CBSE Class 10 Social Science Civics Federalism Assignment

INTRODUCTION

The vertical division of power among different levels of government is one of the major forms of power sharing in modern democracies . It is most commonly regarded as Federalism . In this chapter, we are going to understand the theory and practice of federalism in India.

14.1 FEDERALISM

Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. Usually, a federation has two levels of government. One is the government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common
national interest. The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day–to–day administration of their state. Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.
Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the subunits are subordinate to the central government. The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local governments but 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. Both these government are separately answerable to the people.

(a) Key features of federalism :
(i) There are two or more levels of government.
(ii) Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
(iii) The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution.
(iv) The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government.
(v) Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government.
(vi) Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
(vii) The federal system thus has dual objectives: to safeguard and promote unity of the country, while at the same time accommodate regional diversity.

(b) Two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed :

(i) Coming together federation :
The first route 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. This type of ‘coming together’ federations includes the USA, Switzerland and Australia. All the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong vis–a–vis the federal government.

(ii) Holding together federation :
The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. The central government tends to be more powerful vis–a–vis the States. Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. Some units are granted special powers.

14.2 INDIA – A FEDERAL COUNTRY
The Constitution declared India as a Union of States. Although it did not use the word federation, the Indian Union is based on the principles of federalism. The Constitution originally provided for a twotier system of government, the Union Government or the Central Government, representing the Union of India and the State government. Later, a third tier of federalism was added in the from of Panchayats and Municipalities.
A federation is a political arrangement in which the activities of the government are divided between the central government and various state governments such that each level of the government has certain powers under its jurisdiction. The features of a federal government are :

(i) Division of Powers : The most important feature of a federation is the division of powers between the central government and various state governments. The subjects of national importance are placed under central government’s authority and subjects of regional and states’ importance are placed under state government’s authority.

(ii) Written and Rigid Constitution : The second feature of a federal government is that it has a written, rigid and a supreme constitution. Constitution is an agreement and it lays down the basic structure of government under which the people are to be governed. It is a rigid constitution in the sense that no changes can be made in it unless both the national and state governments approve of the changes. The constitution is supreme which means that the central and state legislatures exercise their powers as specified by the constitution.

(iii) An Independent Judiciary : India has an independent judicial system. The supreme court of India has original powers and has the exclusive authority of settling disputes between the Government of India and one or more states, or between two or more states.

(a) Division of Power :
The Constitution clearly provided a three–fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments.
(i) Union List includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communication and currency. The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the Union List.
(ii) State List 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.
(iii) Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government as well as the State Governments, 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. Subjects that do not fall in any of the three lists, or subjects like computer software that came up after the constitution was made, the Union Government has the power to legislate on these

‘residuary’ subjects.
All states in Indian Union do not have identical powers. Some states enjoy a special status. Jammu and Kashmir has its own Constitution. Many provisions of the Indian Constitution are not applicable to this State without the approval of the State Assembly. 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 are areas which are too small to become an independent State but which could not be merged with any of the existing States. These areas, like Chandigarh, or Lakshadweep or 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.

(b) Changes to Power Sharing Arrangement:
The Parliament cannot on its own change the power sharing arrangement. Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least two–third 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 makes a decision.

14.3 HOW IS FEDERALISM PRACTICED ?

The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country. This ensures that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together became a shared ideal in our country.

(a) 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 were created not on the basis of language but to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography.

(b) Language policy :
A second test for Indian federation is the language policy. 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. States too
have their own official languages. Much of the government work takes place in the official language of the concerned State. According to the Constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965. But later on it was decided to continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes.

(c) Centre - State relations :
Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice. For a long time, the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the States. In those days, the Central Government would often misuse the Constitution to dismiss the State governments that were controlled by rival parties. This undermined the spirit of federalism. All this changed significantly after 1990.

Coalition Governments : In the past few elections since no single party is getting 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. This trend was supported by a major judgment of the Supreme Court that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state governments in an arbitrary manner. Thus, federal power sharing is more effective today than it was in the early years after the Constitution came into force.

