CHAPTER 2

FEDERALISM

Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central

authority and various constituent units of the country.

Key features of federalism :

● There are two or more levels for tiers of government.

● Different levels of government govern the same citizens, but each level has its own
jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation , taxation and administration.
● The jurisdictions of the respective levels of government are specified in the
constitution . the authority and existence of each tier of government is constitutionally
guaranteed .
● The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one
level government. It requires the consent of both levels of government.
● Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the power of different levels of
government. The Supreme Court makes judgments if any dispute arises between the
central and state government. in the exercise of their respective powers.
● Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure their
financial autonomy .
● The federal system has dual objectives to safeguard and promote unity, and to
accommodate regional diversity .

Two types of federations :

Coming Together Federation:

● In this , many independent States come together to form a bigger unit .

● Usually all States have equal powers.
● State and central government are equally powerful.
● Ex:- USA, Switzerland, Australia

Holding Together Federation :

● In this, a large country decides to divide power between the constituent states and
central government.
● Often the States have unequal powers.
● The central government tends to be more powerful
● Ex: India , Belgium, Spain
 Difference between federal system and Unitary system :

● In federalism , each level of government enjoys their power independent of each

other. In unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub- units
are subordinate to the central government

India as a federal country

● The constitution originally provided a two - tier system of government namely the
central Government and The state Government.
● A third tier of federalism was added later in the form of Panchayats and municipalities
. There are now three levels of government , Central , State and local Government .
Their existence and authority is constitutionally guaranteed.

● The jurisdiction of each level of government is specified in constitution .There

are following lists -
➔ Union list - It contains subjects of national importance and requires a uniform policy
throughout the country . Central government alone can make laws related to these
subjects . Ex - Defence ,Banking , currency , Foreign Affairs etc.
➔ State list - It contains subjects of state and local importance and are of day to day
administration . State government alone can make laws related to these subjects . Ex
Police , Trade, Agriculture , Irrigation , Commerce etc .
➔ Concurrent List - It includes subjects of common interest to both the Central and state
Government like education , health , forest , marriage adoption etc . Both
governments can make laws on these subjects , but if their laws conflict then the law
conflicts then the law made by the central Government will prevail .
➔ Residuary list - It includes the subjects that came up after the constitution was made
like computer science . According to the constitution the central Government has
powers to legislate on residuary subjects.
➔ India is a holding together federation. The constituent States do not have equal
powers . Jammu and Kashmir was granted special power. It used to have its own
constitution , many provisions of the Indian constitution didn't apply to J & K (But After
2019, J&K no longer has this special status).
➔ Areas like Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Delhi are called Union Territories . There
territories do not have the powers of a state . The central Government has special
powers in running these areas .
➔ It is not easy to change the power sharing arrangement of India . First, it has to be
passed by two third majority of both Houses of Parliament, then it has to be passed by
the legislatures of at least half of the total States.
➔ If any dispute arises between different levels of government about the exercise of
power then Supreme Court or High Courts make a decision

How is federalism practiced ?

Linguistic States :
● The creation of linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in
our country.
 ● After Independence 1947 , the boundaries of several old States were changed in
order to create new States.
● This was done to ensure that the people who spoke the same language lived in the
same state.

Language Policy :
● The Indian constitution does not give status of national language to any one language.
● About 40% of Indians' mother tongue is Hindi . So, Hindi is the official language of
India .
● Besides Hindi , 21 other languages are recognised as scheduled languages by
constitution.
● A candidate in an examination for a central government position may opt to take an
examination in any of these languages .
● States have their own official language in which the government work takes place in
the respective state.
● English acts as a medium of communication between central and state or inter - state
government work.

