Class 10 Civics Chapter 2 Federalism Important Questions

6. What status has been given to the ‘Hindi’ language by the

Constitution of India? Answer: Hindi has been given the status of ‘Official
language’ by the Constitution of India.

7. Much of the official work in Indian States is done in which language?

Answer: Much of the official work in Indian States is done in the official
language of the concerned state.

8. What is Federalism?Answer: Federalism is a system of government in

which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent
units of the country. This vertical division of power among different levels of
governments is referred to as federalism. Federalism is one of the major forms
of power-sharing in modem democracies.

11. Why is decentralisation favoured in democracy? Identify any two

reasons. Answer: Five 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.
3. Besides, at the local level, it is possible for the people to directly
participate in decision making. This helps to inculcate a habit of
democratic participation.
4. Local government is the best way to realise one important principle of
democracy, namely local self-government.
5. The need for decentralisation was recognised in our Constitution. A
major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992. The Constitution
was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and
effective.
12. India comes under which type of federation and why? Answer: 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.

13. State two agreements through which federations have been

formed. Give an example of each.Answer: (i) ‘Coming together’
federations—This agreement induces independent states coming together on
their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignty and retaining
identity they can increase their security.
Examples are: USA, Switzerland and Australia. All the constituent states have
equal power and are strong vis-a-vis the federal government.

(ii) ‘Holding together’ federations — In this agreement, a large country decides

to divide its power between the constituent States and the national
government. The Central Governments tend to be more powerful vis-a-vis the
states. Often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.
Some units are granted special powers, for example, India granted special
powers to Jammu & Kashmir.
Other examples are Spain and Belgium.

14. Which five provisions of the constitutional amendment of 1992

really strengthened the third tier of democracy in India? Explain.

Answer: Major steps towards decentralisation and strengthening of third tier

taken in 1992 were:

1. Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to Local

Government bodies.
2. Seats are reserved in elected bodies for scheduled castes, scheduled
tribes and other backward classes (OBCs).
3. Atleast one-third of all positions and seats are reserved for women.
4. An independent institution called the State Election Commission was
created to conduct Panchayat and Municipal elections.
5. The State Governments are required to share some powers and revenue
with Local Government bodies.
15. Why has federalism succeeded in India? Which are the policies
adopted by India that have ensured it? Explain. Answer: Reasons for
success of federalism in India are:

1. 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.
2. The nature of democratic politics in our country which ensures that the
spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together
became a shared ideal.
3. 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.
4. 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 of 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.
16. Explain any five features of federalism.

Answer: Features of federalism:

1. There are two or more levels of government.

2. Different levels of government govern the same citizens, where each
level has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation
and administration.
3. Existence and authority of each level of government is constitutionally
governed.
4. The fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be unilaterally
changed. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of
government.
5. 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.
17. Describe the three forms of power sharing among different organs
of government in India.

Answer: The Constitution declared India as a Union of States based on the

principles of federalism. The Constitution originally provided for a two-tier
system of government, the Union or the Central Government representing
Union of India and the State Governments. Later, a third tier was added in the
form of Panchayats and Municipalities.

As in any federation, these different tiers enjoyed separate jurisdiction. The

Constitution provided a three-fold distribution of legislative powers:

1. Union List includes subjects of national importance, i.e., defence of the

country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency.
2. State List contains subjects of state and local importance, i.e., police,
trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation.
3. Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest to both the Union
Government as well as the State Governments, i.e., education, forests,
trade unions, marriages, adoption and succession.
In case of dispute, law made by the Union Government shall prevail.
4. Residuary—Subjects which do not fall in any of the three lists, i.e.,
computer software, etc. Union Government has the power to legislate
such subjects.
 As India is an example of ‘holding together’ federation, all states
in the Indian Union do not have identical powers. Some states
enjoy special status such as Jammu & Kashmir. There are some
states too small to become independent like the Union Territories
of Chandigarh and Lakshadweep.
 This sharing of power between the Union Government and State
Governments is basic to the structure of the Constitution. Any
change to it, has to be passed by both the Houses of the
Parliament with at least two-third majority.
 The judiciary plays an important role in the implementation of
constitutional procedures. In case of any dispute about division
of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court make a
decision.
18. Describe in brief the language policy of India?

Answer:

1. Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one
language.
2. The formation of linguistic states united the country and made
administration easier.
3. The leaders of our country adopted a very cautious attitude in spreading
the use of Hindi. Hindi was identified as official language.
4. The banning of use of English for official purposes in 1965 took a violent
form in Tamil Nadu. The Central Government responded by agreeing to
continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes.
5. Promotion of Hindi is an official policy of the Government of India but it
does not impose Hindi on states where people speak a different
language.
6. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as scheduled
languages by the Constitution.
7. This flexibility shown by Indian leaders helped our country avoid the
situation that Sri Lanka finds itself in.
19. What were the major steps taken to make decentralisation more
effective?
Or
What amendments were made in the Constitution in order to make the
third tier of democracy (Local Government) more powerful and
effective?

Answer: Major steps towards decentralisation taken in 1992 are:

1. Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to Local

Government bodies.
2. Seats are reserved in elected bodies for scheduled castes, scheduled
tribes and other backward classes (OBCs).
3. Atleast one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
4. The State Election Commission was created to conduct Panchayat and
Municipal elections.
5. The State Governments are required to share some powers and revenue
with Local Government bodies.
20. Explain the structure of the new Panchayati Raj institutions, both
in rural and urban areas.Answer: Rural Local Government is known by the
name of Panachayati Raj/ Democratic decentralization.
  Each village or group of villages has a Gram Panchayat.
 Panch, President or Sarpanch are directly elected by all the adult
population of the village and is the decision-making body.
 The Panchayat works under the supervision of Gram Sabha, with all the
voters as its members.
 The local structure goes up to the district level—a group of Gram
Panchayats form a Panchayat Samiti or Block or Mandal.
 All the Panchayat Samitis or Mandals together constitute the Zilla
Parishad which consists of elected members.
 Lok Sabha members, Local MLAs and officers are also members of the
Zilla Parishad.
 Its Chairperson is the political head of the Parishad.
Urban areas local bodies.

 Municipalities are set up in towns.

 Big cities are constituted into Municipal Corporations.
 Both are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s
representatives.
 Municipal chairperson is the political head of the Municipality.
The head of Municipal Corporation is an officer called the Mayor.
.