14.4 DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA

States in India are as large as independent countries of Europe. Many of these States are internally very diverse. There is thus a need for power sharing within these States. Federal power sharing in India needs another tier of government, below that of the State governments. This is the rationale for decentralisation of power.
When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralisation. The basic idea behind decentralisation is that 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. Besides, 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.

(a) Attempts to decentralise power :
Panchayats in villages and municipalities in urban areas were set up in all the States.
A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992. The constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effective.

(b) 73rd Amendment Act :
In 1992, 73rd Amendment Act, gave constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions. It created the third tier of federalism in India, below the Central government level and the State government level. The objective of this Amendment was to make democracy more powerful and effective by giving power to the grass-roots units of self-government.
The Salient Features of the Act
(i) To provide a 3-tier system of panchayati raj for all the States having population of over 20 Lakhs.
(ii) To hold panchayat elections regularly every 5 years.
(iii) To provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women (not less than 33%)
(iv) To appoint State Finance Commission, to make recommendations as regards the financial powers of the panchayats.
(v) To constitute District Planning Committee to prepare draft development plan for the district as a whole.

(c) Working of rural local government :
Under the 3-tier system of decentralization, Zila Parishad is the apex body at the district level. It is followed by Panchayat Samitis at the Block level as the second tier and is further followed by Gram Panchayats as the third tier. Each village, generally, has a Gram Panchayat whose members are elected by the entire adult population of that village. A few Gram Panchayats are joined together to form a Panchayat Samiti or Block. The members of this representative body are elected by all the Panchayat members in that area. All the Panchayat Samitis in a district collectively make the Zila Parishad.
The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.
Each village, or a group of villages in some States, has a Gram Panchayat, a council consisting of several ward members, often called Panch, and a President or Sarpanch. They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village. It is the decision-making body for the entire village, works under the overall supervision of the Gram Sabha. It has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of the Gram Panchayat and to review the performance of the Gram Panchayat.
Local government bodies exist for urban areas as well. Municipalities are set up in towns. Big cities are constituted into Municipal Corporations. Municipal Chairperson is the political head of the Municipality. In a Municipal Corporation such an officer is called the Mayor.

Powers and responsibilities of Panchayats :
According to the constitution, panchayats shall be given power and authority in relation to following matters:
(i) Preparation of plan for economic development and social justice for the village.
(ii) Implementation of schemes for economic development of the villages.
(iii) It will charge and collect all the due taxes, duties, tolls and fees.

Functions of Gram Sabha :
The Gram Sabha has a key role for effective functioning of the Panchayats. In the Gram Sabha meeting, the rural poor, the women and the marginalized people get the opportunity to join in decision making on matters affecting their lives.

Following are the functions of the Gram Sabha :
(i) Gram Sabha should meet at least once in each quarter preferably on Republic Day, Labor Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti.
(ii) It should decide the developmental work which is to be carried out by Panchayats.
(iii) It should suggest remedial measures for economy and efficiency in the functioning of the Panchayats.
(iv) It should Question and examine the decisions of Panchayats in the meeting of Gram Sabha.
(v) It should discuss the Annual Financial Statement of Gram Panchayats, and examine the revenues and expenditures incurred.

Demerits of local self government :
(i) Irregular Elections: In most states, elections to Panchayats are irregular and uncertain leading to monopoly of the previously elected powers.
(ii) Domination of Upper Caste : The Panchayati Raj system is mostly dominated by the rich farmers, moneylenders and upper caste people. That is why the new Panchayati Raj Act provides for reservation for SCs and STs in proportion to their population.
(iii) Ignorance, Illiteracy and Poverty of the Villagers : Ignorance about the rights is high among the village. Also illiteracy and poverty of the people lead to less enthusiasm about the Panchayat Raj system.
(iv) Excessive official Control : District officials interfere unnecessarily in the working of the Panchayats and also dissolve it or suspend it according to their will.
(v) Lack of Adequate Funds.: A lot of money is needed for the developmental activities and the sources of income are limited. This leads to ill - functioning of the Panchayat system.

