3 Review(s)

THE SERIES In the contemporary world, Federalism as a political idea has become increasingly important as a way of peacefully reconciling unity and diversity within political systems. Federalism has grown in importance, in part because modern developments in transportation, social communications, technology, industrial organization, globalization and knowledge-based societies have all contributed to simultaneous needs for both larger and smaller political units.By combining elements of shared rule in larger units and self-rule in smaller regional units, federal political systems provide the closest institutional approximation to the complex multicultural and multidimensional economic, social and political reality of the contemporary world.Among federations, the magnitude of India’s diversity and its achievement of an encompassing unity stand out, although partition into the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, along with some population exchanges, were required at the time of independence in 1947, and certain intergroup conflicts have persisted since independence. There are more linguistic variations in India than in any other federation on the globe. Also there is an enormous range of other forms of diversity. Four of the world’s major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism—originated on the Indian subcontinent, and Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in India long ago.Vol 1 Building on and Accommodating DiversitiesThe first volume Building on and Accommodating Diversities draws attention to the extent to which diversity is not to be viewed simply as a problem but as an asset to be built upon in the process of nation-building. This volume also makes the very important point that diversity can enrich a polity. Nation-building is a necessity when the social milieu is diverse, and the various constituent groups need both identity and voice within the nation state rather than marginalization or homogenization.Vol 2 Emerging Issues in Fiscal Federalism The second volume Emerging Issues in Fiscal Federalism discusses the financial arrangements within a federation and how they have a significant impact on its operation. These arrangements can be especially salient and volatile in federations characterized by high levels of diversity wherein various groups are highly sensitive to who pays what and who gets what out of any given system of fiscal federalism.