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FEDERALISMINDIA -A FEDERAL COUNTRY.

1.Discuss the key features of a federal government?KEY FEATURES OF FEDERAL GOVT.a. Two or more levels of govt.: it is a system of govt. in which power is divided between central authority and vaconstituent units. E.g. in India, there are three levels of govt. i.e. union state and local.b. Separate jurisdiction: different tiers of the govt. govern the same citizen but each tier has its own jurisdiction of working and control) in specific matters of taxation, legislation and administration.c. Specification of jurisdiction: the jurisdiction of different levels of govt. are specified in the constitution soexistence and authority of each level of govt. is constitutionally guaranteed.d. Rigid constitution: the fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be changed by one level of the govt. changes require consent of both the levels of govt.e. Separate sources of income: sources of revenue for each level of govt. are clearly specified to ensure finaautonomy.f. Dual objective: federal system has dual objective for:-i. To safeguard and promote unity of the countryii. To accommodate the regional diversityg. Supremacy of judiciary : In federal government judiciary is given supremacy over the above organ ogovernment for:i. Protecting the constitutionii. Interpreting the constitutioniii. Deciding the dispute between center and stateQues-2 How is federalism practised in India?or What are the constitutional provisions regarding the practical application of Indian federatioor How has the linguistic policy followed by government helped to maintain federalism as well aunity of the country? Comment upon the language or linguistic poli cy followed by India.Or What policies have strengthened federalism in India?Ans.Constitutional provisions are necessary for the success of federalism but these are not sufficient. The naturdemocratic policies adopted by the governments from time to time has played a vital role in making federsuccessful.a) Linguistic States

i) New states were created in India on the basis of languages spoken by majority of people residin that area. Example: Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Punjab etc.ii) Some states were created not on the basis of languages but based on the difference in cultureethnicity or geography. Example Nagaland, Jharkhand and Utrakhand.iii) The formation of linguistic states has made the country more united. It has alsomade administration easier.

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According to the constitution, use of English for official purposes was discontinued in 1965 whichnot liked by some states. So the central government agreed to continue the use of English alongHindi for official purposes. The flexibility showed by the Indian political leaders helped India to avoid the kind of situationSri Lanka finds itself in.

Centre State Relationships: - Restricting of centre state relations has strengthened the federalism. For a long time, the same political party ruled at both the centre and most of the state. In those the central government would often misuse the constitution to dismiss the state government wwas controlled by their rivalries. After 1990, the coalition government became common at centre i.e. no single party got a majority in Lok Sabha and major national parties along with the regional parties joined their htogether to form a government at centre. This led to new culture of power sharing and respecautonomy of the state government. The Supreme Court also issued judgements which made it difficult for the central governmedismiss state government in arbitrary manner.

Ques-3 What is federalism?Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constitof the country. Federalism usually has a two level government i.e. central and the state government.Ques-4 What is the difference between federation and unitary governments?or What are the distinguishing features of federal and unitary govts?or Compare and contrast unitary govts with federal govts.Ans.Federal System

I. The central government cannot order the state government to do somethingII. The state government has the powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central governmentIII. Both the governments are separately answerable to the people.Unitary System

I. Either there is only one level of government or the sub units are subordinate to the central Government II. The central government can pass orders to the provincial or the local government.

Unitary Govt. Federal Govt.

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1. Under the unitary system,either there is only onelevel of govt. or the sub-units are subordinate to thecentral govt.2. The central govt. can passon orders to the provincialor the local govt.

1. State govt. has powers of its ownfor which it is not answerable tothe central govt.2. Central govt. cannot order thestate govt. to do something.

Ques-5 What are the two levels of govt. which a federation usually has?Ans. 1. The govt. for the entire country is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.

2. The others are govts at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day-to-day administeritheir state.

Both these levels of govts enjoy their power independent of each other.

Ques- 6 In which situation does the highest court act as an umpire?Ans. When disputes arise between different levels of govt in the exercise of their respective powers.Ques- 7 What are the dual objectives of Federal system?Ans. 1. To safeguard and promote unity of the country

2. Accommodate regional diversity.Ques- 8 Which two aspects are crucial for federalism?Ans. 1. Govts at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.

2. They should also trust that each would abide by its part of agreement.

Ques- 9 The exact balanc e of power between the centr al and state governm ent varies from onefederation to another. Explain.OrExplain the various types of Federations or Federal Governments?Ans There are mainly two types of federations:1. 'Coming Together' Federationa) In this type of federation, independent states come together on their own to form a bigger unb) The states pool their sovereignty but retain their identity. T his increases their security.