Centre - State Relations :

● For a long time, the same political party ruled in the centre and many of the States.
This did not allow state governments to exercise their rights as autonomous federal
units .
● If the party ruling in state and centre was different then central Government often
misused the constitution to dismiss state Government that was controlled by their rival
party.
● All this changed significantly after 1990 .The time saw the rise of regional political
parties.This was the beginning of the era of coalition government at centre . No single
party had to enter into an alliance to form a government at the centre.
● This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of the State
government.
● This new trend made difficult for central Government to dismiss state Government in
arbitrary manner

Decentralisation in India

Deentralisation :
When power is taken away from Central and State governments and is given to local
governments , it is called decentralisation.The local government includes Panchayats in
villages and municipalities in Urban Areas . Earlier elections were not held regularly and local
governments were not given any power by the state government. A major step towards
decentralisation was taken in 1992

Amendments of 1992 :
● It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
● Seats are reserved in the elected bodies for SC, stand OBC.
● At least one third of all positions are reserved for women .
● An independent institution is created called State Election Commission in each state
to conduct panchayat and municipality elections.
● The state Government has to share some of its power and revenue with the local
 government. This sharing varies from state to state.

Structure of Rural local Government :

● Each village has a gram Panchayat consisting of several ward members(Panch) and a
President (Sarpanch) .They are directly elected by the adult population of that ward or
village . It works under the supervision of foam Sabha . -
● A few gram panchayat forms panchayat Samiti or block or mandal . The members of
these representative bodies are elected by all the Panchayat members in that area
● All panchayat samitis or mandals of the district together form Zila Parishad . Members
of Lok Sabha , MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level
bodies are also its members.
● In big cities, there are municipal Corporations.Both these local government bodies are
controlled by elected bodies consisting of people 's representatives..

Previous Year Questions :

Q1.Which administrative authority legislates on Residuary subjects?

a) State b) union c) Concurrent d) All of the above

Q2. Which administrative authority legislates on the Union list?

a)Union Government b) Legislative c) Executive d) Judicial

Q3. Name the subject list from which both the Union and the State governments can
make laws?
a) Union List b) Concurrent List c) State List d) All the above

Q4.What other factors besides politics keep the federations united ?

a) Language Ethnicity b) Power Sharing c) Resource Distribution d)All The Above

Q5. Which local body has a ‘Mayor’ as its head?

a)Nagar Panchayat b)Municipal Council c)Municipal Corporation d)None of the above

Q6. Much of the official work in Indian States is done in which language?
a) English b) Hindi c) Any language. d) Official state language

Q7.What is Rural local self government popularly known as?

a) Panchayati Raj b) Municipal Corporation c) Municipal Council d) Ward Councils

Q8.What status has been given to the ‘Hindi’ language by the Constitution of India?
a) National Language b) Inter state Language c) Official Language d) State Language

Q9. What steps were taken by the government towards decentralization in the year 1992?
a) The Constitution mandates the holding of regular elections to local government bodies.
b) Reservation of seats in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these
 institutions for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes.
c) Reservation of at least one third of all positions for women.
d) All of the above

Q10. Name any two subjects that are included in the Concurrent List.
a) Police b) Currency c) Education d) Marriage

Q11. How is the sharing of power between the Union and the State Governments basic to
the structure of the Constitution of India? Explain.
➔ ANS 11. Sharing of power between the Union and the State governments is very basic
to the structure of the Constitution. The Constitution has distributed the legislative
powers between the state government and Union government by dividing the subjects
in Union list and State list, on which, these governments can make laws respectively.
There is a Concurrent list as well on which, both the governments can make laws.
➔ Also, State governments enjoy their own power in the states like Jammu and Kashmir.
Many provisions of the Indian Constitution are not applicable in the states without the
approval of the state government. On the other hand, the Union government enjoys its
own hold over some of the union territories. This distribution of power is well
embedded in the provisions of the constitution and is thus its basic structure

Q12. Describe any three provisions of amendment made in ’Indian Constitution’ in 1992
for making the ‘Three-Tier’ government more effective and powerful.
ANS 12. A major step towards decentralization was taken in 1992. The constitution
was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective:
1. Now it is constitutionally mandated to hold regular elections for local government bodies
2. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for
SC/ST/Backward classes. At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
3. An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in
each state to conduct Panchayat and Municipal elections.

Q13.India comes under which type of federation and why?