True/False 

Assertion And Reason Questions 

Question :  What is the real reason for the successes of federalism in India?
Answer : 1. The constitutional provisions are laid out very clearly
2) The nature of democratic politics has ensure its success
3) There is respect for diversity 

Question : What happened to the centre state relations when different parties ruled at the centre and state levels till 1990?
Answer : When different parties ruled at the centre and state levels the parties at the centre tried to undermine the power of states. The central government misused the constitution often to dismiss the state governments that were controlled by other parties. This is against the spirit of federalism if this representative body are elected by all the panchyat members in that area.

Question : Assess the need for local government.
Answer :  Need for local government :
(i) There are a number of problems and issues that are best settled at the local level because people have a better knowledge of the problems in their localities.
(ii) The local people are aware of their needs and can prioritize and find quick solutions.
(iii) It helps to initiate the process of direct decision-making.
(iv) It helps to inculcate the habit of democratic participation.
(v) Local government is the best way to realize the important principle of democracy, namely local self government.

Question : What is the real reason for the successes of federalism in India?
Answer : 1. The constitutional provisions are laid out very clearly
2) The nature of democratic politics has ensure its success
3) There is respect for diversity

Question : what are the objectives of the federal system?
Answer : Federal system has dual objectives to safeguard and promote unity of the country and accommodate
regional diversity. It is based on mutual trust and agreement to live together.

Question : What happened to the centre state relations when different parties ruled at the centre and state levels till 1990?
Answer : When different parties ruled at the centre and state levels the parties at the centre tried to undermine the power of states. The central government misused the constitution often to dismiss the state governments that were controlled by other parties. This is against the spirit of federalism

Question : Do you take decentralisation as means to minimise the conflicts? Give your view point.
Answer :  Yes, decentralisation reduces conflicts. It helps in the settlement of a large number of problems and issues at the local level.
(i) It provides a platform for the direct participation of people in decision making.
(ii) Decentralisation in the form of different tiers of government is the best way to realise the principles of Democracy.  

Question : What is the role of the judiciary in a federal system?
Answer : (i) The Judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures.
(ii) In case of any dispute about the division of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court make a decision.
(iii) 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.

Question : Why were the linguistic states created?
Answer : (i) The creation of Linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country.
(ii) Many old states had vanished and many new states had been created.
(iii) Areas, boundaries and names of the states had been changed.
(iv) In 1947, the boundaries of several old states of India were changed in order to create new states.
(v) This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same state.

Question : Explain how the federal experiment has been successful in the matter of formation of states in India.
OR
What are the power sharing arrangements in our country? Explain with examples.
Answer : Our Constitution declared India as a Union of States. Indian Union is based on the principles of federalism. The Constitution originally provided a two-tier system (at the central and the state level) but later in 1992, a three-tier system (added up the third tier as local government) was adopted. The powers are divided between three levels by Union List, State List and Concurrent List respectively.
The Union List includes 97 subjects like defence, foreign affairs, banking, etc. These subjects are of national importance, so they are looked after by the Union government and they only legislate on these subjects.
The State List includes 66 subjects like police, agriculture, trade and commerce, etc. These subjects are allotted to all the state governments and the state governments can legislate on them. The Concurrent List includes subjects of common interests between the Centre and the State, e.g., education, forest, marriage, etc. Both the Union as well as the State governments can make laws on their respective subjects but central government exercises an upper hand.

Question : “The constitution did not use the word ‘Federation’ but the Indian Union is based on the principles of federations.” Explain this statement.
Answer : The Constitution did not use the word ‘Federation’ but it has the division of powers into a three-tier system of the central government, the state governments and the local governments. The Constitution of India has also mentioned the distribution of legislative powers in the form of three lists namely—Union, State and Concurrent. So each level of the government has its own jurisdiction to legislate. But we have a centralised federation in which Union government carries more powers than the State governments. It is seen in such a way that Union government has 97 subjects, whereas State as well as Concurrent lists have much less number of subjects. Besides, Union government also has the power to legislate on the residuary powers.