FEDERALISM

BY ADOLF FIDEL CASTRO

What Is Federalism?

Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided

between a central authority and various constituent units of the
country.
• A federation has two levels of government. Both these levels of
government enjoy their power independently of the other.
• One is the government for the entire country, which is usually
responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
• Governments at the level of provinces or states, which look
after much of the day-to-day administering of their state.
Difference Between Unitary System and
Federal System

• Unitary System
• There is only one level of government, or the sub-units are
subordinate to the Central Government.
• The Central Government can pass on orders to the
provincial or local government.
• The central government is supreme, and the administrative
divisions exercise only powers that the central government
has delegated to them. Their powers may be broadened
and narrowed by the central government
• Federal System
• There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government.
• The Central Government cannot order the state
government to do something
• State Government has powers of its own for which it is not
answerable to the central government
Key Features of Federalism

There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government.

Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own
JURISDICTION in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
The existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
The fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one
level of government. Such changes require the consent of both levels of government.
Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution and the powers of different levels
of government.
Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its
financial autonomy.
• The federal system has dual objectives: i) To safeguard and promote the unity of the
country and ii) To accommodate regional diversity
Different Routes Through Which
Federations Can Be Formed
Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism:
mutual trust between the government of different levels and agreement to
live together. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have
been formed.

The first route involves independent States coming together on their own
to form a bigger unit. This kind of “coming together” federation is formed in
the USA, Switzerland and Australia.
• The second route is that a large country decides to divide its power
between the constituent States and the national government. This kind of
‘holding together’ federation is followed in India, Spain and Belgium
countries.
What Makes India a Federal Country?

• All the features of the federal system apply to the

provisions of the Indian Constitution. The Indian
Constitution is a three-fold distribution of legislative powers
between the Union Government and the State
Governments. The 3 lists are mentioned below:
• Union List: It includes subjects of national importance such
as the defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking,
communications and currency. The Union Government
alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in
this list.
State List: It contains subjects of State and local importance such as
police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The State
Governments alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned
in this list.

• 3) Concurrent List: It includes subjects of common interest to both the

Union Government as well as the State Governments. The list includes
education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession.
Both the Union as well as the State Governments can make laws on
the subjects mentioned in this list. If their laws conflict with each
other, the law made by the Union Government will be considered.
How Is Federalism Practised?

• The real success of federalism in India is attributed to its

nature of democratic politics. Have a look at some of the
major ways in which federalism is practised in India.
• Linguistic States:
• The creation of linguistic States was the first and a major test
for democratic politics in India. From 1947 to 2017, many old
States vanished, and many new States were created. Areas,
boundaries and names of the States have been changed.
Some States have been formed of people who speak the
same language. These states are known as Linguistic States.
Language Policy

• A second test for the Indian federation is the language policy. Hindi was
identified as the official language. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other
languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution.
States, too, have their own official languages, and government work
takes place in the official language of the concerned State.
• Centre-State relations:
• Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one more way in which
federalism has been strengthened in practice. Suppose no single party
gets a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the major national parties can
alliance with many parties, including several regional parties, to form a
government at the Centre. This led to a new culture of power sharing
and respect for the autonomy of State Governments.
Decentralisation in India

• When power is taken away from Central and State

governments and given to the local government, 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. Local people can also
directly participate in the decision-making
• A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992.
The Constitution was amended to make the third tier of
democracy more powerful and effective. Here are the key
features of 3-tier democracy:
It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections for local
government bodies.
Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of
these institutions for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other
Backward Classes.
At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct
panchayat and municipal elections.
• The State governments are required to share some powers and
revenue with local government bodies. The nature of sharing varies
from State to State.
Panchayati Raj System

Rural local government is popularly known as Panchayati Raj.

Each village, or a group of villages in some States, has a gram
panchayat. This is a council consisting of several ward members,
often called panch, and a president or sarpanch. They are directly
elected by all the adult population living in a village or ward. Gram
Panchayat is the decision-making body for the entire village.
• The Panchayat works under the overall supervision of the Gram
Sabha. All the voters in the village are its members. It has to
meet at least twice or thrice a year to approve the annual
budget of the gram panchayat and to review the performance of
the Gram Panchayat.
When Gram Panchayat are grouped together, they form a
Panchayat Samiti or Block or Mandal. The member of the
Panchayat Samiti representatives are elected by all the
Panchayat members in that area.

• All the Panchayat Samitis or Mandals in a district together

constitute the Zilla (district) Parishad. Members of the Lok
Sabha, MLAs of the district, and some other officials of
other district-level bodies are members of Zilla Parishad.
Municipalities

As Gram Panchayat is for Rural areas, similarly, we have Municipalities

for urban areas. Big cities are constituted into Municipal Corporations.
Both Municipalities and Municipal Corporations are controlled by elected
bodies consisting of people’s representatives. The Municipal Chairperson
is the political head of the Municipality. In a Municipal Corporation, such
an officer is called the Mayor.

• This new system of local government is the largest experiment in

democracy conducted anywhere in the world. Constitutional status for
local government has helped to deepen democracy in our country. It
has also increased women’s representation and voice in our
democracy
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