Class X:Political Science [Ch-2 Federalism]

 

 WHAT IS FEDERALISM? 

Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between the central authority and various constituent units of the country. Both the levels of the government enjoy the powers independent of the other.

 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT VS UNITARY GOVERNMENT

1. Under the unitary system,

 a)There is only one level of government or the subunits are subordinate to the central government.

 b)The state government does not have the power of its own.

c)The central government can pass on orders to the local government. 

d)e.g. China.

 2. Under the federal system, 

a) There are two levels of the government,i.e. at the central level and at the state level.

 b) The state government has the power of its own.

 c) The central government cannot order the state government to do something.

 d) e.g. India. 

KEY FEATURES OF FEDERALISM. 

1. Two or more levels of government- In a federal government ,there are two or more levels of government at the state , provincial and the local levels.

2. Independent jurisdiction- Different tiers of the government have their own jurisdiction in matters of legislation,taxation and administration. 

3. Constitutional guarantee- The existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.

4. Consent of both levels required- The changes in the fundamental provisions of the government require the consent of both the levels of the government.

5.  Courts act as interpreters- In case of any dispute between different levels of government ,the highest court acts as an umpire.

6. Financial autonomy- Sources of revenue for each level of the government are clearly specified. 

7. Dual objectives- The federal system ,thus has dual objectives 

1. to safeguard and promote the unity of the country.

2. To accommodate regional diversity.  

Two kinds of federations

Coming together federation-

1.  The independent states come together on their own to form a bigger unit so that by pooling sovereignty and retaining identity, they can increase their security. 

2.  Eg. USA,Switzerland,Australia.  

Holding together federation-

1.  It is when a country decides to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government.

2.  Eg. India, Belgium and Spain 

WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY

3 fold distribution of legislative powers b/w the central,state and local govt.

Thus, it consists of 3 lists :

1. Union list: 

1. It includes subjects of national importance like defence, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency.

2. These subjects are of strategic importance for the country and a uniform policy on these matters is required all over the country.

3. The union government alone can make laws relating to the subjects in the union list.

4. 98 subjects in the union list.

2. State list

1. It contains subjects of state and local importance such as police trade,commerce, agriculture and irrigation.

2. State government can make laws regarding these subjects.

3. 59 subjects are included.

3. Concurrent list

1. It includes subjects of common interest to both, the union and the state government, like education, forest, trade union, marriage, adoption and successions.

2. Both the union and state governments can make laws, but in case of any conflict with each other, the law made by the central government will prevail.

• The subjects which are not covered in any of the lists are called residuary subjects. The union government has the power to legislate on these subjects

• Any change in these arrangements b/w the union and the state governments has to be first passed by both the houses of the parliament with at least 2/3rds of the majority.

4. Independent judiciary

1. Judiciary plays an important role in India. It acts as an independent organ of the government.

5. Rigid constitution

1. India has a rigid constitution. Any amendments to be made have to be first approved by both the houses of the parliament.

HOW IS FEDERALISM PRACTICED IN INDIA

The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country. These are some of the major ways in which it happened.-

1. Linguistic states

a) The first and major test for democratic politics in our country was the creation of linguistic states.

 b) In 1947, the boundaries of several old states in India were changed to ensure that people who spoke the same languages lived in the same state.

2. Language policy

a) Framing of language policy was another test of Indian Federation.

b) Under this policy Hindi has been identified as the official language. c) Many safeguards have been provided for other languages as well.

3. Center state relations

a) The period after 1990 saw the beginning of the new era of coalition governments at the centre, and the rise of regional political parties in many states of the country. 

Thus,federal power sharing is more effective today in India. 

DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA

Since India is a vast country, federal power sharing in India needs another tier of the government, thus it results in a third tier of government called local government. When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local governments ,it is called Decentralisation.

The basic idea behind decentralisation is that there are large number of problems and issues which are best at the local level

People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.

It is also possible for the people to directly participate in decision making; it helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.

Amazing step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992. The constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.

1. Now it is mandatory to hold elections in local government bodies.

2. Seats are reserved for the scheduled castes, scheduled Tribes and other backward classes.

3. One third seats are reserved for women.

4. An independent state election commission has been created to conduct Panchayat and municipal elections

5. The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.

Rural local government is also known as Panchayati Raj

Panchayat- A council consisting of several ward members,often called panch and a head called sarpanch. 

The panchayat works under gram sabha and all the voters in the village are its members. 

Few gram panchayats are grouped together to form panchayat samiti or block or mandal.

 All panchayat samitis together constitute the zilla parishad. 

Municipalities are set up in towns and municipal corporations are set up in cities.

 Chairperson is the political head of the municipality.

Mayor is the political head of the municipal corporation.

 Problems faced by local government 

1. All the powers are not shared with the local government.

 2. The revenue is not shared properly.