CBSE Class 10 Social Science Federalism Worksheet

Mark the option which is most suitable :
(a) If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) If assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) If both assertion and reason are false.

Question. Assertion : India is a federation.
Reason : Power resides with the central authority.
Answer : (a) India is a federal government and there is three-tier system of power sharing with Central government, state government and local self government. It is a union of states and not a federation.

Question. Assertion : Zilla Parishad Chairperson is the political head of the Zilla Parishad.
Reason : Mayor is the head of municipalities.
Answer : (b) Panchayat samitis of a district together form the Zilla Parishad. Zilla Parishad chairperson is the political head of the Zilla Parishad. Municipalities are set up in towns. Mayor is the head of municipalities. The reason does not however explain the assertion.

Question. Assertion : Belgium and Spain has ‘holding together’ federation.
Reason : A big country divides power between constituent states and national government.
Answer : (a) The power of a large country is divided between constituent states and national government. The Central government is more powerful than the states.

Question. Assertion : A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992 by amending the constitution.
Reason : Constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
Answer : (a) The constitution was amended in 1992 to make the third tier more powerful and effective. It includes steps like regular elections for local government bodies, reservation of seats for OBCs, SCs, STs and women and creation of State Election Commission. The reason thus, justifies the assertion.

Question. Assertion : It is very simple to make the changes in the basic structure of the constitution.
Reason : Both the houses have power to amend the constitution independently.
Answer : (d) It is difficult to make changes in the constitution in the federal system. Any change has to be first passed through both the houses of Parliament through atleast two-third majority. Then, it has to be ratified by the legislatures of atleast half of the total states. Thus, both reason and assertion are false.

Question. Assertion : Coalition government is formed during dearth of coal in the country.
Reason : It helps in overcoming coal crisis.
Answer : (d) When no party is able to prove clear cut majority, several regional parties come together to form coalition government. It has no connection with scarcity of coal in the country.

Question. Assertion : Hindi is identified as the only official language of India.
Reason : It helped in creating supremacy of Hindi speaking people over others.
Answer : (c) Hindi is the identified as official language of India. However, it is spoken by only 40 per cent of Indians.
Thus, to safeguard the rights of other linguistic communities, 21 other languages were recognized as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution.

Question. Assertion : India has a federal system.
Reason : Under a unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to Central government.
Answer : (b) India has a federal government. There is a central government for the entire country and state governments for different regions. The reason is also true but does not justify the statement.

Question. Assertion : The subjects which are not included in Union List, State List and Concurrent List are considered as residuary subjects.
Reason : The subjects included that came after constitution was made and thus, could not be classified.
Answer : (a) The subjects which are not included in Union List, State List and Concurrent List are considered as residuary subjects. It includes the subjects such as computer software that came after constitution was made. Union Government has power to legislate on these ‘residuary’ subjects.

Question. Assertion : Third-tier of government is local government.
Reason : It made democracy weak.
Answer : (c) The third tier of government is done through decentralisation. It helped in making democracy stronger by bringing it to grass root level. Thus, the reason is false but assertion stands true.

Source/Extract Based Questions

Read the extract and answer the questions that follows : 
Rural local government is popularly known by the name Panchayati Raj. Each village or a group of villages in some States, has a gram panchayat. This is a council consisting of several ward members, often called panch, and a president or sarpanch. The local government structure goes right up to the district level. 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 panchayat members in that area. Similarly, local government bodies exist for urban areas as well. Municipalities are set up in towns. Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations.

1. Who elects or chooses the members of the gram panchayat?
Answer : The members of the gram panchayat are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village.

2. Explain the composition of zila parishad.
Answer : (i) All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zila parishad. Most members of the zila parishad are elected.
(ii) Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members.
(iii) Zila parishad chairperson is the political head of the Zila Parishad.

3. Describe the composition of municipalities and corporations.
Answer : (i) Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s representatives.
(ii) Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality.
(iii) In a municipal corporation such as an officer is called the mayor.

