India, Jan. 27 -- India's federalism as enshrined in the Constitution has proven to be remarkably resilient. In what is a masterly feat in political engineering, the Constitution skillfully blends federal characteristics such as division of powers, a written Constitution and an independent judiciary with unitary attributes like a strong central government, emergency provisions and centrally appointed governors. It is this unique federal structure with unitary features that has helped us navigate the governance of a large and diverse nation with distinct regional identities and challenges.

For sure, there have been Centre-state tensions. But which federal country hasn't had problems? Canada has its long-standing Quebec separatist movement...