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Federalism : Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.
Key features of federalism :
1 There are two or more levels of government.
2 Different levels of government govern the same citizens, but each level has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
3 The jurisdictions of the respective levels of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each level 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 the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The Supreme court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
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 while accommodate the regional diversity
8. An ideal federal system has both aspects : mutual trust and agreement to live together.
Types of federations :
The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.
"Coming together" federation :
Many independent states which come together on their own to form a bigger unit so that they could increase their security, while maintaining their sovereignty are called the ‘coming together federations.
In this , many independent States come together to form a bigger unit.
Usually all the States usually have equal power
Example : USA, Switzerland and Australia
"Holding together" federations :
In this, a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government.
Often the States have unequal powers.
The central government tends to the more powerful .
Example : India, Spain and Belgium.
Difference between federal system and Unitary system :
In a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something. State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. But In unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government. The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government.
India a federal country
The Constitution declared India as a Union of States. The Constitution originally provided for a two-tier system of government namely the Union(Central) Government and the state Government.
The Central Government, representing the Union of India and the State governments.
Third tier of federalism was added later in the form of Panchayats and municipalities.
There are now three levels of government , Central , State and local Government.
These different tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction.
The Constitution clearly provided a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments. Thus, it contains three lists:
Union List : It contains subjects of national importance, such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in this list because we need a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the Union List.
State List : It contains subjects of State and local importance, such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The State Governments alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the State List.
Concurrent List : It includes subjects of common interest to both the Central and state Government, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession. Both the Union as well as the State Governments can make laws on the subjects mentioned in this list. If their laws conflict with each other, the law made by the Union Government will prevail.
‘Residuary’ subjects : It includes subjects which do not come in any of the three lists or subjects like computer software which came after the Constitution was made.
According to our constitution, the Union Government has the power to legislate on these ‘residuary’ subjects.
India is a holding together federation. So all States in the Indian Union do not have equal powers States such as Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram enjoy special powers under certain provisions of the Constitution of India (Article 371) due to their peculiar social and historical circumstances. These special powers are enjoyed to the protection of land rights of indigenous peoples, their culture and also preferential employment in government services. Indians who are not permanent residents of this State cannot buy land or house here.
There are some units of the Indian Union which enjoy very little power.
These areas, like Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and the capital city of Delhi, are called Union Territories. These territories do not have the powers of a State. The Central Government has special powers in running these areas.
This sharing of power between the Union Government and the State Governments is basic to the structure of the Constitution.
It is not easy to make changes to this power sharing arrangement.
The Parliament cannot on its own change this arrangement. Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least two-thirds majority. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States.
The judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. In case of any dispute about the division of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court make a decision.
The Union and State Governments have the power to raise resources by levying taxes in order to carry on the government and the responsibilities assigned to each of them
How is federalism Practised ?
Linguistic States : The creation of linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country.
In 1947, the boundaries of several old 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 like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created not on the basis of language but to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography.
Language policy
A second test for Indian federation is the language policy.
The Indian Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language.
Hindi was identified as the official language But Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 per cent of Indians.
Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution. A candidate in an examination for a central government position may opt to take examination in any of these languages .
States have their own official language in which the government work takes place in the respective state .
According to the Constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965.
The Central Government responded by agreeing to continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes.
Centre-State relations
For a long time, the same political party ruled in centre and many of the States.
This meant that the State Governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units.
When the ruling party at the State and centre was different then Central Government often misused the Constitution to dismiss the State Government that was controlled by rival parties. This undermined the spirit of federalism.
Regional political parties emerged during After 1990. This was also the beginning of the era of coalition governments at the Centre.
Since no single party got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the major national parties had to enter into an alliance with many parties including several regional parties to form a government at the Centre.
This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State Governments.
Decentralisation in India
Decentralisation - When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralisation.
The local government includes Panchayats in villages and municipalities in Urban Areas .
The basic idea of decentralisation
There are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level.
People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.
They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently.
At the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making.
This helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.
Local government is the best way to realise one important principle of democracy, namely local self-government.
Amendments of 1992 : The Constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effectiven in 1992.
It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
Seats are reserved in the elected bodies for SC, ST and OBC
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 Government has to share some of its powers and revenue with local government. This sharing varies from state to state
Structure of Rural local Government :
Rural local government is known by the name panchayati raj.
Gram panchayat
Each village, or a group of villages has a gram panchayat consisting of several ward members (Panch and a President or Sarpanch).
All the voters in the village are its members.
They are directly elected by the adult population of that ward or village .
The panchayat works under the supervision of gram Sabha.
It is the decision-making body for the entire village.
It has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget and to review the performance of the gram panchayat.
Panchayat samiti :
A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti or block or mandal.
The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchyat members in that area.
Zilla (district) parishad.
All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad.
Most members of the zilla parishad are elected.
Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members.