Read the source given below and answer the following questions.
Union List includes 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 contains subjects of State and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The State Governments 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.

Answer the following MCQs by choosing the most appropriate option:

1. In which of the following categories the legislative powers have been distributed between the Union Government and the State Government ?
(a) Union List
(b) State List
(c) Concurrent List
(d) All of these
Answer : D

2. How many subjects are mentioned in the Union List?
(a) 44
(b) 86
(c) 97
(d) All of the above.
Answer : C

3. Which one of the following subjects is included in the State List ?
(a) Agriculture
(b) Defence
(c) Marriage
(d) All of them
Answer : A

4. Which of the following can make laws regarding currency?
(a) Union Government
(b) State Government
(c) Local Government
(d) All of them
Answer : A

Read the sources given below and answer the questions that follows–
Source A– Centre State Relations
All this changed significantly after 1990. This period saw the rise of regional political parties in many States of the country. 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, themajor national parties had to entre 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
Source B– Linguistic Diversity of India
The latest information that we have is from the Census of India in 2011. This census recorded more than 1300 distinct language which people mentioned as their mother tongues. These languages were grouped together to come under major languages. For example language like Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Rajasthani and many other were grouped together under ‘Hindi’. Even after this grouping, the census found 121 major languages. Of these 22 language are now included in the Eight Schedule of the Indian Constitution and are therefore called ‘Scheduled Language’ Others are called ‘non- Scheduled Language’. In terms of language, India is perhaps the most diverse country in the world.
Source C– Decentralisation in India
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.

Source A– Centre State Relations
1. What is the coalition governments ?
Answer : When no single party got majority in the Lok Sabha, the Major national parties had to enter into an alliance with many parties to form a government at the centre. This kind of government is called coalition government.

Source B– Linguistic Diversity of India
2. What are ‘Scheduled languages’?
Answer : As per Census 2011, out of 121 major languages, 22 languages are now included in the Eighth Scheduled of the Indian Constitution and are therefore called scheduled languages.

Source C– Decentralisation in India
3. State any one advantage of decentralisation ?
Answer : The most important benefit of decentralisation is to solve the regional issues at the local level as the people of the area have better knowledge of the regional issues.

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question : Name the Indian state that has its own constitution.
Answer : Jammu and Kashmir

Question : Complete the following table with correct information with regard to three-fold distribution of legislative powers in India :

Answer :

Question : What is federalism?
Answer : Federalism is a system of government, under which power is divided between a central authority and its various constituent units.

Question : What is Unitary Government?
Answer : In unitary government there is only one level of government and if sub units are there, that are subordinate to the central government.

Question : Define Gram Panchayat?
Answer : It is council consisting of several ward members at village level, often called the Panch and the head is Sarpanch.

Question : What is Panchayat Samiti?
Answer : A few Gram Panchayats are grouped together to form a Panchayat Samiti or Block or a Mandal.

Question : Define Zila Parishad?
Answer : All the panchayat Samitis or Mandals in a district together constitute the Zila Parishad.

Question : What is Mayor?
Answer : Mayor is the head of a Municipal Corporation.

Question : The Subjects like-Defense, Banking and Communication are come under which list?
Answer : Union List

Question : Point out one feature in the practice of federation in India that is similar from that of Belgium.
Answer : In both countries there are two or more levels of Government.

Question : Point out one feature in the practice of federation in India that is different from to that of Belgium.
Answer : In Belgium Community Government is there, but in India such type of provision is not there.

Question : How many lists of subject have been provided in the Indian Constitution?
Answer : Four comprehensive lists of subjects. Union List, State List, Concurrent List and Residuary List

Question : How many languages have been included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution?
Answer : Besides Hindi there are 21 other languages included in the eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Question : Name a few countries which are coming together federations.
Answer : Australia, USA and Switzerland

Question : What is approximate number of elected representatives in the Panchayat and Municipalities?
Answer : About 36 Lakh

Question : In which year the use of English as an official language was stopped in India?
Answer : 1956

Question : Why is Pokhran famous in India?
Answer : Pokharan, the place where India conducted its nuclear tests, lies in Rajasthan.