● ANS13.India comes under 'a holding together' type federation. In this type of
federation, a large country divides its power between the constituent States and the
National government. There is one government for the entire country and the others
are governments at the State level. Both Central and State Governments enjoy their
power independent of the other.
● The Central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the states. Often different
constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. For example, special powers
have been granted to Jammu & Kashmir till 2019

Q14.Why is decentralisation favoured in democracy? Identify any two reasons.

ANS 14. Two advantages of decentralisation of power:
1 When power is taken away from Central and State Governments and given to
local governments, it is called decentralisation. The basic idea behind decentralisation
is that there are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the
local level. People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.
2. They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things
more efficiently.
Q15. Explain the vertical division of power by giving examples from India.
ANS15.When power is shared among governments at different levels, i.e., the Union or the
Central Government, the State Government and the Municipality and Panchayat at the
lower level. This division of power involving higher and lower levels of government is
called the vertical division of power.

➔ Vertical division of power in India: The Constitution declares India as a Union of

States. Although the word 'Federation' is not used, the Indian Union is based on the
principles of federation. The Constitution originally provided for a two-tier system of
government, the Union Government or the Central Government representing the
Union of India and the State Governments.

➔ A third-tier of federation was added in the form of Panchayats and Municipalities. As in

any federation, these different tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction. The Constitution
provides for a] three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union
Government and State Government. It contains three lists:
1 . Union List (97 Subjects)
2. State List (66 Subjects)
3. Concurrent List (47 Subjects)

Q16. How is federal power sharing more effective today than in the early years? Explain.
● ANS16.- Federal power sharing is more effective because of the nature of democratic
politics in India. It has ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and
desire for living together have become a shared ideal in our country.
● Federal power sharing has helped to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.
Federal power sharing is the best way to realise one important principle of democracy,
namely local self-government. Constitutional status for local government has helped to
deepen democracy.
A. It has increased women's representation and voice in democracy.
B. Federal power sharing has led to formation of linguistic states which has actually
made the country more united. It has also made administration easier.
C. It reduces the power of the Central government and gives power to
regional governments.

Q17. Explain any five features of federalism.

ANS17. Features of federalism:
❖ There are two or more levels of government.
❖ Different levels of government govern the same citizens, where each level has its own
jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
❖ Existence and authority of each level of government is constitutionally governed.
❖ The fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be unilaterally changed. Such
changes require the consent of both the levels of government.
❖ Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution and powers of the different levels
of government. The highest court acts as the umpire if any dispute arises between
different levels of governments.

Q18. Which five provisions of the constitutional amendment of 1992 really strengthened
the third tier of democracy in India? Explain.
ANS18. Major steps towards decentralisation and strengthening of third tier taken in
1992 were:
 ● Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to Local Government
bodies.
● Seats are reserved in elected bodies for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other
backward classes (OBCs).
● At least one-third of all positions and seats are reserved for women.
● An independent institution called the State Election Commission was created to
conduct Panchayat and Municipal elections.
● The State Governments are required to share some powers and revenue with Local
Government bodies.

Q19. Why has federalism succeeded in India? Which policies adopted by India
have ensured it? Explain.
ANS19. Reasons for the success of federalism in India are:
● Clearly laid out Constitutional Provisions providing a three-fold distribution of powers
in the three lists-Union List, State List and Concurrent List-between the Union
Government and State Governments
● The nature of democratic politics in our country ensures that the spirit of federalism,
respect for diversity and desire for living together becomes a shared ideal.
● The creation of linguistic states. Boundaries of several old states of India were
changed in order to create new states. This was done to ensure that people who
spoke the same language lived in the same state. Later some states were created to
recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography. For example:
Nagaland, Uttrakhand, Jharkhand, Telangana, etc.
● Restricting Centre-State relations. The constitutional arrangements for sharing power
work depending on how the ruling parties and leaders follow these arrangements. For
a long time, the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most states. Post-1990
saw the rise of regional parties. Since no single party got a clear majority in the Lok
Sabha, the national parties had to enter into an alliance which led to a new culture of
power sharing and respect for autonomy of State Governments