Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

For a long time, the same party (Congress) ruled both at the Centre and in most States. As a result, State Governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units — they simply followed the directives of the central leadership. When a rival party ruled a State, the Central Government often misused constitutional provisions to dismiss that State Government. This undermined the spirit of federalism even though the constitutional provisions remained unchanged, because the practice of power-sharing depends on how ruling parties actually follow those arrangements.

Source: How is federalism practised?, Centre-State relations, Chapter 2

---

• The examiner wants you to distinguish between constitutional provisions (which were unchanged) and actual practice (which undermined federalism).
• Two key points must be covered: (1) same-party dominance → States didn't act autonomously; (2) Central Government dismissed rival-party State Governments.
• Avoid writing about post-1990 changes — the question asks only about the undermining, not the improvement.
• Cite the chapter; it shows you know the source.