Question : How many countries are federal political systems, according to the source given by Montreal and Kingston, Handbook of Federal Countries, 2002?
Answer : 25 countries.

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. Complete the following :
Coalition government is the government formed by the coming together ______.
Answer : of at least two political parties.

Question. Correct the following statement and rewrite. Federal power sharing in India needs another tier of government, above that of the local government.
Answer : Federal power sharing in India needs another tier of government, below that of the state government.

Question. Complete the following :
Federation has two levels of government and both of them enjoy _____ .
Answer : Power independent of the other.

Question. Complete the following :
Concurrent list includes subjects which are of common interest to ________ 
Answer : Both the central and the state governments.

Question. Correct the following statement and rewrite :
The central government has imposed Hindi in states where people speak a different language
Answer : The central government has not imposed Hindi on states where people speak a different language .

Question. Complete the following :
Arbitrary means using power without restriction and without ______ .
Answer : Considering other people

Question. Complete the following : 
An ideal federal system has both aspects ________
Answer : Mutual trust and agreement to live together.

Question. Union List : Foreign affairs, State List : _________, Concurrent List : Marriage
Answer : Trade.

Question. Name some linguistic states.
Answer : Some linguistic states are Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam etc.

Question. How does the local government help in bringing democracy to the grassroot level ?
Answer : The local government helps in bringing democracy at the grassroot level as people can directly participate in decision making. It also helps in inculcating the habit of democratic participation.

Question. What was the fear when states were divided on linguistic basis ?
Answer : The fear when states were divided on linguistic basis was that, it might lead to the disintegration of the country. However, in reality the formation of linguistic states further unite the country.

Question. How did Belgian government turn to a federal state from a unitary one ?
Answer : Belgium turned into a federal state from a unitary one by reducing the powers of the Central Government and shifted it to the regional governments.

Question. Point out one feature in the practice of federalism in India that is similar to and one feature that is different from that of Belgium.
Answer : One feature in the practice of federalism in India that is similar to Belgium is ‘holding together federation’, where power is divided between the Central overnment and the constituent units. One feature of Indian federalism that is different from that of Belgium is that in India Centre has more power than the States while in Belgium states are more powerful than the central authority.

Question. Name Three-Tiers of Indian Federalism. 
Answer : The Three-Tier of Indian Federalism are—
(i) Union Government.
(ii) State Government.
(iii) Local Government.

Question. Give some examples of holding together federation.
Answer : Holding together federation is practised in countries like India, Belgium and Spain.

Question. Discuss the dual objectives of federalism.
Answer : The dual objectives of federalism are safeguarding and promoting the unity of the country and accommodating regional diversity.

Question. What are the ways to bring about changes in the power sharing arrangements in India ?
Answer : Any change in the power sharing arrangement in India has to be first passed through both the houses of Parliament with atleast two-third majority. Then, it has to be approved by the governments of at least half of the total states.

Question. What is a Gram Sabha ? Explain its working.
Answer : A Gram Sabha is the decision-making body for a village. The panchayat works under the supervision of the gram sabha. The people of the village are its voters. Its meeting has to be held twice or thrice a year for approval of annual budget of gram panchayat and for reviewing the performance of the gram panchayat.

Question. What happens in case of conflict in decision taken by the State and Central government ?
Answer : In case of any dispute between State and Central government, the decision taken by the Central government will be followed.

Question. What is another popular name of rural local  government in India ?
Answer : Another popular name of rural local government in India is Panchayati Raj system.

Question. What is the basic idea behind decentralisation ?
                           OR
Why do we need local government ?
Answer : The basic idea behind local government or need for decentralisation was that the local people know better about the problems of their areas. They also have better knowledge about where to get the resources for managing things efficiently.

