Federalism

1. What change in the form of government took place in Belgium in 1993?

--- In 1993, Belgium shifted from unitary to federal form of government.
--- The Constitution was amended and regional governments were given constitutional
powers.
--- The regional governments were no longer dependent on the central government.

2. What is federalism?
--- Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central
authority and various constituent units of the country.
--- Usually, a federation has two levels of government.
--- There is central government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few
subjects of common national interest from the Union List.
--- The state governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day-
to-day administration of their states and making laws for their respective state from the State
List.
--- Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.

3. What are the differences between a unitary system and a federal system of
government ?
Unitary System:
--- In a unitary system there is one level of government. In case of sub-unit, they are
subordinate to the central government.
--- There is no division of power and the central government has all the powers.
--- The state government or the sub-units are answerable to the central government.
Federal system:
--- Under a federal system, there are two or more levels of government – a central
government, state governments.
--- There is division of power between different levels of governments.
--- The state governments are not answerable to the central government. They have powers of
their own.

4. What are the key features of federalism?

Refer page no. 15. Mention all the 7 points, till - - - - while at the same time accommodate
regional diversity.

5. What are the two aspects crucial for the institutions and practise of federalism?
The two aspects crucial for the institutions and practise of federalism are
--- Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
--- They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.

6. Describe different routes for the formation of federations.

Coming Together Federation:
--- Under coming together federation, independent states come together on their own to form
a federation.
--- The objective is to form a bigger unit so that by pooling sovereignty and retaining identity,
they can increase their security.
--- Examples of this type of federation are the USA, Switzerland and Australia.
--- All the Constituent states and the federal government have equal powers and are strong
with regards to the federal government.

Holding Together Federation:

--- Under holding together federation, a large country decides to divide it’s power between
the constituent States and the central government.
--- Examples of this type of federation are India, Spain, and Belgium.
--- The central government tends to be more powerful with regards to states.
--- Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.
--- Some units are granted special powers.

7. What are the salient features of federalism in India?

The salient features of federalism in India are

(a) Two-three levels of government: In the beginning, the Constitution provided for a two-
tier system of government e., the Union or Central government and the State governments.
Later, a third-tier of government was added in the form of Panchayats and Municipalities.
These tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction.

(b) Division of legislative powers : The Constitution clearly provided threefold distribution
of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State governments.
Union list :
• It includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign
affairs, banking, communications and currency.
• These are included in this list because they are of national importance and we need a
uniform policy on these matters throughout the country.
• The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the subjects in the Union list.

State list :

• The State list contains subjects of state and local importance such as police, trade
commerce, agriculture and irrigation.
• The State Governments alone can make laws relating to these subjects.

Concurrent list :

• It includes subjects of common interest to both the Union government as well as the
State governments , such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and
succession.
• Both the Union as well as the State governments can make laws on these subjects.
• In case the laws conflict with each other, the law made by the Union government ,
will prevail.

Residuary powers :

• These include the subjects not included in three lists or subjects like computer
software that came up after the Constitution was made.
• The Central government can make laws on such subjects.
(c) Not too rigid nor too flexible: Amendments to the Constitution is not easy. Sharing of
powers or division of powers is basic to the structure of the Constitution and cannot be
changed easily. The Parliament has to pass an amendment in both the Houses with at least
two-thirds majority. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total
States.

(d) Independent courts and interpretation of the Constitution : The judiciary plays an
important role in the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. In case of
any dispute about the division of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court decide the
case.

(e) Independent resources : The Union and the State Governments can raise their resources
by levying taxes in order to carry on the government and the responsibilities assigned to each
of them.

8. What is jurisdiction ?
Jurisdiction is the area over which some one has legal authority. The area may be defined in
terms of geographical boundaries or in terms of certain kinds of subjects.

9. When was the report of the States Reorganisation Commission was implemented ?
1 November 1956.

10. What is decentralisation ?

When power is taken away from the Central and Sate government and given to local
government, it is called decentralisation.

11. Why has federalism succeeded in India ? Which three policies adopted by India
have ensured this success ?
The success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in the
country.
This has ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living
together became a shared ideal for all.
This has happened in various ways :
a. Linguistic States:
• The creation of Linguistic states was the first major test for democratic politics in
India.
• In 1947 the boundaries of several states were changed on the basis of several states
were changed in order to create new states.
• Some states were created to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or
geography. These are Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
• Under State Reorganisation Commission in 1956, the States were created on the basis
of language. Many States vanished and new States came into existence.
• States on the basis of culture. Some States like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand
were created to recognise the cultural and ethnic differences.
• There have been some opposition to the creation of states on the basis of language.
Experience has proved that the formation of linguistic States has actually made the
country more united,
• It has also made administration more easier.
 • The spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together has
become a shared ideal.
b. Language Policy:
• The Constitution of India did not give the status of national language to any one
language.
• According to Constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in
1965. However, many non-Hindi speaking States demanded to continue the use of
English, particularly in Tamil Nadu.
• The leaders adopted a cautious approach to avoid a Sri Lanka type situation.
It was, therefore, decided that English would continue along with Hindi for official
purposes. Official Language Act provides that English would remain the official
language of the country so long as non-Hindi speaking States desire.
• Thus, this approach has helped in avoiding confrontation with non-Hindi speaking
southern states particularly Tamil Nadu. It has also strengthened the spirit of
federalism.