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c) All such states enjoy equal power and are strong in comparison to federal (central) governmeStates enjoy more autonomy and freedom to make laws.d) USA, Switzerland and Australia are this type of federation.2. 'Holding Together' Federationa) In this type of federation, a large country decides to divide its power between the constituentstates and the national government.b) The states are able to retain their identity. This creates unity in diversity.c) In this the central government is more powerful in comparison to the state government. Allstates do not enjoy equal powers i.e. states enjoy unequal powers. States enjoy less autonomy anfreedom to make laws.d) India, Spain and Belgium have this kind of federation.Ques- 10 "India is a federal country." Justify the stat ement giving your own arguments?OrWhat makes India a federal country? Ans. India is a federal country

1. Three Tier System : Cons ti tu tion of India prov ides a three tier system of government, i.e ugovernment, state government, local government.2. Division of power : The constit ution has three l ists - Unio n list, state list and concurrent list whclearly define the power sharing between the central and state government.3. Constitution provides three fold distribution of legislative powers among central, state andpanchayats and municipalities.4. Consent of both level of government : It is not easy to make any changes in the structurconstitution because consent of both parliament and state legislative is required to do so.5. No equal power to all administrative units : In India different states do not enjoy equal power becIndia is Holding together federal system.6.Supremacy of judiciary : In case there is any dispute between the various levels of governmenIndia, High court and Supreme court make the decision.7.Separate source of income : The cen tra l gove rnment as well as stat e governm ent both can (charge) taxes to raise resources so as to do the developmental work. In India constitution has divided the powers of Union and state govt. in accordance of the follow

lists:

Union list- subjects of national importance like defense, foreign affairs, railways, post and telegetc. are included in the union list. Only union govt. can pass laws on subjects mentioned in this li

these are important for the whole country. This list has 97 subjects.

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State list- it has 66 subjects on which the state govt. has passed laws. E.g. police, local govt., tragriculture.

Concurrent list- it has 47 subjects which are of common concern to both union and state list and can make laws on subjects mentioned in these lists. However, if there is conflict between centre

state over a subject, then central and union law will be effective. This list includes subjects like

and criminal procedures, economic planning, education structure etc.

Residuary list of powers- Matters which are not included in any list are known as residuary powThe central government has been given the power to legislate on residual subjects.

There are some units of Indian union, which enjoy very little power. These are areas which aresmall to become independent states and cannot be merged with any of the existing states. T

areas, like Chandigarh or Lakshadweep are called union territories. These territories do not have

power of state. The central government has special powers in running these areas.

The constitution cannot be changed unilaterally by one level of the government. Any changamendment to constitution has to be first passed by both the houses of parliament with at leas

3rd majority. After this majority, it has to be ratified by state legislatures of at least half the

states.

In Indian federation, the judiciary is supreme. Any dispute between center and state are treferred to the Supreme Court and its verdict is final

There are separate sources of income for central and state governments e.g. income tax, excise etc. are collected by union govt. whereas slam revenue, slam duty etc. are collected by state govt.

Ques- 11 What are union territ ories? Why is J&K considered to be a special state?Or"India is a federation formed by holding together but different constituent units of Indianfederation have unequal power." Justify?Or"All states in the Indian union do not have identical powers." Give examples to justify your answAns All states in India do not have identical powers. Some states enjoy special status .example J&K.Case of Jammu and Kashmira) J&K has its own constitution.b) Many provisions of the Indian constitution are not applicable to this state. Approval of stateassembly is required for this.c) Indians who are not permanent residents of the state cannot buy land or h ouse in J&K.Case of Union Territoriesd) Some units of Indian union enjoy very little power because they are so small that they cannotconverted into a separate state. Also, they c annot be merged with anyone of the existing statesbecause of cultural or geographical differences. Such areas are cal led union territories.

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Delhi and Lakshdweep are union territoriesa) These territories do not have power of a state.b) Central government has special powers in running these areas.Ques- 12 How was the spirit of federa lism got undermined in India? What brou ght about changthis situation?Ans A. i) When the same party ruled both the centre and in most of the states, the stategovernment was not able to enjoy their rights. In such situation, the state government was notfunctioning as autonomous federal system.ii) When the central government and state governments were run by different parties then the pthat ruled at the centre tried to undermine (suppress) the power o f the states.iii) The central government would misuse constitution to dismiss the state governments which wcontrolled by opposition parties.

B. Rise of the regional Political parties: The era of coalition government which started in 1990changed this whole situation. Since 1990s, no national party was able to secure majority in LokSabha on its own. Hence they had to form alliance with state parties. The state parties played animportant role in formation of coalition government. This is how they contributed in strengthenfederalism and democracy in our country.

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DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA

Ques-1 What is decentralisation?

When power is taken away from the central and state government and given it to the local government is

called decentralisation.

Ques-2 What is the basic idea behind decentralization?

a) Large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level

b) People have a better knowledge of problems in their locality.

c) Better ideas on where to spend the money.

d) On how to manage things more efficiently.

e) People participate directly in decision making.

Ques-3 What steps were taken by the government to promote decentralization?

The year 1992 was a landmark year in which constitution was amended to make third tier of thegovernment more powerful in following ways: -a) Constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to government local bodies.

b) Seats are reserved for SC/ST/OBC.

c) 1/3rd seats were reserved for women.

a) State election commission was formed to contact Panchayat and Municipal election.

b) State government had to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.

Ques-4 what is self government in our country known as? In tabular form describe briefly the

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various levels of local self governments, its members, work done by it.

Ques-5 Briefly describe in tabular form, the local bodies in urban areas.

Ques-6 What are the advantages of the local government?

a) It has helped to deepen the democracy in our country as more people can participate.

b) Increased womens representation and voice in our democracy.

Ques-7 What are the drawbacks associated with local government?

a) Elections are held regularly, but gram sabhas are not held regularly.

b) Most of the state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local government.

Nor have they given adequate resources