Question. Discuss the role of courts in our Constitution.
Answer : Courts have the power to interpret the different tiers of the government and the constitution. In case of any dispute between the Centre and the States regarding exercise of power, it is settled by the highest court.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. Name any two subjects that are included in Concurrent List. How are laws made on these subjects ? Explain.
Answer : Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest to both the Union and State government. These subjects are education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession etc. Both the state and the Union governments can make laws on these subjects. But if the laws made by both the government contradict each other, or a dead lock is created, then the law made by the Union government will prevail.

Question. Describe the rationale behind the implementation of Decentralisation in India.
Answer : The rationales behind the implementation of decentralisation in India are :
(i) India is a vast country; central government is unable to hear the needs of people from different areas.
(ii) The local government can easily understand the needs and demands of their people.
(iii) It helps women to participate in decision making process because 33% seats are reserved for women in local government.
(iv) It takes off burden from central and state government.
(v) It strengthens democracy.
(vi) At the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making.

Question. Under which type of federation India comes ? Mention any two features of such federation.
Answer : India comes under ‘holding together’ federations. Features of this type of federation are:
(i) The power is divided between the constituent States and the national government. Central government tends to have more powers vis-a vis the States.
(ii) Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. Some units are granted special powers.
(iii) India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of federation.

Question. How is sharing of power between the Union and the State governments forms the basic to the structure of the Constitution of India ? Explain.
Answer : Sharing of power between the Union and the State governments is very basic to the structure of the Constitution. The Constitution has distributed the legislative powers between the state government and Union government by dividing the subjects in Union list and State list, on which, these governments can make laws respectively. There is Concurrent list as well on which, both the governments can make laws. Many provisions of the Indian Constitution are not applicable in the states without the approval of the state government. On the other hand, the Union government enjoys its own hold over some of the union territories.
This distribution of power is well embedded in the provisions of the constitution and is its basic structure.

Question. Why is it difficult to make changes in power sharing arrangement between union government and state government ? Explain with examples.
Answer : It is difficult to make changes in power sharing arrangement between Union government and state government as parliament can’t make any changes on its own. Any change in power sharing arrangement in India has to be first passed through both the houses of Parliament with at least two-third majority. Then, it has to be approved by the governments of at least half of the total States.

Question. Explain the two levels of a federal system.
Answer : The two levels of a federal system are :
(i) The central authority which is responsible for few subjects of common national interest.
(ii) The governments at state level which are responsible for administering day-to-day affairs of their respective states.

Question. What is the reason for real success of federalism in India ?
Answer : The credit of real success of federalism in India can be attributed to democratic politics. It helped in ensuring that diversity is dually respected and the desire for living together becomes a mutual idea for the country.

Question. Explain any three forms of power sharing among different organs of government in India.
Answer : Forms of power sharing are : 
(i) Horizontal form of power sharing e.g., Legislative, Executive and Judiciary.
(ii) Vertical form of power sharing e.g., Union government and State government.
(iii) Power sharing between political parties and pressure groups and movements e.g., colonial government

Question. Explain the role of judiciary in a federal system.
Answer : In a federal system judiciary plays an important role of ensuring the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. If any dispute arises between Centre and States regarding exercise of power, it is settled either by supreme court or high court.

Question. Panchayat Samiti exist at what level and how is it formed ?
Answer : Panchayat Samiti is formed at block level. Gram Panchayats of a block together form a Block or Panchayat Samiti or Mandal. Its members are electedby the members of all the Panchayats in that block.

Question. Which features of Panchayati Raj do you like the most and why ? Explain.
Answer : There are so many features of Panchayati Raj system.
But the feature I like the most is that there are seats reserved for women. About 1/3 seats are reserved for women in the rural local bodies. In my point of view it is a revolutionary step which works for women empowerment and it creates leadership quality in the women of India, which is almost half of the population of the country.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. How are Gram Panchayats formed ?
Answer : Local government at village level is known as Panchayati Raj. Gram Panchayat is the smallest unit of the threetier system at village level. Every village or group of villages at some places form a village panchayat. There are many ward members, which are known as Panch and the head of the gram panchayat is sarpanch. The ward members are directly elected by the voters of the ward or village. It acts as a decision-making body for the village/group of villages. All the people of the village are its voters and it is supervised by gram sabha. Its meeting is held twice or thrice in a year for approval of its annual budget and for reviewing its performance and progress.

