Ch.2 Federalism Questions and Answers
Q. What is the main difference between a federal form of government and a unitary one? Explain with an example. [N.C.E.R.T.]
A.・Federalism is a system of governance in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. A federation has at least 2 levels of government. One is for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest. The other governments are at the provincial/state level that look after much of the day to day administration of their state. Both these governments enjoy their power independent of the other. e.g. India, Belgium etc.
・Under the 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 local governments. In the federal system, the central government can't order the state government to do something. The state government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. Both these governments are separately answerable to the people. e.g. France, Norway etc.
Q. State any 2 differences between the local government before and after the Constitutional Amendment in 1992.
[N.C.E.R.T.]
A. 1.) Local governments before 1992-
・Elections to local governments were not held regularly.
・Local governments did not have any powers or resources of their own. Thus, there was very little decentralisation in effective terms.
2.) Local governments after 1992-
・Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
・The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with the local government bodies. The nature of sharing varies from state to state.
Q. Explain the 2 kinds of routes via which federations have been formed.
A.・1. Coming together federations: In this, 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. All the constituent states usually have equal power and are strong vis a vis the federal government. e.g. USA, Switzerland, Australia etc.
2. Holding together federations: It is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government. 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 e.g. India, Spain, Belgium etc.
Q. Write the key features of federalism.
A. The key features of federalism are:
・There are 2 more tiers of government. Different tiers govern the same citizens but each has its own jurisdictions in specific matters of legislation, taxation, and administration.
・The jurisdictions of the respective tiers are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier are constitutionally guaranteed.
・The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of the government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of the government.
・Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
・Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
・The federal system has dual objectives: to safeguard and promote unity of the country, while at the same time accommodate regional diversity.
Q. Explain the legislative powers of union and state governments.
OR
A. The Constitution clearly provided a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union government and State governments. Thus it contains three lists:
・Union list: It includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in this list because these matters need a uniform policy throughout the country. Only the Union government can make laws on these subjects.
・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 Union, 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, then the law made by the Union government will prevail.
・Residuary subjects: According to the Constitution, the Union government has the power to legislate on residuary subjects i.e. the subjects that came after the Constitution was made. e.g. computer software.
Q. Who is a mayor?
A. A mayor is the political head of the municipal corporation of a city.
Q. When is a coalition government formed?
A. A coalition government is formed when no single party gets a clear majority in the Lok Sabha (or Vidhan Sabha in case of state elections).
Q. Define federalism.
A. Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent state units of the country.
Q. Why has Jammu-Kashmir been given a special status?
A. Most federations that are formed by 'holding together' do not give equal power to its constituent units. Thus, all states in the Indian Union do not have identical powers. Some states like Jammu-Kashmir enjoy a special status.
Q. Give the reasons for decentralization of power.
A. Following are the reasons for decentralisation:
・There are a large number of issues and problems 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 in democracy, namely local self government.
Q. Why was third-tier of the government created?
A. The third tier of the government was created for the following reasons:
・A vast country like India cannot be run only through two tiers i.e. the central and state governments.
・States is India are as large as independent countries of Europe. In terms of population, Uttar Pradesh is bigger than Russia, Maharashtra is about as big as Germany.
・Many of these States are internally very diverse. Thus there is a need for power sharing within these States. Federal power-sharing in India thus needs another tier of government at the local government. Thus power was decentralised and the third tier of the government called local government was formed.
Q. Define jurisdiction.
A. The area over which someone has legal authority. The area may be defined in terms of geographical boundaries or in terms of certain kinds of subjects.
Q. What are the reasons for the success of federalism in India?
A.・Federalism in India has succeeded not merely because of the clearly laid out constitutional provisions but also because of the nature of democratic politics in our country. This ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together became shared ideals in our country. Following are the major ways in which this happened:
・Since 1947, many old states have been replaced by new ones to ensure that the people who speak the same language live in the same state. Some states like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand have been created not on the basis of language but to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography. The formation of linguistic states has actually made the country more united and has also eased administration.
・Our 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% of Indians.Thus there were many safeguards to protect other languages. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution. States too have their own official languages.
・Restructuring the centre-state relations has also strengthened federalism in practice. Before 1990 State governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units because the same party ruled the Centre and most of the States. But after 1990, regional political parties rose in many States and the era of coalition government at the Centre began. Dismissal of State governments in an arbitrary manner was made difficult by a Supreme court judgement. This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of the State governments.
Q. Analyse the advantages of decentralisation.
A.・Decentralisation has made administration efficient, and has made it possible for people to directly participate in decision making at the local level. This way it has increased democratic participation.
