The Indian federal system has been dynamic in accommodatingpolitical and
societal changes since its constitutional blueprintwas drawn in 1949-50.
However, there has been a fundamentaltransformation in the operative principles
of federalismparticularly during the last decade or so. The rhythm and the
beatof the political system, and of the federal system within it, haschanged on
account of a variety of socio-economic and politicalfactors, but primarily
because of a disarray of the party system,neo-liberal economic policies, and
judicial decisions. Thecentralising thrust of the earlier years has yielded to
some kindof a 'confederal' operation of the political system, making
theformulation and implementation of public policies a'consociational' exercise
between political elites at the