CH 2 Federalism CLASS 10

 Political Science

 CH-2 Federalism

Q1. What is federalism? What are the main features of federalism? 

Ans Federalism is a system of government is which the power is divided between a central authority and its  various constituent units of country. 

Some of the key features cef federalism are as follows:

1.There are two or more levels / tiers of government.

2. Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration. 

3.The jurisdiction of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution .So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed. 

4.The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government.

5.Courts have the power to interpret constitution and powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective power.

6. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy. 

7. The federal system has dual objectives - to safeguard and promote unity of the country and to accommodate regional diversity.

Q2. Which two aspects are crucial for the institution and practice of federalism?

Ans:

 1.Government at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.

2.They should also trust that each would abide by spot of the agreement.

Q3. Write three features of unitary government? 

Ans: 

1.Under the unitary government either there is only one level of government or sub units are subordinate to the central government.

2.All powers are centralised in the hands of the central government. 

3.The central government can pass on order to the provincial or local government.

Q4. Highlight three major distinctions between coming together federation and holding together federation.

Ans: Coming together federation:

1.It involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignty and retaining identity they can increase their security.

2.In this, all the constituent units usually have equal power and are strong vis-a-vis the federal government.

3.Examples are USA, Switzerland and Australia. 

 Holding together federation:

1.In this type, a large country divides its power between the constituent states and the national government.t

2 In this the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the states. Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.

3.Examples are Spain Belgium and India.

Q5. India is a federal country. Explain by giving examples.

Ans: India is a federal country and it can be stated in the following ways: 

1.Division of powers: The Indian constitution demarcates the power of the central and the state government into different lists of subjects. There are three lists namely Union list ,State list and Concurrent list.

2.Three tier system: Under the federal government different tiers of the government govern the same citizens. This is true for India.In India, we have a three tier system i.e. Union government State Government and Local government.

3.Amendment in fundamental structure: Under the federal government ,the fundamental provisions cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of Government and same is true for India. The Parliament cannot on its own change the fundamental structure of the constitution.

4.Judiciary: In a federation, the judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. This same is true for India. In case of any dispute about the division of powers the High court and Supreme court takes the decision.

5. Separate source of income: a clear mention regarding the financial power of the centre and the state has been made in the constitution of India.

Q6. Describe the three fold distribution of legislative power between the union government and state government.

Ans:The three fold distribution of legislative power between the union government and state government is as follows:

Union List:

•It includes subjects of national important such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking communication and currency.

•They are included in this list because we need a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. 

•The union government can alone make laws related to the subjects mention in the union list. 

State List:

•It includes subject of state and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation.

•The state government can alone make laws related to the subjects mentioned in state list.

Concurrent List:

•It includes subjects of common interest to both the union government and state government such as marriage, adoption succession ,education, forest and trade union.

•Both the Union and State Government can make laws on the subjects mention in this list.

•If their laws conflict with each other, the law made by the union government will prevail.

Q7.”The creation of linguistic States was the first and major move in our country”. Explain. 

Ans:

•In 1947 ,the boundaries of several states of India were changed in order 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 on the basis of language but to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography. These includes states like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.

•When the demand for the formation of States on the basis of languages was raised, some national leaders feared that it would lead to disintegration of the country.

•But experience has shown that the formation of linguistic States had actually made the country more united. It has also made the administration easier.

Q8. Explain the language policy of India. 

Ans:

•Our constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. 

•Hindi was identified as the official language. 

•Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as scheduled languages by the Constitution. 

•State too have their official language.

•According to the Constitution the use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965. However, many non Hindi speaking States demanded the use of English to be continued. The Central Government responded by agreeing to continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes.

•Promotion of Hindi continuous to be the policy of the Government of India.

Q9. “The Constitution was amended in 1992 to make the third tier of government of the country more effective and powerful.”Explain.

Ans: The constitution was amended in 1992 to may the third tier of government more powerful and effective in the following ways:

•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 Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribe 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.

Q10. Describe the nature of Panchayat Raj system in India. 

Ans: Rural local government is popularly known as Panchayati Raj. The Constitution was amended in 1992 to make it more effective and powerful .The Panchayati Ran system  is the three tier system i.e. Gram Panchayat, Block Samiti Zila Parishad.

I)Gram Panchayat 

•It is a council consisting of several ward members often called panch and a sarpanch.

•They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward of village.

•It is the decision making body for the entire village. 

•The panchayat works under the overall supervision of Gram Sabha. 

Gram Sabha

•All the voters in the village are the members of Gram Sabha. 

•It has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of Gram Panchayat and to review the performance of Gram Panchayat. 

II)Block Samiti:

•Block Samiti or Panchayat Samiti is formed at the block level.

•The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that area.

•A few Gram Panchayat are grouped together to form a Panchayat Samiti / Block/ Mandal Samiti.

III)Zila Parishad:

•All the Panchayat Samiti or Mandal in a district together constituent the Zilla Parishad. 

•Most members of Zila Parishad are elected. 

•Members of Lok Sabha and MLA of the district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members. 

Zila Parishad Chairperson is the political head of Zila Parishad.

Q11. How is federal power sharing more effective today then in early years? Explain. 

Ans:

•Federal power sharing is more effective because of the nature of democratic politics in India.It has ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together have become a shared ideal in our country.

•Federal power sharing has helped to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.Federal power sharing is the best way to realise one most important principle of democracy namely local self government.

•Constitutional status of local government has helped to Deep and democracy. 

Q12. Mention the difficulties of the local government in India. 

Ans: 

•Most States have not transferred significant powers to the local government.

•There is a shortage of resources. 

•The Gram Sabha are not held regularly.

Q13.What is the main difference between a federal form of government and a unitary one? Explain with an example.

Ans:Federal form of government:

•In a federal form of government, the central government shares its powers with the various constituent units of the country.

• For example, in India, power is divided between the government at the Centre and the various State governments.

Unitary form of government:

•In a unitary form of government, all the power is exercised by only one government.

• For example, in Sri Lanka, the national government has all the powers.

Q14.How has the Panchayati Raj strengthened the democracy in India? Express your views.

Ans:Panchayati Raj is the best example of decentralization of power.

• It aims at decentralisation of power to the grass root levels.

• People can get their most of the problems solved at the local level.

• Local people make their progress plan of their locality and also have right to execute the plans.

Q15.Explain any five advantages of decentralization of power.

Ans:Advantages of Decentralization: 

• Sharing of power between centre and states and local government reduces conflict. 

• Large number of problems and issues can be best settled at local level. People have better knowledge of problems in their localities. 

• People have better knowledge of their own problems. 

• They know better on where to spend money and how to manage things efficiently. 

• People at the local level will participate directly in decision making.

Q16.State any two differences between the local government before and after the Constitutional amendment in 1992.

Ans:The following changes took place as a result of the amendment of 1992 :

(i) Before 1992, local elections were controlled by the state and not held regularly but after 1992, an independent State Election Commission is responsible to conduct elections regularly and is made mandatory to hold regular elections after every 5 years to local government bodies.

(ii) Local governments did not have any powers or resources of their own before 1992 but after 1992, the State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.