Zilla parishad chairperson is the political head of the zilla parishad.
Municipalities in cities and municipal corporations in big cities are local government institutions.
Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s representatives.
Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality. In a municipal corporation, such an officer is called the mayor.
- What is the official post for the chairperson of a Municipal Corporation?Mayor
- Which is the highest institution of Panchayati Raj in India?Zila Parishad
- Which subjects are included in the Union List?Defence of the nation, foreign affairs, banking, currency, communication.
- What status has been given to the ‘Hindi’ language by the Constitution of India?Official Language
- Name the subject list from which both the Union and the State governments can make laws?Concurrent List
- Anil Kala is appearing in an examination conducted for recruitment to Central Government positions. In how many languages as mentioned in the 8th Schedule can he opt to take the exam?22
- How many scheduled languages are recognized by the Indian Constitution?21 languages besides Hindi
- Which states of India enjoy special powers under Article 371(A) of the Constitution of India?Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram
- Which local body has a ‘Mayor’ as its head?Municipal Corporation.
- What is Rural local self government popularly known as?Panchayati Raj.
- Which administrative authority legislates on the Union list?Union Government
- Which administrative authority legislates on Residuary subjects?Union Government
- Name the countries which follows ‘coming together’ style of federalism.USA, Switzerland and Australia.
- What percentage of reservation is given to women in local administration in India ?33%
- Which institution has been created in each State of India to conduct Panchayat and Municipal elections ?State Election Commission
- What was the main objective of the Constitutional Amendment made in 1992 in India?The main objective of the Constitutional Amendment in 1992 was to strengthen/stronger the three-tier system of governance.
- What is main objective of the federal govt.To safeguard and promote unity of the country while accommodate the regional diversity
- What is meant by decentralization of power?.When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralisation.
- What is federalism?Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.
- Why is Indian decentralization considered as the largest experiment in democracy?There are about 36 lakh elected representatives in the panchayats and municipalities. This number is bigger than the population of many countries in the world.
- What do you understand by ‘coming together’ federations?Many independent states which come together on their own to form a bigger unit so that they could increase their security, while maintaining their sovereignty are called the ‘coming together federations.’ Examples-USA, Switzerland and Australia.
- Analyse how constitutional status for local government has helped to deepen democracy in India.(i) It has also increased women’s representation and voice in our democracy.(ii) It is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making.(iii) This has helped to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.
- Match the following items given in Column A with those in Column B.Column A Column BI. Information Technology 1. Concurrent ListII. Police 2. Union ListIII. Education 3. State ListIV. Defence 4. Residuary SubjectsColumn A Column BI. Information Technology 1.Residuary SubjectsII. Police 2. State ListIII. Education 3. Concurrent ListIV. Defence 4. Union List
- Name any two subjects that are included in Concurrent List. How are laws made on these subjects ? Explain.Concurrent list – Education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and successionBoth the union as well as the state government can make laws on thesubjects mentioned in this listIf their laws conflict with each other, the law made by the Union Government will prevail
- How is sharing of power between the Union and the State Governments basic to the structure of the Constitution of India ? ExplainIt is not easy to make changes to power sharing arrangement.The Parliament can not on its own change this arrangement.Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least two-thirds majority. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States.
- Describe the importance of a third-tier of government in a vast country like India.Or What is the basic idea behind decentralisation?
1. A large number of problems & issues can be solved at local
level
2. People have better knowledge of problems in their local level
3. They also have better ideas or where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently
4. It is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making.
5. This helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation. - Describe any three features of federalism in India.(i) A three-tier government -Union, State and local self govt. has been set up.(ii) India is a holding together federation.(iii) The fundamental structure of the Indian Constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by the Parliament alone.(iv) Judiciary in India is responsible for settling disputes between the Union and the State and different states of India.(v) There is Three - fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Government
- Explain any three steps taken by Indian government for decentralization.'Or' Describe any three provisions of amendment made in ‘Indian Constitution’ in 1992 for making ‘Three-Tier’ government more effective and powerful.
Amendment in Indian Constitution in 1992-
(i) It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local
government bodies.
(ii) Seats are reserved in the elected bodies for SC, ST and OBC.
(iii) At least one third of all positions are reserved for women.
(iv) Creation of State Election Commission.
(v) The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies. - Describe the key features of federalism.1 There are two or more levels of government.2 Different levels of government govern the same citizens, but each level has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.3 Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.4 The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government.5 Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government.
- Give the difference between federal system and Unitary system ?Federal GovernmentIn a federal system, there are two or more levels of government.The central government cannot order the state government to do something.Central government can not order the the state government to do something.State government has powers of its own for whichit is not answerable able to central governmentExamples- India, Canada, GermanyUnitary GovernmentIn unitary system, there is only only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.Central government can order the the state government to do something.State governments are answer to the central government Example- France, China, Japan.
