Class X

Politics – Chapter. 2
FEDERALISM
1. What is Federalism?
Ans. It 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 and the others are
governments at the level of provinces or states.

2. What is the main difference between a federal form of government and a unitary
one?
* Under the federal system there are two levels of govt., one at the central level and
other of the state level. Both levels have their own areas of jurisdiction.
* Under the Unitary system, either there is only one level of govt. or the sub units are
sub-ordinates to the central government.
* In a federal system, central government cannot order the state govt. to do something.
The state government is not answerable to the central govt. In a unitary system central
govt. can pass on orders to the state govt.

3. Explain the key features of federalism.

1.There are two or more levels (tiers) of govt.

2. Different tiers of govt. govern the same citizens but each has its own jurisdiction
in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
3. The fundamental provisions of government cannot be changed unilaterally by one
level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of
government.
4. Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and powers of different levels
of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between
different levels of government.
5. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its
financial autonomy.

4. Distinguish between ‘coming together federation’ and ‘holding together

federation’.
Ans. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed:

1. The first route involves independent states coming together on their own to form
a bigger unit. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include the USA,
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 Switzerland and Australia. All the constituent states usually have equal power
and are strong.
2. The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the
constituent states and the national govt. India, Spain and Belgium are examples of
this kind of ‘Holding together’ federations. In this, the central government tends
to be more powerful than the states.

5. Point out one feature in the practice of federalism in India that is similar to and
one feature that different from Belgium.

Similarity: Like in Belgium, in Indian federalism also constitutional powers are given
to the regional and local levels.
Difference: Unlike the Belgium, in Indian federalism regional and local governments
are dependent on the central govt. for finance and other matters of national importance.

6. Describe the three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the union

government and the state governments. (Three lists of subjects)
Ans. The three lists of subjects are:
1. Union List: It includes subject of national importance such as defence of the
country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. The union
government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the union
list. (97 subjects)
2. State List: It contains subjects of state and local importance such as Police,
Trade, Commerce, Agriculture and Irrigation. The state government alone can
make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the state list (66 subjects)
3. Concurrent List: It includes subjects of common interest to both the union
government as well as the state government 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. (47 subjects)

7. “Independence of Judiciary is the key to the success of federalism”. Prove the

statement.
Ans. Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different
levels of government. In case of any dispute about the division of powers, the high
courts and supreme courts make a decision. It plays an important role in overseeing the
implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. The highest court acts as an
umpire if disputes arise between different levels of govt.

8. Why were the linguistic states created? Or What is the first major experiment
for the success of Indian federalism?
1. The creation of linguistic states (formation of states on the basis of languages)
was the first and a major test for democratic politics in India.
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 2. In 1947, the boundaries of several old states of India were changed to ensure that
people who spoke the same language lived in the same state.
3. It has made the country more united and also made the administration easier.

9. What is the second test for Indian federation?

1. The second test for Indian Federation is language policy.
2. Hindi was identified as official language, but Hindi was mother tongue of only
about 40% of Indians.
3. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized as scheduled languages
by the constitution.
4. The leaders of our nation adopted a very cautious attitude in spreading the use of
Hindi.
5. According to constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in
1965. Later because of the demand from southern states English was taken as
official language.

10. How are the centre- state relations able to strengthen federalism?

1. For a long time, the same party ruled both at the centre and most of the states.
This meant that the state govt. did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal
units.
2. In these 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.
3. After 1990, there was a rise of regional parties in many states. This was also the
beginning of the era of coalition government at the center. This led to a new
culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of state governments.

11. What is decentralization?

Ans. When power is taken away from central and state govts and given to local govt, it
is called decentralization. A major step towards decentralization was taken in 1992.
The constitution was amended to make the third- tier of democracy more powerful and
effective.

12. What is the basic idea behind the decentralization of government?

1. There are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the
local level.
2. They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things
more efficiently.
3. At the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision
making and can be more close to their elected representatives.
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13. What amendments were made by the constitution to make the third tier of
democracy more powerful and effective?
1. Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government
bodies.
2. An independent institution called Election Commission has been created in each
state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
3. The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local
government bodies. The nature of sharing varies from State to State.
4. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these
institutions for the SC, ST and OBC.
5. At least one- third of all positions are reserved for women.

14. What is panchayati Raj?

 Rural local government is popularly known by the name of Panchayati Raj.
 It has been divided into 3 tiers.
 At the village level, there is Gram panchayat, at the block level there is Block
Panchayat or panchayat samiti and at the district level there is Zilla Parishad.

15. What difficulties are faced in local government bodies?

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 have not given adequate resources.

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