Federalism — Class 10 Social Science
Political Science — Democratic Politics-II · Chapter 2
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Chapter summary
Key ideas & terms
- Federalism
- A system of government dividing power between central and state governments.
- Union List
- Subjects of national importance on which only the central government can make laws.
- State List
- Subjects of state and local importance on which states make laws.
- Concurrent List
- Subjects on which both the centre and the states can make laws.
- Decentralisation
- The transfer of power from central and state levels to local governments.
- Panchayati Raj
- The three-tier system of rural local self-government in India.
- Residuary powers
- Powers over subjects not in any list, which rest with the centre.
- Coalition government
- A government formed by several parties coming together.
Extra questions & answers
What are the key features of federalism?
Two or more levels of government, division of powers guaranteed by the constitution, an independent judiciary to settle disputes, and separate sources of revenue for each level.
How are powers divided in the Indian Constitution?
Into the Union List (central subjects), the State List (state subjects) and the Concurrent List (shared subjects), with residuary powers given to the centre.
What is decentralisation and why is it needed?
It is the transfer of power to local governments; it is needed because many problems are best solved locally and it deepens democratic participation.
How did the 1992 constitutional amendment strengthen local government?
It made regular elections to local bodies compulsory, reserved seats for women, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, created State Election Commissions and gave panchayats and municipalities powers and funds.
How has India become more federal in practice?
Through the linguistic reorganisation of states, an accommodating language policy, the rise of regional parties and coalition governments, and active judicial protection of the federal balance.
What are the key features of federalism?
Two or more levels of government, a division of powers guaranteed by the constitution, an independent judiciary to settle disputes, and separate sources of revenue for each level.
How are powers divided in the Indian Constitution?
Into the Union List (central subjects), the State List (state subjects) and the Concurrent List (shared subjects), with residuary powers given to the centre.
What is decentralisation, and why is it needed?
The transfer of power from central and state governments to local bodies; it is needed because many problems are best solved locally and it deepens democratic participation.
How did the 1992 constitutional amendment strengthen local government?
It made regular elections to local bodies compulsory, reserved seats for women and weaker sections, created State Election Commissions, and gave panchayats and municipalities powers and funds.
How has India become more federal in practice?
Through linguistic reorganisation of states, an accommodating language policy, the rise of regional parties and coalition governments, and judicial protection of the federal balance.
Let’s revise
Some Nepalese citizens were discussing the proposals on the adoption of federalism in their new constitution. This is what some of them said:
Khag Raj: I don’t like federalism. It would lead to reservation of seats for different caste groups as in India.
Sarita: Ours in not a very big country. We don’t need federalism.
Babu Lal: I am hopeful that the Terai areas will get more autonomy if they get their own state government.
Ram Ganesh: I like federalism because it will mean that powers that were earlier enjoyed by the king will now be exercised by our elected representatives.
If you were participating in this conversation, what would be your response to each of these? Which of these reflect a wrong understanding of what federalism is?
I would tell Khag Raj that federalism does not necessarily lead to caste-based reservation; it is mainly an arrangement for sharing powers among different levels of government. I would tell Sarita that even a small country may adopt federalism when its regions or communities need autonomy, as Belgium has done. Babu Lal’s hope is consistent with federalism because a separate state government could give the Terai region greater control over regional matters. Ram Ganesh is right to favour elected rule, but replacing a king’s authority with elected representatives describes democracy rather than federalism. Khag Raj and Sarita clearly misunderstand federalism, while Ram Ganesh confuses it with democratic government.
Let’s listen to radio
Listen to one national and one regional news bulletin broadcast by All India Radio daily for one week. Make a list of news items related to government policies or decisions by classifying these into the following categories:
• News items that relate only to the Central Government,
• News items that relate only to your or any other State Government,
• News items about the relationship between the Central and State Governments.
A sample classification is: Central Government—decisions concerning national defence, foreign relations, currency, banking and nationwide communication policies; State Government—decisions concerning state police, agriculture, irrigation, local transport and state schools; Centre–State relations—distribution of tax revenue, centrally sponsored schemes implemented by States, disaster-relief assistance and meetings between Union ministers and Chief Ministers.
Let’s revise
Pokharan, the place where India conducted its nuclear tests, lies in Rajasthan. Suppose the Government of Rajasthan was opposed to the Central Government’s nuclear policy, could it prevent the Government of India from conducting the nuclear tests?
No. Nuclear policy and national defence fall within the Union Government’s jurisdiction. Therefore, the Rajasthan Government could express its opposition but could not legally prevent the Government of India from conducting the tests under its Union powers.
