Article 356

Also called: President's Rule · Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"

Meaning

Article 356, also called President's Rule, lets the Union (central) government take over the running of a state when that state's government cannot be carried on according to the Constitution. The President acts on this power, usually after a report from the state's Governor. It matters because it shows clearly how the makers of the Constitution gave the Centre power over the states. NCERT calls this "a distinct bias towards the rights of the Union of India over those of its constituent states."

Explanation

Background: why the Assembly wanted a strong Centre

• Partition changed the plan.
• Before Partition, Congress had promised provincial autonomy (wide powers for the provinces), mainly to reassure the Muslim League.

• Partition removed that pressure. The case for weak provinces and a light Centre fell away.

• Nehru's letter to the Assembly President set the tone: "now that partition is a settled fact … it would be injurious … to provide for a weak central authority."

• Partition riots were spreading across provinces. Members argued that only one authority with power over every province could stop the communal frenzy.
• Dr B.R. Ambedkar wanted a "strong and united Centre", "much stronger than the Centre we had created under the Government of India Act of 1935".
• Gopalaswami Ayyangar said the Centre "should be made as strong as possible".
• Balakrishna Sharma (United Provinces) said only a strong Centre could plan for the whole country, gather resources, run the administration and defend India.
• A colonial unitary system (the British ran India from the top) was already in place. The new state took over that machinery and built on it.

Main features of the provision

• What it does: the Centre can take over the administration of a state.
• Who starts it: the state's Governor, who is appointed by the Centre, reports or recommends that the state government cannot run as the Constitution says.
• Who acts: the President (in practice, the Union government) takes over the state's work. That is why it is called President's Rule.
• Where it fits: it was one part of a larger design that leaned towards the Centre:
• Three lists for making laws: Union, State and Concurrent (on Concurrent subjects both Centre and state can make laws).
• The Union List had more subjects than in other federations. The Concurrent List was longer than the provinces wanted.
• Minerals and key industries went under Union control.
• Most profitable taxes, such as customs duties and Company taxes, went to the Centre.

Opposition in the Assembly

• K. Santhanam (Madras) led the attack:
• "There is almost an obsession that by adding all kinds of powers to the Centre we can make it strong."
• A Centre with too many jobs would work worse, not better.
• It would be better to be frankly unitary than to run a sham federation (a federation in name only).

• He warned that the provinces would "revolt against the Centre".

• A member from Orissa warned that "the Centre is likely to break" under so many powers.

• A. Ramaswamy Mudaliar (Mysore) rejected the idea that people who wanted a strong Centre were the better patriots.
• Critics called the result a "Federo-Unitary" system (federal in name, but leaning towards one central government in practice). They pointed to the long Concurrent and Central lists for laws and taxes, and to the power to take over a state's administration in certain conditions [3].
• Members said the powers given to the Centre were too many and too wide, and that the States had been deprived of power in their own fields [3].

Later changes and results

• The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950 [2]. Article 356 came into force with it.
• The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 changed Article 356. It removed the words "or Rajpramukh" when the princely-state type of head of state was abolished [4]. (A Rajpramukh was the head of a union of former princely states.)
• Result: Article 356 became one of the main reasons the Constitution is seen as leaning towards the Union. It later became a flashpoint (a frequent cause of dispute) between the Centre and the states.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: framing of the Constitution, 1946–1950.
• Place: the Constitution Hall, now the Central Hall of Parliament House, New Delhi, where the Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946 [2].
• Key bodies:
• The Drafting Committee under Dr B.R. Ambedkar, set up on 29 August 1947 [2].

• The Draft Constitution was based on reports of the Union Powers Committee, the Provincial Constitution Committee, the Advisory Committee and the Minorities Committee [3].

• Scale of debate: the Assembly spent 114 days on the Draft Constitution and dealt with 2,473 of 7,635 amendments tabled [2].

• Key people: for a strong Centre: Nehru, Ambedkar, Gopalaswami Ayyangar, Balakrishna Sharma. Against: K. Santhanam (Madras), a member from Orissa, A. Ramaswamy Mudaliar (Mysore).
• How we know:
• Constituent Assembly Debates, Official Report, Volume VII (4 November 1948 to 8 January 1949), which records the "Federo-Unitary" criticism [3].
• Rajya Sabha records on the Constituent Assembly [2].
• The text of the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 [4].
• NCERT Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution".

Don't confuse with

• Article 352 (National Emergency): an emergency for the whole country or part of it, declared for war, external aggression or armed rebellion. Article 356 is about a single state's government failing to work as the Constitution says.
• Concurrent List: a list of subjects where both Centre and states make laws. It shares law-making power. Article 356 lets the Centre take over the state's whole administration.
• Government of India Act, 1935: the British law that gave the provinces elected ministries. Ambedkar wanted the new Centre to be stronger than the Centre under this Act. Do not mix up the 1935 Act with the Constitution that took effect in 1950.
• "Federo-Unitary": the label critics gave to the whole system [3]. It is not a provision. Article 356 was one of the reasons for that label.

Prelims Hooks

• Article 356 = President's Rule: the Centre takes over a state's administration, usually on the Governor's report or recommendation.
• Critics in the Constituent Assembly called the design "Federo-Unitary" partly because of the power to take over a state's administration [3].
• The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 removed "or Rajpramukh" from Article 356 [4].
• K. Santhanam (Madras) warned that the provinces would "revolt against the Centre". A. Ramaswamy Mudaliar was from Mysore. These are common pairing traps.
• Ambedkar wanted a Centre stronger than under the Government of India Act of 1935.
• Correct order: Assembly first meets (9 Dec 1946), then Drafting Committee set up (29 Aug 1947), then Constitution adopted (26 Nov 1949), then it comes into force (26 Jan 1950) [2].

Mains Points

• Partition shaped Article 356:
• Before Partition, provincial autonomy was Congress's offer to the Muslim League. Partition removed that need.
• Riots and the fear of chaos made a Centre that could step into a failing state look necessary.

• So the federal balance came from political circumstance, not from constitutional theory alone.

• Two ideas of "strength" clashed: Ambedkar, Ayyangar and Balakrishna Sharma said strength meant more powers at the Centre for peace, planning and defence. Santhanam said an overburdened Centre works worse, and that weak provinces make a sham federation that invites revolt. Article 356 is the clearest test case for this debate.

• Continuity with colonial rule: the Assembly built on the unitary machinery of the Raj and the 1935 Act instead of replacing it. Members themselves called the result "Federo-Unitary" [3]. Article 356's later career as a Centre–state flashpoint shows that the critics' fears were not baseless.

Related concepts

• Strong Centre debate
• N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
• Balakrishna Sharma
• Provincial autonomy
• Union Powers Committee
• Union, State and Concurrent Lists
• Fiscal federalism
• K. Santhanam
• A. Ramaswamy Mudaliar

Read more

• The powers of the state: Centre versus provinces