Scholar
60 Generally see Outcome, supra note 43.Google Scholar
61 People can talk for themselves, Conference Newsletter (7 November 2007) at 8.Google Scholar
62 Koller, , supra note 58, at 7.Google Scholar
63 Unfortunately, these remarks cannot be attributed to specific participants, since the Chatham House Rule was in effect at the dialogue tables and work sessions.Google Scholar
64 Most leniently, one was inclined to concur with the judgment of the participant who said of the presentations, all of which answered the question posed, ‘can unity and diversity be reconciled?’, in the affirmative: “I remain unconvinced; I prefer the Scottish verdict ‘not proven’.”Google Scholar
65 In this direction, see « [i]l existe aujourd'hui presque autant de systèmes fédéraux que de fédérations. Nous savons tous qu'un ‘modèle unique’ n'existe pas et que chaque pays doit trouver la formule qui lui convient. » (Micheline Calmy-Rey, L'unité dans la diversité: le défi et l'opportunité du fédéralisme, Statement of the President of the Swiss Confederation (5 November 2007) at 5; available at <http://www.news-service.admin.ch/NSBSubscriber/message/attachments/10020.pdf>.).)>Google Scholar
66 The federal concept is, it was often said at the ICF, a ‘global movement’: two-fifths of the world's population is already governed under a form of federalism, and many countries are moving towards it. (For example, see Interview with Mark Tully, Conference Newsletter (8 November 2007) at 6.Google Scholar
67 For example, see “Federal political systems have provided the closest institutional approximation to the complex multicultural and multi-dimensional economic, social and political reality of the contemporary world.” (Ronald Watts, An Introduction to the Themes of the 4th International Conference, Conference Reader – 4TH International Conference on Federalism, at 19.) President Patil called for federalism, as a “strategic tool,” to be put to service in building not only individual nations but also “an equitable global order.” (P. Patil, supra note 18.) More extremely, see “[the concept of federalism] can evolve into a stage from where help to develop inter planetary activities by bringing all countries of the world together can be rendered”. (Shivraj Patil, Keynote Address of the Home Minister of India (5 November 2007) at 6.)Google Scholar
68 As a participant from South Africa noted, the current trend in her country is toward centralization: e.g. the number of provinces and the status of implementers of national policies are being reduced.Google Scholar
69 Xan Smiley, Arab federalism, anyone?, Economist – The World in 2008 (2007) at 92. Past experiments with this form of state organization in the United Arab Republic, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen have failed. In the region today, difficulty in defining territory (in Algeria), a minority group holding out for independence (Morocco), inability to agree to division of power on the national level (Lebanon), the centre's fear of subsequently losing power across the whole country (Sudan), etc. have defeated attempts at national reconciliation between contending groups by means of federalism.Google Scholar
70 The contrast here is between the politics of linguistic, religious, ethnic, and cultural differentiation and that of socio-economic differentiation.Google Scholar
71 Further see Enroute to Federalism, Conference Newsletter (8 November 2007) at 7.Google Scholar
72 Pande, , supra note 12, at 2.Google Scholar
73 “Factsheet, 4th ICF.”Google Scholar
74 Gandhi, Sonia, leader of the largest party in the government coalition in New Delhi, cancelled her attendance at the last moment.Google Scholar
75 Singh, , supra note 29, at 4.Google Scholar
76 Pande, , supra note 12, at 2.Google Scholar
77 For example, see “[Canada] has shown the world how people of different cultures and languages can live in peace, prosperity and mutual respect. In the United States, […w]e look to you; we learn from you”. (Bill Clinton, Closing Address to the International Conference on Federalism of the President of the United States of America, Mont Tremblant (8 October 1999) at 1; available at <http://www.forumfed.org/libdocs/IntConfFed99/ICFE9910-us-Clinton.pdf>.).)>Google Scholar
78 The road ahead…Ethiopia, Conference Newsletter (8 November 2007) at 2.Google Scholar
79 Further see Federation in a Federation, Conference Newsletter (8 November 2007) at 6, and Mehari Taddele Maru, Ethiopian Constitution Protects Diversity, Federations Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 1 (October / November 2007) at 15 et seq.; available at <http://www.forumfed.org/en/products/federations.php>..>Google Scholar
80 Anderson, , supra note 10.Google Scholar
81 Similarly, see the attitude of the Indian organizers of a related conference also held in New Delhi this year. The promise in the conference's title of mutual learning (“India and the Worldwide Movement for Democracy: What India Can Learn from Others’ Experiences and What It Has to Give”) turned out in the conference's description to be rather one-way: “[t]he past two decades or so have seen global consolidation of democracy though institutions are still weak in many nascent democracies. The Indian experience has been quite instructive, particularly its institutional innovations. There is obviously a lot that India can share with the wider world”. (Available at <http://www.issin.org>.).)>Google Scholar
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