Suppose the Government of Sikkim plans to introduce new textbooks in its schools. But the Union Government does not like the style and content of the new textbooks. In that case, does the state government need to take permission from the Union Government before these textbooks can be launched?
The State Government does not normally need prior permission merely because the Union Government dislikes the textbooks. Education is in the Concurrent List, so both governments can make laws on it. Sikkim may introduce textbooks under its authority, provided they do not violate a valid Union law; if State and Union laws conflict, the Union law generally prevails.
Suppose the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa have different policies on how their state police should respond to the naxalites. Can the Prime Minister of India intervene and pass an order that all the Chief Ministers will have to obey?
No. Police is a State List subject, so each State Government has authority over its police policy. The Prime Minister and Union Government may coordinate, advise or provide assistance, but they cannot ordinarily issue a direct order on a State subject that every Chief Minister must obey.
Linguistic States
Has your village/ town/ city remained under the same State since Independence? If not, what was the name of the earlier State?
Answers will vary by locality. For example, Patna has remained in the State of Bihar since Independence. A student living in an area affected by reorganisation should mention both the present State and the State to which the area earlier belonged.
Can you identify names of three States in 1947 that have been changed later?
Three examples are Madras State, which was renamed Tamil Nadu; Mysore State, which was renamed Karnataka; and Bombay State, which was reorganised to form Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Identify any three States which have been carved out of bigger States.
Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh.
Linguistic diversity of India
Make a bar or pie chart on the basis of this information.
The chart should represent the proportions listed in the table, with Hindi forming the largest segment at 43.63
, followed by Bengali at 8.03
, Marathi at 6.86
, Telugu at 6.70
, Tamil at 5.70
, Gujarati at 4.58
, Urdu at 4.19
, Kannada at 3.61
, Odia at 3.10
, Malayalam at 2.88
, and the remaining languages forming smaller segments according to their stated percentages.
Prepare a map of linguistic diversity of India by shading the region where each of these languages is spoken on the map of India.
The map may shade Hindi mainly across northern and central India; Bengali in West Bengal; Telugu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; Marathi in Maharashtra; Tamil in Tamil Nadu; Gujarati in Gujarat; Kannada in Karnataka; Malayalam in Kerala; Odia in Odisha; Punjabi in Punjab; Assamese in Assam; Kashmiri and Dogri in Jammu and Kashmir; Konkani in Goa and nearby coastal areas; Manipuri in Manipur; Bodo in parts of Assam; Nepali in Sikkim and nearby Himalayan regions; Maithili in parts of Bihar; Santali across parts of Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal; and Urdu in scattered regions across several States.
Find out about any three languages that are spoken in India but are not included in this table.
Three languages not included in the table are Bhojpuri, spoken mainly in eastern Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar; Rajasthani, spoken in Rajasthan; and Tulu, spoken mainly in the coastal districts of Karnataka and parts of Kerala.
Let’s revise
Take the example of your own state or any other state that was affected by linguistic reorganisation. Write a short note for or against the argument given by the author here on the basis of that example.
The formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat supports the author’s argument. The former Bombay State contained large Marathi-speaking and Gujarati-speaking populations. Its reorganisation in 1960 allowed both groups to have States in which their languages and regional cultures received proper recognition. This did not weaken India. Instead, it reduced linguistic dissatisfaction, improved administration and enabled both communities to express their identities while remaining part of the Indian Union.
Let’s revise
What do these newspaper clippings have to say about efforts of decentralisation in India?
The clippings show both progress and difficulties in decentralisation. They report direct funding for panchayats, the election of more than one million women to local bodies, women leaders bringing changes and efforts to provide inexpensive local justice. At the same time, reports about the sale or auction of panchayat posts reveal corruption and misuse. Thus, decentralisation has widened participation and representation, but its democratic institutions still need greater transparency and accountability.
Let’s find out
Find out about the local government in the village or town you live in.
If you live in a village, find out the names of the following: your panch or ward member, your sarpanch, your panchayat samiti, the chairperson of your zilla parishad. Also find out when did the last meeting of the gram sabha take place and how many people took part in that.
If you live in urban areas, find out the name of your municipal councillor, and the municipal chairperson or mayor. Also find out about the budget of your municipal corporation, municipality and the major items on which money was spent.
This response must be completed using information from the student’s own locality. A village response should record the names of the ward member or panch, sarpanch, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad chairperson, together with the date and attendance of the latest gram sabha meeting. An urban response should record the municipal councillor and mayor or chairperson, the municipality’s annual budget and major spending areas such as roads, sanitation, water supply, drainage, street lighting, public health and waste management.
