CBSE Class 10 Social Science Federalism Assignment Set A

Very Short Questions for Class 10 Social Science Federalism

Question. Which governmental agency conducts elections to local self governments in India?
Answer : The State Election Commission

Question. How did the political culture of Coalition govrnment help in the betterment of democratic politics of India?
Answer : The political culture of Coalition govrnment led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State Governments.

Question. What type of a governmental arrangement exists in Belgium now?
Answer : Federal system

Question. Mention the two essential aspects of an ideal federal system
Answer : 1. Mutual trust
2. Agreement to live together.

Short Questions for Class 10 Social Science Federalism

Long Questions for Class 10 Social Science Federalism

Question. What factors make India a Federation?
Answer : 1. The Constitution originally provided for a two-tier system of government, the Union Government and the State governments.
2. Later, a third tier of federalism was added in the form of Panchayats and Municipalities.
3. These different tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
4. The Constitution divides of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments in three lists i.e. the union list. the state list and the concurrent list.
5. An independent and impartial judiciary exists to interpret the constitution and settles disputes.

Question. What are the key features of federalism?
Answer : 1 There are two or more levels (or 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 jurisdictions 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 the constitution and the powers of different levels of government.
6 Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.

Question. The creation of linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country. Explain
Answer : 1. One major challenge India faced after independence was the creation of states and finally linguistic states were created as federal units.
2. It was ensured that people who spoke the same language lived in the same State.
3. Some States were created not on the basis of language but to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography.
4. These include States like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
5. The formation of linguistic States has actually made the country more united and time has proved that it was the most suitable way to divide the country into constituent units.
6. It has also made administration easier.

Question. How is Federalism practiced in India?
Answer : 1. Linguistic States
1. The creation of linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in India
2. All the states except a few have been formed of the people who speak the same language.
3. These states are known as Linguistic States.
2.Language Policy
1. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution.
2. States too have their own official languages and government work takes place in the official language of the concerned State.
3. Centre –state relations
1. Till 1990 the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the States.
2. 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.
3. This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State Governments

Question. Explain the Language policy of independent India
Answer : 1. Our Constitution does not give the status of national language to any one language.
2. There are 22 official languages, including Hindi and English recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution.
3. A candidate in an examination conducted for the Central Government positions may opt to take the examination in any of these languages.
4. The states too have their own official languages and that is their regional language.
5. According to the Constitution, the use of English for official purposes would stop in 1965 but many non Hindi speaking States demanded that the use of English should continue.
6. Promotion of Hindi continues to be the policy the Government of India.
7. Promotion does not mean that the Central Government can impose Hindi on States where people speak a different language.

Question. What is the rationale for decentralisation of power?/Why is decentralisation necessary?
Answer : 1. A vast country like India cannot be run only through two-tiers of governments.
2. Many of the States are internally very diverseand India needs another tier of government, below the State governments.
3. The basic idea behind decentralisation is that there are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level.
4. People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.
5. They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently.
6. At the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making.
7. This helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation from the grass root level.

Question. The existence of the Union Territories is a peculiar feature of Indian Federal system. Explain
Answer : 1. There are some units of the Indian Union which enjoy very little power.
2. These are areas which are too small to become an independent State but which could not be merged with any of the existing States
3. There are historical, political and geographical reasons for their existence.
4. These areas are called Union Territories.
5. These territories do not have the powers of a State.
6. The Central Government has special powers in running these areas.

Question. How is the rural local government constituted ?/How does the rural local government function?
Answer : 1. Rural local government is popularly known by the name panchayati raj. The nature of its constitution varies from State to State.
2. Each village has a gram panchayat with elected ward members, often called panch, and a president or sarpanch .
3. The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the gram sabha which includes all the voters in the village.
4. 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.
5. A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti or block or mandal.
6. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchyat members in that area.
7. All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district constitute the zilla (district) parishad.