・There are now about 36 lakh elected representatives in the panchayats and municipalities etc. all over the nation.
・Constitutional status for local government has helped deepen democracy in our country. It has also increased women's representation and voice in our democracy.
Q. Write the challenges faced by the local governments.
A. Challenges faced by the local government are:
・While elections are held regularly and enthusiastically, gram sabhas are not held regularly.
・Most state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local governments.
・Nor have they given adequate resources to the local government. We are still along way from realising the ideal of self government.
Q. Explain the 2 kinds of routes via which federations have been formed.
A.・1. Coming together federations: In this, 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. All the constituent states usually have equal power and are strong vis a vis the federal government. e.g. USA, Switzerland, Australia etc.
2. Holding together federations: It is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government. 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 e.g. India, Spain, Belgium etc.
Q. Write the key features of federalism.
A. The key features of federalism are:
・There are 2 more tiers of government. Different tiers govern the same citizens but each has its own jurisdictions in specific matters of legislation, taxation, and administration.
・The jurisdictions of the respective tiers are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier are constitutionally guaranteed.
・The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of the government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of the government.
・Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
・Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
・The federal system has dual objectives: to safeguard and promote unity of the country, while at the same time accommodate regional diversity.
Q. Explain the legislative powers of union and state governments.
OR
Explain the threefold distribution of legislative powers between the union government and the state governments.
A. The Constitution clearly provided a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union government and State governments. Thus it contains three lists:
・Union list: It includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in this list because these matters need a uniform policy throughout the country. Only the Union government can make laws on these subjects.
・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 Union, 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, then the law made by the Union government will prevail.
・Residuary subjects: According to the Constitution, the Union government has the power to legislate on residuary subjects i.e. the subjects that came after the Constitution was made. e.g. computer software.
Q. Who is a mayor?
A. A mayor is the political head of the municipal corporation of a city.
Q. When is a coalition government formed?
A. A coalition government is formed when no single party gets a clear majority in the Lok Sabha (or Vidhan Sabha in case of state elections).
Q. Define federalism.
A. Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent state units of the country.
Q. Why has Jammu-Kashmir been given a special status?
A. Most federations that are formed by 'holding together' do not give equal power to its constituent units. Thus, all states in the Indian Union do not have identical powers. Some states like Jammu-Kashmir enjoy a special status.
Q. Give the reasons for decentralization of power.
A. Following are the reasons for decentralisation:
・There are a large number of issues and problems 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 in democracy, namely local self government.
Q. Why was third-tier of the government created?
A. The third tier of the government was created for the following reasons:
・A vast country like India cannot be run only through two tiers i.e. the central and state governments.
・States is India are as large as independent countries of Europe. In terms of population, Uttar Pradesh is bigger than Russia, Maharashtra is about as big as Germany.
・Many of these States are internally very diverse. Thus there is a need for power sharing within these States. Federal power-sharing in India thus needs another tier of government at the local government. Thus power was decentralised and the third tier of the government called local government was formed.
Q. Define jurisdiction.
A. The area over which someone has legal authority. The area may be defined in terms of geographical boundaries or in terms of certain kinds of subjects.
Q. What are the reasons for the success of federalism in India?
A.・Federalism in India has succeeded not merely because of the clearly laid out constitutional provisions but also because of the nature of democratic politics in our country. This ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together became shared ideals in our country. Following are the major ways in which this happened:
・Since 1947, many old states have been replaced by new ones to ensure that the people who speak the same language live in the same state. Some states like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand have been created not on the basis of language but to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography. The formation of linguistic states has actually made the country more united and has also eased administration.
・Our 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% of Indians.Thus there were many safeguards to protect other languages. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution. States too have their own official languages.
・Restructuring the centre-state relations has also strengthened federalism in practice. Before 1990 State governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units because the same party ruled the Centre and most of the States. But after 1990, regional political parties rose in many States and the era of coalition government at the Centre began. Dismissal of State governments in an arbitrary manner was made difficult by a Supreme court judgement. This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of the State governments.
Q. Analyse the advantages of decentralisation.
A.・Decentralisation has made administration efficient, and has made it possible for people to directly participate in decision making at the local level. This way it has increased democratic participation.
・There are now about 36 lakh elected representatives in the panchayats and municipalities etc. all over the nation.
・Constitutional status for local government has helped deepen democracy in our country. It has also increased women's representation and voice in our democracy.
Q. Write the challenges faced by the local governments.
A. Challenges faced by the local government are:
・While elections are held regularly and enthusiastically, gram sabhas are not held regularly.
・Most state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local governments.
・Nor have they given adequate resources to the local government. We are still along way from realising the ideal of self government.
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