CHAPTER 2

FEDERALISM
1. What do mean by federalism?
a. Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central
authority and various constituent units of the country.
b. Usually, a federation has two levels of government. One is the government for the entire
country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
c. The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of
the day-to-day administering of their state.
2. Define Federal Government and unitary government.
Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central
authority and various constituent units of the country.
Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are
subordinate to the central government.
3. Differentiate between unitary and federal system of government?

UNITARY FEDERAL

1. Either there is only one level of 1. Two or more levels of government

government or the sub-units are
subordinate to the central
government.

2. The central government can pass on 2. But in a federal system, the central
orders to the provincial or the local government cannot order the state
government. government to do something.

3. The sub-units have no power of its 3. State government has powers of its
own and are subordinate to the own for which it is not answerable
centre to the central government.

4. Briefly explain the features of federal form of government.

a. There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government.
b. Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own
JURISDICTION in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
c. The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the
constitution.
d. The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one
level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government.
e. Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of
government.
f. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its
financial autonomy.
5. What is the dual objective of federalism?
To safeguard and promote unity of the country and at the same time accommodate regional
diversity, is the dual objective of federalism.
6. What are the two aspects of federalism?
a. Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power-sharing.
b. They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.
In other words, mutual trust and agreement to live together are the two aspects of
federalism
7. What are the two routes through which federations can be formed?
There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.
COMING TOGETHER FEDERATIONS
The first route involves 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.
The USA, Switzerland and Australia are examples of coming together federations.
HOLDING TOGETHER FEDERATIONS
The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the
constituent States and the national government. India, Spain and Belgium are examples of
‘holding together’ federations. In this second category, the central government tends to be
more powerful than the States.
8. Define Jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction: The area over which someone has legal authority. The area may be defined in
terms of geographical boundaries or in terms of certain kinds of subjects.
9. Briefly explain the three fold legislative powers between the union government and state
governments in India.
Constitution clearly provided a threefold distribution of legislative powers between the Union
Government and the State Governments. Thus, it contains three lists:
a. The Union List: Union List includes subjects of national importance such as defence of
the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in
this list because it needs a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. The
Union Government alone can make laws in the subjects mentioned in the Union list.
b. 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 the State List.
c. Concurrent List: It includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government
as well as the State Governments, such as education, forests, 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 prevail.
10. What is residuary power? Who can make laws on residuary subjects?
The power of the union government to make laws on those subjects that do not fall in any
of the three lists-the union List, State List and Concurrent List-is called residuary powers.
‘Residuary’ subjects: These are subjects that do not fall in any of the three lists-the union
List, State List and Concurrent List.
 According to our constitution, the Union Government has the power to legislate on these
‘residuary’ subjects.
Example of a residuary subject is Cyber Law.
11. What is a union territory?
a. These are areas which are too small to become an independent State but which could
not be merged with any of the existing States.
b. Chandigarh, or Lakshadweep or the capital city of Delhi is some of the examples of Union
Territory.
c. These territories do not have the powers of a State.
d. The Central Government has special powers in running these areas.
12. ‘The sharing of power between the Union Government and the State governments is basic to
the structure of the Constitution’. Explain.
The sharing of power between the Union Government and the State governments is basic to
the structure of the Constitution.
a. It is not easy to make changes to this power sharing arrangement. The Parliament
cannot on its own change this arrangement.
b. Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least
two-thirds majority.
c. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States.
13. What is the role of judiciary in a federal government?
The judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional
provisions and procedures.
In case of any dispute about the division of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court
make a decision.
14. Most federations that are formed by ‘holding together’ do not give equal power to its
constituent units. Justify the statement with the example of India.
Most federations that are formed by ‘holding together’ do not give equal power to its
constituent units.
a. All States in the Indian Union do not have identical powers. Some States enjoy a special
status.
b. Jammu and Kashmir has its own Constitution.
c. Many provisions of the Indian Constitution are not applicable to this State without the
approval of the State Assembly.
d. Indians who are not permanent residents of this State cannot buy land or house here.
e. Similar special provisions exist for some other States of India as well.
(In India Article 370 has been amended that these provisions are not valid at present.
Assam has got some special provisions)