Question. What are the steps or efforts taken in India for decentralisation? /What are the clauses or provisions of the Decentralisation Amendment Act of 1992
Answer : 1. A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992.
2. The Constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
3. Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
4. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
5. At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
6. An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
7. The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.

Question. Distinguish between Coming together Federation and Holding together Federation.
Answer : Coming together Federations
1. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.
2. 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.
3. This type is known as coming together federation.
4. In this category of federations, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong.
Ex. The USA, Switzerland and Australia.
Holding together federations
1. The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government.
2. They are known as holding together federations
Ex. India, Spain and Belgium
3. In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful than the States.

Question. Compare and contrast the Centre-State relations in India before and after 1990 before 1990
Answer : 1. The history centre-state relations of India can be divided into two stages-the period before and after 1990
2. Till 1990 the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the States.
3. This meant that the State governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units.
4. In those days, the Central Government would often misuse the Constitution to dismiss the State governments.
5. This undermined the spirit of federalism.
All this changed significantly after 1990.
1. This period saw the rise of regional political parties in many States of the country.
2. This was also the beginning of the era of Coalition governments at the Centre.
3. 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.
4. This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State Governments.
5. This trend was supported by a major judgement of the Supreme Court that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state governments

Question. Critically examine the system of decentralisation/the functioning of the Panchayati raj system in India.
Answer : 1. This system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world.
2. Constitutional status for local government has helped to deepen democracy in our country.
3. It has increased women’s representation and voice in our democracy.
At the same time, there are many problems.
1. While elections are held regularly, gram sabhas are not held regularly.
2. Most state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local governments.
3. They were not given adequate resources for the proper functioning

Question : Why has federalism succeeded in India? Which were the policies adopted by India that ensured this success? Explain.
Answer : The creation of Linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country:
(a) Many old states as they were before independent, have been replaced with new states with changed geographies and names. In 1947, the boundaries of several old states 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 recognize differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography. These include States like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
(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. However, Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 per cent of Indians. Therefore, many safeguards were put to protect other languages. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized as Scheduled Languages in the Constitution.
(c) Centre-State relations: Restructuring the Centre - State relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice. This happened particularly after 1990 when there was a coalition government at the centre.
(d) Decentralisation of power : The governmental power has been decentralised to form the third tier of government in the form of Panchayati Raj and municipal government. 

Question : What challenges did centre-state relations in India face before the 1990's? Why is power sharing between centre and state more effective today?
Answer : Challenges before 1990 :
(i) Political scene was dominated by one party both at the Centre and in the States before 1990.
(ii) As and when the ruling party at the state level asserted itself the centre enforced governors rule.
(iii) The Central Government would often misuse the constitution of dismiss the State Government that were controlled by rival parties.
After 1990 :
(i) The central government was formed by a coalition of different parties.
(ii) A number of regional parties have become powerful and play a crucial role at the Centre and States.
(iii) The era of "coalition" government at the Centre has inculcated respect for federal autonomy and respect for state governments.

Question : Why did the makers of our Constitution declare India to be a 'Union of States'? Why were some sub-political units of India given a special status?
Answer : India became a Union of States because it consisted of both British-ruled territories as well as many princely states. Some sub-political units of India have a special status.
(i) Jammu & Kashmir joined India on a special condition.
(ii) Some units were too small to become independent states. They were made Union Territories.
(iii) States in the North-East have been given a special status as they have a large tribal population with a distinct history and culture.

Question : Explain any five features of Panchayati Raj system in India.
Answer : Rural local government is known as Panchayati Raj.
(i) Panchayati Raj is rural-based.
(ii) Each village has a Gram Panchayat.
(iii) It has Panchs and a Sarpanch.
(iv) He/she is directly elected by the adult population in the village.
(v) Panchayat works under the Gram Sabha.
(vi) All the voters meet at least twice or thrice in a year.
(viii) Few Gram Panchayat from The Panchayat Samiti or Block or Mandal.