POLITICAL SCIENCE

FEDERALISM
Federalism: Its meaning

 It is a vertical division of power among different levels of government. It is a major form

of power sharing in modern democracy.
 In this system of government power is divided between central government and other
smaller units of government. For example, in Belgium, there is central government, state
government and Community government. In India we have Union government, state
government and local self-governments.
 The central government looks after issues of national interest such as money, defence,
tax, foreign relations etc. the other smaller units of government deal with day to day
administration of their own units e.g. state.
 All the levels of government enjoy their power and independence. Central government
cannot order the state government to do something. The state government is not
answerable to the central government.
 All the levels of government are equally and separately answerable to the people of the
country.
 Countries which have federalism: India, Belgium, the USA, Australia, Brazil, Mexico,
Germany, etc.

Important features of federalism:

 There are two or more levels of government.

 Each level is independent and powerful. Their jurisdiction is specified in the constitution.
 The constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by the central government. Consent of
state governments is necessary.
 Judiciary has power to interpret the constitution in case of disputes between different
levels of government. The verdict of judiciary is final.
 To ensure financial autonomy (independence) sources of revenue (income) is clearly
defined by the constitution.
 Federal system tries to (1) safeguard and promote unity of the country.
(2) Accommodate diversities within the country.
An ideal federal system is based on trust and agreement between different levels
of government.

Unitary form of government:

It is the opposite of federal system. There is only one level of government and that is the central
government. Other units of government are subordinate to the central government.
 There is no division of power---all powers belong to the central government.
  Smaller units of government are neither powerful nor independent. They function under
strict control and guidelines of the central government.
 Countries which have unitary government: England, France, China, Italy, Sri Lanka,
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc.

Types of federal government OR The exact balance of power between the central and the
state government varies from one federation to another:

There are two types of federation: 1. Coming together federation and 2. Holding together
federation.
1. Coming together federation:
 Many states come together to form a nation to become bigger and increase their security.
At the same time the states retain their sovereignty. E.g. 13 colonies of America decided
to come together to form a federation called the United States of America.
 Each state has equal power. They are strong in relation to the central /federal
government.
 Here central government cannot ignore the decisions of state government
 The USA, Australia are examples

2. Holding together federation:

 A large country decide to divide its power between other units of government and the
central government. E.g India after independence. The central government created a
union of states.
 Here the state government is subordinate to central government.
 Central government tends to be more powerful in relation to the state governments and
can ignore the decisions of the state governments. Different units of government may
have unequal power. India, Belgium are examples.

Division of power/sharing of power between central and state governments in India:

What makes India a federal country? Or How can you say Indian Union is based
on the principles of Federalism?

 Our constitution has declared India as the Union of States based on the principles of
federalism. We have holding together federation.
 Three levels of government: Constitution has provided for Union government for the
entire country, State governments and local self-governments (Panchayats and
Municipalities).
 Defined jurisdiction: All the levels of government enjoy separate jurisdiction. Legislative
powers are clearly enlisted in four lists: Union list (subjects [97] of national importance
such as defence, currency, foreign affairs, communications, taxes, railways and
highways,, shipping, census, post office, RBI etc.), State list (subjects [66] of local
importance such as education, local government, police, trade agriculture, business, taxes
on land and building, electricity, etc.), Concurrent list (subjects [52] of common interest
to both Union and States such as education, forest, electricity, criminal law, population
control and family planning, employment and unemployment, adulteration of food,
 archaeological sites etc. Residuary list, subjects which are not included in any of the three
lists. They are subjects not in existence when constitution was written (such as software,
hardware, internet regulations etc).Only Union government can take decisions in these
subjects.
 Holding together federation: States in the Indian Union do not have identical powers.
Some States enjoy a special status. States such as Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh
and Mizoram enjoy special powers under certain provisions of the Constitution of India
(Article 371) due to their peculiar social and historical circumstances.
 Being holding together federation ,Union takes the extra responsibility of the Union
Territories Some states Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Delhi, Andaman Nicobar,
Pondicherry, and Daman-Diu are too small to become independent states. They are run
by the Union government and are known as Union Territories.
 Union government more powerful: India has holding together federation therefore union
government enjoy more power in power sharing arrangement. It has residuary powers
and in case of dispute between union and state government over concurrent subjects,
union government’s decision will prevail.
 Rigid Constitution: It cannot be changed unilaterally by the Union Government. It is
therefore not easy to change power sharing arrangement. Consent of at least half state
government legislature and 2/3rd majority is needed to make any change.
 Independent and powerful judiciary: it is the custodian of Indian constitution. Supreme
Court and High Court settle any dispute between Union and State government. Their
verdict is final.
 Sources of revenue: is clearly stated in the constitution and in the three lists.

