Class 10 › Social Science › Political Science — Democratic Politics-II Federalism Class 10 Social Science · Political Science — Democratic Politics-II · Chapter 2
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View all 12 amazing Marks Booster kits → This chapter explains federalism as a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units such as states. Its key features are two or more levels of government, each with its own jurisdiction guaranteed by the constitution, an independent judiciary to settle disputes between levels, and separate sources of revenue. India is described as a federal country with a strong central government, where powers are divided through the Union List, State List and Concurrent List, with residuary subjects left to the centre. The chapter shows how India has become more federal in practice through linguistic reorganisation of states, a flexible language policy, coalition governments, and the role of the judiciary. A major section deals with decentralisation and the 1992 constitutional amendment that strengthened local self-government through panchayats and municipalities, made regular local elections compulsory, reserved seats for women and weaker sections, and brought democracy closer to the people.
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.
Q1 What are the key features of federalism? Answer Q2 How are powers divided in the Indian Constitution? Answer Q3 What is decentralisation and why is it needed? Answer Q4 How did the 1992 constitutional amendment strengthen local government? Answer Q5 How has India become more federal in practice? Answer Q6 What are the key features of federalism? Answer Q7 How are powers divided in the Indian Constitution? Answer Q8 What is decentralisation, and why is it needed? Answer Q9 How did the 1992 constitutional amendment strengthen local government? Answer Q10 How has India become more federal in practice? Answer Q1 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? Answer Q1 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. Answer Q1 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? Answer Q2 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? Answer Q3 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? Answer Q1 Has your village/ town/ city remained under the same State since Independence? If not, what was the name of the earlier State? Answer Q2 Can you identify names of three States in 1947 that have been changed later? Answer Q3 Identify any three States which have been carved out of bigger States. Answer Q1 Make a bar or pie chart on the basis of this information. Answer Q2 Prepare a map of linguistic diversity of India by shading the region where each of these languages is spoken on the map of India. Answer Q3 Find out about any three languages that are spoken in India but are not included in this table. Answer Q1 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. Answer Q1 What do these newspaper clippings have to say about efforts of decentralisation in India? Answer Q1 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. Answer Q1 1. Locate the following States on a blank outline political map of India: Manipur, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh and Goa. Answer Q2 2. Identify and shade three federal countries (other than India) on a blank outline political map of the world. Answer Q3 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. Answer Q4 4. What is the main difference between a federal form of government and a unitary one? Explain with an example. Answer Q5 5. State any two differences between the local government before and after the Constitutional amendment in 1992. Answer Q6 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. Answer Q7 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. Answer Q8 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. Answer Q9 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 Answer Q10 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 Answer Q11 1. Union of India Answer Q13 3. Municipal Corporation Answer Q14 4. Gram Panchayat Answer Q15 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 Answer
Federalism is a system in which power is divided between:
A the rich and the poor B a central authority and constituent units like states C only the executive and judiciary D political parties and pressure groups
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