Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin formed a new panel in 2025 to review state autonomy, echoing the 1969 Rajamannar Committee. The panel will study current laws, suggest reforms, and seek more power for states in governance, aiming to address long-standing concerns over excessive central control and revive federalism debates.
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Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister has set up a committee to investigate the issue of states' autonomy.
In 1969, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, created the Rajamannar Committee to look at how the central government and state governments, like Tamil Nadu, share power.
In 2025, Tamil Nadu’s current Chief Minister, MK Stalin, created a three-member committee under Justice Kurian Joseph, to study the Constitution and recommend steps to provide states more freedom in the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
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The New Panel’s Job ● Study the current laws and see how they affect state powers. ● Suggest ways to fix the problems and give more freedom to the states. ● Submit an interim report by January 2026 and a final report by 2028 |
The Center Has Too Much Control, because the same political party (Congress) ruled in the Union and majority of states. For example, the Union government could suggest to states what to do using rules in the Constitution (like Articles 256, 257, and 365), and if states didn’t listen, the center could take over by imposing President’s Rule (Article 356). This made states feel like they were just following orders, not governing themselves.
The committee said Article 356, which lets the central government take over a state if it thinks the state isn’t running properly, should be scrapped. They called it a “weapon” that makes states weak. Instead, they suggested creating an Inter-State Council (a group where states and the center talk things out) to solve problems together.
Some people argued that India needs a powerful central government to stay united. The committee said if the center tries to control everything (like health or education), it gets weak because it’s doing too much. They said the center should focus on big things, like defending India from other countries, not small things, like running schools. States should handle those.
The committee suggested moving some topics, like education or agriculture, from the Concurrent List to the State List. They also wanted states to have residuary powers and more taxing powers to raise their own finances.
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The central government ignored the report. None of its big ideas were put into action, but it started a conversation about federalism that’s still alive today. |
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PRACTICE QUESTION Q. The increasing centralization of powers is a threat to India's federal structure. 150 words |
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