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Article 2.1 Name and Territory
of the Nation-State
BHARAT, also called
India, shall be a nation-state, not a union of federating
states. The nation-state shall comprise of states as specified
in Article 2.2.
Note: India, under British rule prior to independence, became a
sovereign nation-state. There was no covenant by which
independent states federated. It is therefore incorrect to call
India a federation. Democracy is deeper than federalism. In
democracy, power flows upward from the people, while autocratic
states can federate. Federalism has thus been wrongly identified
with democracy and has led to abuse of local jurisdictions by
the federal and state governments. US federalism is democratic
since each state has a democratic constitution with empowered
local governments. The terms, socialist and secular, inserted in
he preamble through the 42nd
constitutional amendment of 1976 have been removed, as they are
confusing and redundant. Democracy, by definition, can only be
egalitarian and secular.
Article 2.2 States
The concept of centrally
administered territories is colonial and has no place in a
democracy. If there can be tiny nations such as Monaco and
Vatican in Europe and tiny states such as Rhode Island and New
Jersey in the USA, there can certainly be tiny states in India.
The territories designated Union Territories shall as from the
coming into force of this Constitution become self-governing
states. They shall have the power to levy property and other
taxes on the property and other activities of national and other
state governments for viability.
India shall thus consist of the following states, arranged below
in alphabetical order:
1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Andaman & Nicobar Islands*
3. Arunachal Pradesh
4. Assam
5. Bengal (West dropped being redundant)
6. Bihar
7. Chandigarh*
8. Dadra & Nagar Haveli*
9. Daman & Diu*
10. Delhi*
11. Goa
12. Gujarat
13. Haryana
14. Himachal Pradesh
15. Jammu & Kashmir
16. Karnataka
17. Kerala
18. Lakshadweep*
19. Madhya Pradesh
20. Maharashtra
21. Manipur
22. Meghalaya
23. Mizoram
24. Nagaland
25. Orissa
26. Pondicherry*
27. Punjab
28. Rajasthan
29. Sikkim
30. Tamil Nadu
31. Tripura
32. Uttar Pradesh * Presently Union Territories
State-wise statement of local jurisdictions is given at page 12.
Local and state jurisdictions or their names can hereafter be
altered only through consultations and can be given effect to
only after the views of minority groups are mediated and
effectively resolved.
Article 2.3
Obligations of the Nation-State
It shall be the
obligation of the nation-state to maintain the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the nation and peaceful and cordial
relations with other sovereign states. The national and state
governments shall provide higher level infrastructure to enable
local governments to create an egalitarian, non-exploitative,
cultured, educated, healthy, responsible and self-reliant
society, while conserving and enriching the cultural and natural
heritage.
Note: This Article replaces the
"Directive Principles of State Policy" of the present
Constitution that speak of laudable objectives but do not
provide the political and social environment for realising them.
State-wise
Statement of Local Jurisdictions
(See Article 2.2)
Note: Independent city governments presently called municipal
corporations should be seperated from district governments but
can have self-governed towns and villages in their jurisdiction.
District governments shall consist of town and village
governments.
District
headquarters shall hereafter be called district capitals. Large
cities that are independent governments cannot be the capitals
of district governments. In districts in which such large cities
are capitals, the capital will have to be moved to a town within
the district.
This statement
shall have to be developed state-wise based on these principles.
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