FEDERALISM

INDIA - 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 various constituent 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 (area 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 so that existence 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. Such 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 financial autonomy. f. Dual objective: federal system has dual objective for:i. To safeguard and promote unity of the country ii. To accommodate the regional diversity g. Supremacy of judiciary : In federal government judiciary is given supremacy over the above organ of the government for: i. Protecting the constitution ii. Interpreting the constitution iii. Deciding the dispute between center and state Ques-2 How is federalism practised in India? or What are the constitutional provisions regarding the practical application of Indian federation? or How has the linguistic policy followed by government helped to maintain federalism as well as unity 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 nature of democratic policies adopted by the governments from time to time has played a vital role in making federalism successful. a) Linguistic States i) New states were created in India on the basis of languages spoken by majority of people residing in 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 culture, ethnicity or geography. Example Nagaland, Jharkhand and Utrakhand. iii) The formation of linguistic states has made the country more united. It has also made administration easier.

b) Language Policy i) Our constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. There are many safeguards to protect other languages. ii) Hindi was made official language but 21 other languages were also rec ognized as scheduled languages by the constitution. iii) The states also have their own official language. State governments can do their official work in their languages. iv) Central government did not impose Hindi on states. This has avoided the situatio n that got created in Srilanka. c) Center - State Relations i) Centre state relation was given special attention. The constitution has three lists - Union list, state list and concurrent list which clearly define the power sharing between the central and state government. It helps in strengthening federalism. ii) Initially, the central government dominated the state governments but after 1990 the whole situation changed as the era of coalition government started because no major national party was able to get majority to form government on its own. iii) To form a coalition government, the major national parties needed the support of regional parties. Due to this a new culture of power sharing has started in India and state governments started enjoying autonomy. iv) Supreme court gave many judgements to make it difficult for the central government to dismiss state governments at will (own wish). This has given strength to federal structure in India. d) Constitutional Provisions : There is a threefold distribution of power. Constitution provides three lists namely Union list, State list and concurrent list so as to divide the power between centre and state. Linguistic States: After independence in 1950, the boundaries of several old states were changed to create new states. This was done to ensure that people, who spoke same language, shared common culture or geography could live in same state. Some national feared that this would lead to disintegration of the country and but experience has shown that formation of linguistic states has made the country united, stronger and made administration easier. Language Policy: Our constitution did not give the status of national language to any one of the language. Hindi was identified as official language but central government did not impose Hindi on the states which spoke different languages. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as scheduled languages by the constitution. Most of the states have their own official languages, which are used in the offices.

According to the constitution, use of English for official purposes was discontinued in 1965 which was not liked by some states. So the central government agreed to continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes. The flexibility showed by the Indian political leaders helped India to avoid the kind of situation that Sri 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 days, the central government would often misuse the constitution to dismiss the state government which was controlled by their rivalries. After 1990, the coalition government became common at centre i.e. no single party got a clear majority in Lok Sabha and major national parties along with the regional parties joined their hands together to form a government at centre. This led to new culture of power sharing and respect for autonomy of the state government. The Supreme Court also issued judgements which made it difficult for the central government to dismiss 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 constituents of 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. II. III. The central government cannot order the state government to do something The state government has the powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government Both the governments are separately answerable to the people.

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

Unitary Govt.

Federal Govt.

1. Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of govt. or the subunits are subordinate to the central govt. 2. The central govt. can pass on orders to the provincial or the local govt.

1. State govt. has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central govt. 2. Central govt. cannot order the state 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 administering of their 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 balance of power between the central and state government varies from one federation to another. Explain. Or Explain the various types of Federations or Federal Governments? Ans There are mainly two types of federations: 1. 'Coming Together' Federation a) In this type of federation, independent states come together on their own to form a bigger unit. b) The states pool their sovereignty but retain their identity. This increases their security.

c) All such states enjoy equal power and are stron g in comparison to federal (central) government. States enjoy more autonomy and freedom to make laws. d) USA, Switzerland and Australia are this type of federation. 2. 'Holding Together' Federation a) In this type of federation, a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent states 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. All states do not enjoy equal powers i.e. states enjoy unequal powers. States enjoy less autonomy and freedom to make laws. d) India, Spain and Belgium have this kind of federation. Ques- 10 "India is a federal country." Justify the statement giving your own arguments? Or What makes India a federal country? Ans. India is a federal country

1. Three Tier System : Constitution of India provides a three tier system of government, i.e union government, state government, local government. 2. Division of power : The constitution has three lists - Union list, state list and concurrent list which clearly define the power sharing between the central and state government. 3. Constitution provides three fold distribution of legislative powers among central, state and panchayats and municipalities. 4. Consent of both level of government : It is not easy to make any changes in the structure of constitution 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 because India is Holding together federal system . 6. Supremacy of judiciary : In case there is any dispute between the various levels of government in India, High court and Supreme court make the decision. 7.Separate source of income : The central government as well as state government both can levy (charge) taxes to raise resources so as to do the developmen tal work. In India constitution has divided the powers of Union and state govt. in accordance of the following lists: Union list- subjects of national importance like defense, foreign affairs, railways, post and telegraph etc. are included in the union list. Only union govt. can pass laws on subjects mentioned in this list as these are important for the whole country. This list has 97 subjects.

State list- it has 66 subjects on which the state govt. has passed laws. E.g. police, local govt., trade, agriculture. Concurrent list- it has 47 subjects which are of common concern to both union and state list and both can make laws on subjects mentioned in these lists. However, if there is conflict between centre and state over a subject, then central and union law will be effective. This list includes subjects like civil and criminal procedures, economic planning, education structure etc. Residuary list of powers- Matters which are not included in any list are known as residuary powers. The 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 are too small to become independent states and cannot be merged with any of the existing states. These areas, like Chandigarh or Lakshadweep are called union territories. These territories do not have the 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 change or amendment to constitution has to be first passed by both the houses of parliament with at least 2 / 3rd majority. After this majority, it has to be ratified by state legislatures of at least half the total states. In Indian federation, the judiciary is supreme. Any dispute between center and state are to be referred 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 duty etc. are collected by union govt. whereas slam revenue, slam duty etc. are collected by state govt. Ques- 11 What are union territories? Why is J&K considered to be a special state? Or "India is a federation formed by holding together but different constituent units of Indian federation have unequal power." Justify? Or "All states in the Indian union do not have identical powers." Give examples to justify your answer? Ans All states in India do not have identical powers. Some states enjoy special status . example J&K. Case of Jammu and Kashmir a) J&K has its own constitution. b) Many provisions of the Indian constitution are not applicable to this state. Approval of state assembly 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 Territories d) Some units of Indian union enjoy very little power because they are so small that they cannot be converted into a separate state. Also, they cannot be merged with anyone of the existing states because of cultural or geographical differences. Such areas are called union territories.

Delhi and Lakshdweep are union territories a) 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 federalism got undermined in India? What brought about change in this situation? Ans A. i) When the same party ruled both the centre and in most of the states, the state government was not able to enjoy their rights. In such situation, the state government was not functioning as autonomous federal system. ii) When the central government and state governments were run by different parties then the party that 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 were controlled by opposition parties. B. Rise of the regional Political parties: The era of coalition government which started in 1990 changed this whole situation. Since 1990s, no national party was able to secure majority in Lok Sabha on its own. Hence they had to form alliance with state parties. The state parties played an important role in formation of coalition government. This is how they contributed in strengthening federalism and democracy in our country.

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 the government 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

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