Federalism Notes PDF - 2024-25

Questions & Answers SUBJECT: POLITICAL SCIENCE GRADE 10 CHAPTER 2-FEDERALISM 1. Unitary Government Only one level of Government. Subunits are subordinated. The centre can pass...

Questions & Answers SUBJECT: POLITICAL SCIENCE GRADE 10 CHAPTER 2-FEDERALISM 1. Unitary Government Only one level of Government. Subunits are subordinated. The centre can pass orders to the local Government. Example: United Kingdom 2. Federal Government It has two or more Levels of Government Government for the entire country Governments at the level of provinces/states. Both enjoy power independent of the other. State Government has power of its own and is not answerable to the centre. Example: USA 3. Explain the Features of Federalism. There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government. Each level has its own Power or jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration. Jurisdiction is specified by the constitution and there is constitutional guarantee of authority. So, the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed. The fundamental provisions of the Constitution can be changed only with the consent of both levels of Government. The court interprets the constitution and powers of different levels of Govt. The Supreme Court is the umpire if disputes arise with different levels of Govt. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure  its financial autonomy. Dual Objectives: To safeguard /promote the unity of the country. and to accommodate regional diversity. 4. What are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed? OR The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another. Elucidate. OR Distinguish between coming together and holding together federation Coming Together federation Independent states coming together on their own to form bigger unit. Increase security by pooling sovereignty and retaining identity. All constituent states have equal power Eg. USA, Australia Holding Together federation A large country decides to divide power between constitutional units and the Centre. Centre is more powerful vis-a vis the states Constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. Eg India, Belgium 5. Explain the Federal features of India. a) The Constitution has declared India as a Union of States. Three tier Federalism- Union, State and Local government. b) Three-fold distribution of legislative powers under Union list (100 sub), State list (67 sub) and Concurrent list (52 sub). Besides this there are Residuary powers Union List Has subjects of National importance.  Union alone can make laws. Defense, Banking, Currency, Foreign affairs and communication. State List Has subjects of local and State importance. State Govt. alone can make laws. Police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. Concurrent List Has subjects of common interest both to Centre and State. Both the Centre and State can frame laws. Education, Forest, Trade Union, Marriage, Adoption and succession. Residuary Powers Are subjects that do not fall under these three lists. The union government has the power to make laws for the subjects that are not included in any of the three lists. These are termed as ‘residuary subjects’. Eg computer software. c) Special status to some states. Some States enjoy a special status. States such as Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram enjoy special powers under certain provisions of the Constitution of India (Article 371) due to their peculiar social and historical circumstances. These special powers are especially enjoyed in relation to the protection of land rights of indigenous peoples, their culture and also preferential employment in government services. Indians who are not permanent residents of this State cannot buy land or house here. Union territories These are areas which are too small to become an independent State but which could not be merged with any of the existing States. These areas, like Chandigarh, or Lakshadweep or the capital city of Delhi, are called Union Territories.  These territories do not have the powers of a State. The Central Government has special powers in running these areas. d) Amendment of the constitution (Why is it not easy to make changes to this power sharing arrangement of India?) This sharing of power between the Union Government and the State governments is basic to the structure of the Constitution. It is not easy to make changes to this power arrangement. The Parliament cannot on its own change this arrangement. Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least two-thirds majority. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States e) Role of Judiciary: It plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. In case of any dispute between the centre and the states regarding the division of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court have the right of adjudication. f) Sources of Revenue The Union and State governments have the power to raise resources by levying taxes to carry on the government and the responsibilities assigned to each of them. 6. Explain the formation of Linguistic States in India The creation of Linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country. Many old States have vanished and many new States have been created. Areas, boundaries and names of the States have been changed. In 1947, the boundaries of several old States of India were changed to create new States. This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same State. Some States were created not based on language but to recognize differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography. Eg -:Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.  The experience has shown that the formation of linguistic States has actually a) Made the country more united. b) It has also made administration easier 7. Explain the Language Policy of India No language has been given the status of National language. Central government can’t impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states. 22 languages have been recognised as scheduled languages. Centre agrees to use English along with Hindi. By this flexibility is shown. Each state has its own official language. According to the Constitution, English as an official language was supposed to be discontinued in 1965. However, due to opposition by non-Hindi speaking states, both English and Hindi are being continued for official purposes. 8. Explain the Centre State relations before and after 1990 in India. Before 1990 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. As and when the ruling party at the State level was different, the parties that ruled at the Centre tried to undermine the power of the States. In those days, the Central Government would often misuse the Constitution to dismiss the State governments that were controlled by rival parties. This undermined the spirit of federalism. After 1990 After 1990, the era of coalition governments at the centre started. The major national parties had to enter into alliances with many regional parties to form the government. This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of state governments. This trend was supported by a major judgment of the Supreme Court that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state governments arbitrarily. 9. What is meant by Decentralisation? When power is taken away from Central and State Governments and given to Local  Governments. 10. What was the basic idea behind Decentralisation in India. Solving a large number of problems and issues at the local level. People have better knowledge of problems in localities. Better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things efficiently. People's participation in decision making. To realize one important principle of democracy Local Government. 11. What are the major steps taken towards decentralization in 1992? OR How the Constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effective? 1992 Act brought in effective Decentralisation. Steps taken for this by the constitution are: Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to 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. An independent institution called the 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 12. What is meant by Panchayati Raj? Rural local government is known as Panchayati Raj. Each village, or a group of villages in some States, has a gram panchayat which is a council consisting of several ward members, often called, panch and a  president or sarpanch. 13. What are the functions of Gram Panchayats? They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village. It is the decision-making body for the entire village. The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the gram Sabha. All the voters are its members. It has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of the gram panchayat and to review its performance. Panchayat samiti or block or mandal. A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form a panchayat samiti or block or mandal. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that area. Zilla (district) parishad. All the panchayat samitis and mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad. Most of the zilla parishad members are elected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district level body are also its members. 14. Explain the Local Government bodies for the urban areas. Local bodies that exist for the urban areas are known as municipalities. Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations. Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s representatives. Municipal Chairperson is the political head of the municipality. In a municipal corporation, such an officer is called the Mayor. 15. What are the Merits & Demerits or Advantages & disadvantages or positive & negative aspects of Local Government? Merits/ Advantages/ positive aspects of Local Government This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world. 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. 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. Demerits/ disadvantages/negative aspects of Local Government While elections are held regularly and enthusiastically, Gram Sabhas meetings are not held regularly. Most state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local governments. Nor have they given adequate resources. We are thus still a long way from realising the ideal of self-government. REFER THE TEXTBOOK NEW EDITION