15. What do you understand by linguistic states? Explain how it has been implemented in India.
What are the advantages of formation of linguistic states in India?
States that have been formed on the basis of language are called linguistic states.
a. Between 1947 and 2017, many old states have vanished and many new States have
been created.
b. Areas, boundaries and names of the States have been changed.
c. In 1947, the 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.
 d. Some States were created not on the basis of language but to recognize differences
based on culture, ethnicity or geography. These include States like Nagaland,
Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
e. The experience has shown that the formation of linguistic States has actually made the
country, more united.
f. It has also made administration easier.
16. Write a brief note on the language policy of India.
a. Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi
was identified as the official language.
b. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the
Constitution.
c. States also have their own official languages. Much of the government work takes place
in the official language of the concerned State.
d. Official policy of the government of India is to spread Hindi.
e. The use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965.
f. Due to protest from non-Hindi speaking states, the Central Government agreed to
continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes.
17. ‘For a long time, the State governments in India did not exercise their rights as autonomous
federal units’. Give reasons. What led to the improved centre-state relations in India?
a. For a long time, the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the States. This
meant that the State governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal
units.
b. Centre tried to undermine the power of the States.
c. In those days, the Central Government would often misuse the Constitution to dismiss
the State governments that were controlled by rival parties under the presumption of
administrative breakdown in the states ruled by rival political parties.
d. By 1990s regional political parties rose in many states of the country and came in to
power in many states.
e. This was also the beginning of the era of COALITION GOVERNMENTS at the Centre.
f. A major judgment of the Supreme Court made it difficult for the Central Government to
dismiss state governments in an arbitrary manner.
18. What is decentralization and Why decentralization? (What is the rationale behind
decenttralisation?)
a. When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local
government, it is called decentralisation.
b. A vast country like India cannot be run only through these two-tiers, The union
government and State governments.
c. In terms of area, States in India are as large as independent countries of Europe.
d. In terms of population, Uttar Pradesh is bigger than Russia, Maharashtra is about as big
as Germany.
e. Many of these States are internally very diverse.
19. What is the basic idea behind decentralization?
a. There are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local
level.
 b. People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.
c. They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more
efficiently.
d. Besides, at the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision
making, which helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.
e. Local government is the best way to realise one important principle of democracy,
namely local self-government.
20. What were the important steps taken by the Indian government towards decentralization?
(Important provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act of 1992)
a. Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
b. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for
the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
c. At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
d. An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each
state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
e. The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local
government bodies. The nature of sharing varies from State to State.
21. Briefly explain the structure of local government system in India.
Gram panchayat.
a. Rural local government is popularly known by the name panchayati raj.
b. Each village, or a group of villages in some States, has a gram panchayat.
c. 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 that ward or
village.
d. It is the decision-making body for the entire village.
e. The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the Gram Sabha.
f. All the voters in the village are members of Gram sabha.
g. It has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of the gram
panchayat and to review the performance of the gram panchayat.
Panchayat Samiti or Block or Mandal.
a. A few gram panchayats are grouped together is called a panchayat samiti or block or
mandal.
b. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members
(members of gram sabhas) in that area.
Zilla (district) Parishad.
a. Most members of the zilla parishad are elected.
b. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other
district level bodies are also its members.
c. Zilla parishad chairperson is the political head of the zilla parishad.
Municipalities
a. Municipalities are set up in towns.
b. Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations.
c. Both municipalities and municipal Corporations are controlled by elected bodies
consisting of people’s representatives.
 d. Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality.
e. In a municipal corporation such an officer is called the mayor.
22. What are the advantages of local government system in India?
a. The system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted
anywhere in the world.
b. There are now about 36 lakh elected representatives in the panchayats and
municipalities etc., all over the country. This number is bigger than the population of
many countries in the world.
c. Constitutional status for local government has helped to deepen democracy in our
country.
d. It has also increased women’s representation and voice in our democracy.
23. What are the difficulties the local government system facing in India?
a. While elections are held regularly and enthusiastically, gram sabhas are not held
regularly.
b. Most state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local
governments.
c. Local government bodies are not given adequate resources.
We are thus still a long way from realising the ideal of self-government.