Chapter 2: Federalism

(NCERT Full Line-by-Line Notes)

1. What is Federalism?

 Federalism is a system of government where power is divided between a central

authority and its constituent units (like states or provinces).

 A federation typically has two levels of government:

o One for the entire country (called the Union or Central Government)

o Others for the different regions or states

🟨 In a federal system, both levels of government are equal and independent in their own
areas.

🔁 Dual Objectives of Federalism

1. To safeguard and promote national unity

2. To accommodate regional diversity

This requires mutual trust and agreement to live together peacefully.

🔄 Types of Federations

1. Coming Together Federations

o Independent states come together voluntarily to form a bigger unit.

o All units have equal power.

o Examples: USA, Switzerland, Australia

2. Holding Together Federations

o A large country divides its power between the centre and the states.

o The central government tends to be more powerful.

o Some states may have special powers.

 o Examples: India, Belgium, Spain

🆚 Federal vs Unitary Government

Federal System Unitary System

Power is shared between Centre and States All power lies with the Central government

Each level is constitutionally independent States are subordinate to the Centre

Examples: India, USA Example: UK, China

2. Key Features of Federalism

1. Two or more levels of government

2. Different jurisdictions (areas of power)

3. Powers are clearly written in the Constitution

4. No level can change the Constitution unilaterally

5. Courts (especially Supreme Court) settle disputes

6. Sources of revenue clearly divided

7. Dual citizenship is not required in India (only one citizenship)

3. What Makes India a Federal Country?

 India is described as a “Union of States” in the Constitution.

 Even though the word "federalism" is not used, India shows all characteristics of a
federation.

Levels of Government:

1. Union Government (for the whole country)

2. State Governments

3. Local Governments (added by the 73rd and 74th Amendments in 1992)

📋 Three Lists in the Indian Constitution

1. Union List – Only Union Government can make laws

Examples: Defence, Foreign Affairs, Currency, Banking

2. State List – Only State Governments can make laws

Examples: Police, Agriculture, Irrigation, Trade

3. Concurrent List – Both Centre and States can make laws

Examples: Education, Forests, Marriage, Trade Unions
👉 If there’s a conflict, Union law prevails

🧮 Residuary Subjects

 Subjects not mentioned in any list are handled by the Union Government.
E.g. Cyber laws, AI, digital security

📜 Special Provisions

 Some states (like Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam) have special powers due to historical and
cultural reasons.

 Union Territories like Delhi and Chandigarh are directly ruled by the Centre (except a
few like Delhi which has partial powers).

🧾 Constitutional Amendments

 Federal structure cannot be changed by one level of government.

 Changes require:

o 2/3rd majority in both Houses of Parliament

o Approval of half the state legislatures

⚖️Judiciary’s Role in Federalism

 The Supreme Court solves conflicts between:

o Union and State Governments

 o State and State

o State and Local Governments

💰 Revenue Sharing

 Both Centre and States can collect taxes independently.

4. How is Federalism Practised in India?

🟫 4.1 Linguistic States

 India reorganised states on the basis of language after independence.

 This:

o Helped unify people

o Made administration easier

o Examples: Andhra Pradesh (first), Telangana, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh

4.2 Language Policy

 India has no national language.

 Hindi is the official language, spoken by ~44% Indians.

 There are 22 Scheduled Languages in the Constitution.

 States can have their own official languages.

 English remains an associate official language.

⚖️4.3 Centre-State Relations

 For a long time, the same party ruled the Centre and many states, which made the
Centre very powerful.

 After 1990, things changed:

o Rise of regional parties

 o Coalition governments at the Centre

o More democratic federalism

o Supreme Court rulings stopped misuse of President’s Rule

5. Decentralisation in India

🔽 What is Decentralisation?

 Taking power from central and state governments and giving it to local levels.

 Reasons:

o Local people know their issues best.

o Encourages participation in democracy.

73rd and 74th Amendments (1992)

 Made local government compulsory in India.

 Regular elections for local bodies.

 Reservations for SCs/STs/OBCs and 1/3rd seats for women.

 Created State Election Commissions.

 States must share revenue with local bodies.

🏡 Rural Local Government – Panchayati Raj

1. Gram Panchayat (village level) – elected body

o Overseen by Gram Sabha (all voters in the village)

2. Panchayat Samiti – block level

3. Zila Parishad – district level (top tier)

Urban Local Government

 Municipalities – small towns

  Municipal Corporations – big cities

 Headed by a Mayor or Municipal Chairperson

🏁 Importance of Local Government

 India has 3.6 million elected representatives, the largest democracy at the local level.

 Local governance deepens democracy.

⚠️However, challenges remain:

 Gram Sabhas often not held regularly

 Lack of power and funds for local bodies

✅ 10 Questions from Chapter 2: Federalism

🔵 5 Marks (Long Answer)

1. Explain the key features of federalism with examples from India.

2. Compare and contrast 'Coming Together' and 'Holding Together' federations.

3. What steps have been taken in India to decentralise power effectively?

🟢 3 Marks (Medium Answer)

1. What is the significance of the three lists in the Indian Constitution?

2. How did linguistic states strengthen Indian federalism?

3. What are the powers and structure of Panchayati Raj institutions?

🟡 1 Mark (Short Answer)

1. Name any one Union Territory of India.

2. What is meant by ‘residuary subjects’?

3. What is the meaning of decentralisation?

4. Who supervises the Gram Panchayat?

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.

1. One is the government for the entire country, which is usually responsible for a few
subjects of common national interest.

2. 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 Federal System

There is only one level of government, or the sub-units are There are two or more levels (or
subordinate to the Central Government. tiers) of government.

The Central Government can pass on orders to the provincial or The Central Government cannot
local government. order the state government to do
something.

The central government is supreme, and the administrative State Government has powers of
divisions exercise only powers that the central government has its own for which it is not
delegated to them. Their powers may be broadened and answerable to the central
narrowed by the central government government.

Key Features of Federalism

Some of the key features of the federalism system are:

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

2. Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own
JURISDICTION in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.

3. The existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.

4. 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.
 5. Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution and the powers of different levels of
government.

6. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its
financial autonomy.

7. 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.

1. 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.

2. 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:

1) 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.

2) 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:

1. It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections for local government bodies.

2. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for
the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

3. At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.

4. State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct panchayat and
municipal elections.
 5. 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.