C. Centre-State Relations: The relations between Centre and the States too has
strengthened the federalism in India as mentioned below :

• In the beginning the Central Government and the State Governments were controlled
by one political party. The Central Government dominated over the State
Governments.
• When some opposition or different political parties came to power in the States, the
relations between centre and the states changed.
• The Central Government misused the powers of the Constitution and dismissed the
governments led by the rival parties. This was against the spirit of federalism.
• After 1990 Coalition government was formed at the centre. Regional parties became
powerful in the states. Since no single party was able to secure majority, different
parties formed alliance such as NDA and UPA.
• This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State
Governments.
• The Supreme Court too made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss the
State Governments in an arbitrary manner. Thus, federal structure has been
strengthened by the coming of coalition governments.
• Federal power sharing has become effective and center-state relations have been
strengthened. Respect for the autonomy of the states has increased.
Thus all these policies have contributed towards making Indian federalism successful.

12. State difference between the local government before and after the constitutional
amendment in 1992.

Before 1992 After 1992

(1) There were panchayats in villages and (1) The state governments are required to
municipalities in urban areas but these were share some powers with the local
directly under the control of the state government bodies. Now local bodies got
governments. They did not enjoy constitutional status.
independent status.
(2) Elections to local bodies were not held (2) It is mandatory to hold regular elections
regularly. to local government bodies. If the state govt,
 dissolves the panchayat before the end of its
five year term, fresh elections must be held
within six months of such dissolution.
(3) These bodies did not have financial (3) The state governments are required to
resources. They were dependent on states or share some powers with local government
central government which used to grant bodies.
them financial aids.

(4) There was no reservation for SC/ST/ (4) Seats are reserved in the elected bodies
OBGs. and executive heads of these institutions for
the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
Other Backward Classes.

(5) There was no reservation for women. (5) One-third of all positions are reserved
for women.
(6) There was no independent state (6) An independent State Election
commission to conduct elections. Commission has been created in each state
to conduct panchayat and municipal
elections

13. Explain the major steps taken towards decentralisation for making the third-tier of
government more powerful.
The major steps taken towards decentralisation for making the third-tier of government more
powerful as mentioned below :

• It is Constitutionally mandatory to hold elections to local government bodies.

• Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and executive heads for SC/ST/OBCs.
• 1/3 seats are reserved for women.
• A State Election Commission was created to conduct election of local bodies.
• State governments were to share some powers and revenue with local government
bodies.

14. Explain any five features of Panchayati Raj system in India.

Or
Differentiate between Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat.
Or
How is rural local government known in India ? What are its different institutions ?

Rural local government is popularly known by the name panchayati raj.

Its different institutions are as mentioned below :

Panchayat:
There is a panchayat in each village or group of villages.
It is a council which has several ward members (panch) and a president (sarpanch).
They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village.
Panchayat is a decision-making body for the entire village.
It works under the overall supervision of gram sabha.
 Gram Sabha consists of all the voters and meets twice or thrice in a year to approve
the annual budget of the gram panchayat and to review its performance.

Panchayat samiti or block samiti:

A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form a panchayat samiti or block samiti. The
members of this body are elected by all the members of the panchayats in that area.

Zilla Parishad :

All the panchayat samities or mandals in a district constitute Zilla Parishad, whose members
are elected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of
other district level bodies are also its members. Zilla Parishad chairperson is the political
head of the Zilla Parishad.

15. Which are the local bodies in the urban areas? What is their composition?

• The local bodies in the urban areas are municipalities or municipal committees in
towns, and municipal corporations in big cities.
• The members of municipal committees and municipal corporations are also elected by
the people.
• Municipal Chairperson is the political head of the municipal committee. Chairperson
of municipal corporation is called the mayor.

16. Describe the achievements and problems faced by the local governments.

Achievements:

It is the largest experiment in a democracy conducted anywhere in the world. Its main
achievements are as follows :
• There are now about 36 lakh elected representatives in the panchayats and munici-
palities etc. all over the country.
• Constitutional status for local government has helped to strengthen democracy in the
country.
• There is a significant number of women in the local bodies.

Problems:

• Elections are held regularly but for gram sabhas are not held regularly.
• Many State governments have not transferred significant powers to the local
governments.
• Adequate resources have not been given to them. Thus, there is still a long way to
achieve the ideal of self-government.

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