Question. Mention any two achievements and shortcomings of Panchayati Raj system in India.
Answer : The credit of introducing Panchayati Raj system goes to Balwant Rai mehta Committee.
Following are its major achievement :
(i) The concept of local government helped in taking democracy to the grass-root level.
(ii) It helped in increasing representation of scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST),
Other Backward (OBC) and woman candidates. shortcomings of Panchayati Raj system, which are follows:
(i) Though, elections are held regularly, yet, meetings of Gram Sabhas, Block Commitiees and Zila Parishads are not held regularly.
(ii) Most of the State governments are reluctant to share powers and revenue with the Local government.

Question. Explain the local bodies in an urban area ?
Answer : The third-tier of federal system at the urban level are municipalities and Municipal Corporations. Municipalities are established in small towns and Municipal Corporations are formed in big cities. The municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies which consist of people’s representatives. The political head of a municipality is a Municipal Chairperson and the political head of a Municipal Corporation is known as ‘Mayor’.

Question. Explain the three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the union government and the state governments.
                                     OR
Explain how India can be regarded as a federalist country ?
                                     OR
Explain how power is distributed among Centre and States through a three-fold distribution system ?
Answer : India has a three-tier federalism with distribution of power between Union of India, the State governments, and Panchayats and Municipalities. Each of the three different tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction. The Constitution clearly laid a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments through Union List, State List and Concurrent List.
Union List : It includes Now 100 originally - 97 subjects of national importance like national defence, foreign affairs, communications, banking and currency. The Union Government is given liberty to make laws associated with the subjects included in the Union List. State List : It contains Now 61 originally - 66 subjects of State and regional importance like police, agriculture and irrigation, trade and commerce. The State Governments are given liberty to make and implement laws associated with the subjects included in the State List.
Concurrent List : It consists of subjects of common interest to the Union Government and the State Governments, like education, forest, marriage, adoption, trade unions and succession. Both the Union and the State Governments is given liberty to make laws related with the subjects included in this list. In case of any contradiction, the law made by the Union Government will be followed.

Question. Why has federalism succeeded in India ? Which three policies adopted by India have ensured this success ?
Answer : Federalism is the system of government in which power is shared among the different institutions not within the single constitution body.
The constitution outlines the details of power and functioning of the governments at different levels.
India has tried to accommodate all its diversities in its federal set up.
The policies that ensures success are :
(i) Linguistic states : States are divided on the basis of the language spoken in the state or region.
Eg. Marathi is the language of Maharashtra, Assamese is the language of Assam.
(ii) Language policy : All languages have equal rights.
There is no state language in the country.
(iii) Centre state relations : Powers are distributed among the two states and centres.

Question. Explain how Zila Parishad is formed.
Answer : Panchayat Samitis or mandals of a district form a Zila Parishad. members of the Lok Sabha and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the district and some officials of other district level bodies are also its members. Its political head is Zila Parishad chairperson. Most members of Zila Parishad are elected.

Question. Explain the rational behind decentralisation. Discuss the role of rural local government.
Answer : The rational behind decentralisation is that the regional issues. Moreover, these people also have better knowledge of where to spend money and how to manage things more proficiently. It is also possible for the people to directly participate in the decision- making at the local level and it helps in inculcating the habit of democratic participation.
The role of rural local government is as follows :
The rural local government has a three- tier structure. At the apex is the District or Zila Parishad followed by Block or Mandal and Village Panchayat.
The ‘Village’ is the smallest unit of Indian government. At Village level there is gram panchayat, which is run by the Sarpanch and his team of representatives. A few Gram panchayat from a Block. At Block level there is Panchayat Samiti or Block Committee. All Panchayat Samiti of a District or Zila Parishad. Members of Lok Sabha and Members of Legislative assembly (MLAs) are members of Zila Parishad.