Exercises
1. Locate the following States on a blank outline political map of India: Manipur, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh and Goa.
Manipur is in north-eastern India along the border with Myanmar. Sikkim is a Himalayan State between Nepal and Bhutan, north of West Bengal. Chhattisgarh is in central India, east of Madhya Pradesh. Goa is a small State on the western coast, south of Maharashtra.
2. Identify and shade three federal countries (other than India) on a blank outline political map of the world.
The United States of America in North America, Canada in North America and Australia in Oceania may be identified and shaded as federal countries.
3. Point out one feature in the practice of federalism in India that is similar to and one feature that is different from that of Belgium.
A similarity is that both India and Belgium have divided constitutional powers between a national government and regional or state governments to accommodate diversity. A difference is that Belgium has a separate community government elected by each language community, whereas India does not have an equivalent level of government organised in this manner for every linguistic community.
4. What is the main difference between a federal form of government and a unitary one? Explain with an example.
In a federal government, constitutional powers are divided between the national government and state or provincial governments, and each level has an independent area of authority. In a unitary government, the central government is supreme and may create, direct or withdraw powers from lower governments. India is federal because the Union and State Governments have constitutionally defined jurisdictions, while Sri Lanka is largely unitary because its provincial governments remain subordinate to the national government.
5. State any two differences between the local government before and after the Constitutional amendment in 1992.
Before 1992, elections to local bodies were not held regularly and State Governments could easily control or dissolve them. After the amendment, regular elections became constitutionally mandatory and State Election Commissions were created to conduct them. Earlier, representation for disadvantaged groups and women was not uniformly guaranteed; after 1992, seats were reserved for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, and at least one-third of all positions were reserved for women.
6. Fill in the blanks:
Since the United States is a ___________________ type of federation, all the constituent States have equal powers and States are ______________vis-à-vis the federal government. But India is a _____________________ type of federation and some States have more power than others. In India, the ____________ government has more powers.
Since the United States is a coming together type of federation, all the constituent States have equal powers and States are strong vis-à-vis the federal government. But India is a holding together type of federation and some States have more power than others. In India, the Central government has more powers.
7. Here are three reactions to the language policy followed in India. Give an argument and an example to support any of these positions.
Sangeeta: The policy of accommodation has strengthened national unity.
Arman: Language-based States have divided us by making everyone conscious of their language.
Harish: This policy has only helped to consolidate the dominance of English over all other languages.
Sangeeta’s position is convincing. India did not impose one national language and allowed States to use their own official languages. It also continued the use of English along with Hindi when non-Hindi-speaking States objected to the exclusive use of Hindi. The formation of linguistic States, such as Maharashtra and Gujarat, gave linguistic communities recognition without breaking the country apart. This accommodation reduced conflict and strengthened national unity.
8. The distinguishing feature of a federal government is:
(a) National government gives some powers to the provincial governments.
(b) Power is distributed among the legislature, executive and judiciary.
(c) Elected officials exercise supreme power in the government.
(d) Governmental power is divided between different levels of government.
(d) Governmental power is divided between different levels of government.
9. A few subjects in various Lists of the Indian Constitution are given here. Group them under the Union, State and Concurrent Lists as provided in the table below.
A. Defence; B. Police; C. Agriculture; D. Education; E. Banking; F. Forests; G. Communications; H. Trade; I. Marriages
Union List: Defence, Banking and Communications. State List: Police, Agriculture and Trade. Concurrent List: Education, Forests and Marriages.
10. Examine the following pairs that give the level of government in India and the powers of the government at that level to make laws on the subjects mentioned against each. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
(a) State government — State List
(b) Central government — Union List
(c) Central and State governments — Concurrent List
(d) Local governments — Residuary powers
(d) Local governments — Residuary powers is not correctly matched. Residuary powers belong to the Union Government.
1. Union of India
A. Prime Minister
2. State
C. Governor
3. Municipal Corporation
D. Mayor
4. Gram Panchayat
B. Sarpanch
12. Consider the following two statements.
A. In a federation, the powers of the federal and provincial governments are clearly demarcated.
B. India is a federation because the powers of the Union and State Governments are specified in the Constitution and they have exclusive jurisdiction on their respective subjects.
C. Sri Lanka is a federation because the country is divided into provinces.
D. India is no longer a federation because some powers of the States have been devolved to the local government bodies.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) A, B and C (b) A, C and D (c) A and B only (d) B and C only
(c) A and B only. Statements A and B correctly describe federalism and India’s constitutional division of powers. Sri Lanka is not federal merely because it has provinces, and the creation of local governments has added a third tier rather than ending India’s federal character.