Real reasons for the success of Indian federation:

 Constitutional provisions are clearly stated.
 Nature of democratic politics which has upheld all the principles of federalism.
 Spirit of accommodation for living together and respect for diversity that exists in our
society historically.
 Administrative knowledge of the people at all levels.
 Efficacy to solve problems at all levels.

Policies that have strengthened Indian federalism/ how is federalism practiced in India?
The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic
politics in our country OR Federalism has respected our diversity and desire to live
together:

Federalism in India is practiced strictly by following the constitutional provisions. Given are the
major policies of Indian federalism.
 Linguistic States: After independence, our political leaders created new states on the
basis of language. This was done so that people who spoke same language can live
together. Some states were created on the basis of culture, ethnicity or geography such as
Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
 Prudent language policy: (i) No national language—our constitution did not give the
status of national language to any language. Hindi is spoken by 40% of Indians. It has
been given the status of official language. (ii) Safeguards for other languages: Our
constitution has recognised 21 languages, besides Hindi as scheduled languages. A
 candidate can write any UPSC Examination for government jobs in any of the scheduled
language. States have their own official language. (iii) Spread of Hindi with caution:
official policy of the government is to promote Hindi as official language but with
caution. It does not want to force Hindi on unwilling non-Hindi speaking people (iv)
Status of English in free India: According to the constitution the use of English for
official purpose was to end from 1965. But some non-Hindi speaking states demanded
that English should continue. In Tamil Nadu this movement had become very violent.
Government agreed to continue with English along with Hindi for official purpose. In this
way a policy of accommodation was followed.
 Re-structuring centre-state relation: For a long time same political party ruled in the
centre and in many states. As a result those states could not function freely. (i) Spirit of
federalism not followed: If the ruling party was different in the state then centre misused
the constitution tried to weaken the position of that state. (ii) Rise of regional parties
and coalition governments: After 1990, many states began to form own state political
parties. In that situation no party got single majority in General election. This led to a
new culture of power sharing. Major national parties had to form alliances with regional
parties to form coalition government at the centre. Eg. NDA, UPA. This increased the
importance and autonomy of the states.
 Independent and powerful judiciary: SC in many cases has supported the state
government and made it difficult for the Central government to dismiss or weaken the
state governments. In recent time in 2016 the decisions of High Court in Uttarakhand and
SC in Arunachal Pradesh saved the elected governments of these two states.
 Decentralisation : Power is taken away from Central and State government and given to
local government .At the local power is farther distributed between cities towns and
villages.In cities administration is the responsibility of Municipal Corporation ,in towns it
the Municipality and villages it is the Panchayat.

How constitutional changes are made in a federal system:

 It is not easy to make changes in power sharing arrangements in Indian federal system.
 The Parliament cannot change on its own.
 Any change if needed has to pass through both the houses of the Parliament, with at least
2/3rd majority.
 Then it has to be ratified by the legislature by at least half of the total states.

Decentralization in India: Decentralisation means power is taken from the Central and State
governments and given to local governments. Eg.Panchayat Raj in India, Zilla Parishad,
Municipalities and Municipal corporations.

Need for decentralization in India:

 Size and diversity of India: India is a vast country and many states are internally diverse.
Therefore, our federal structure needed another level of government below the state
government for better governance. The third tier of government called local self-government
was created. Examples, panchayat raj in villages, zilla parishad in districts, Municipalities
and municipal corporations in towns and cities.
 Local issues are best settled at local level: Local people have better knowledge of the
problems of their localities. They also have better ideas on how and where the government
fund should be spent.
 Direct participation in decision making: People take interest in their local administration and
this and develop democratic participation in form of universal adult franchise. For example,
village gram sabha elect the Sarpanch and other members of gram panchayat. Gram Sabha is
the decision-making body of the village, it supervises and reviews the work of the gram
panchayat.
 Reduces the burden on central and state governments: due to decentralisation, the day-to-day
administration is managed more efficiently. State governments share power and revenue with
the local governments. It is an excellent example of federal power sharing in India.
 Women empowerment and representation of scheduled and backward groups: After the
amendment of the constitution in 1992, 1/3rd of all positions are reserved for the women.
Seats are also reserved for SC, ST and other backward groups.

Local –self-government before 1992:

  Our constitution has recommended decentralisation of power to the level of villages and
towns. Local government were set up in every state. But third tier remained under the control
of the state governments.
 Elections to these local government were not held regularly. The state government used to
conduct and influence the elections.
 Local governments did not have any power or resources of their own. They remained at the
mercy of the state governments.

Local-self-governments after 1992:

 The constitution was amended in 1992 to make the third tier more powerful and effective.
 To hold regular elections was made mandatory.
 An independent State Election Commission was given the responsibility to conduct
panchayat and municipal elections in impartial manner.
 The state governments were instructed to share power and revenue with local government.
 Seats are reserved for ST, SC, and other backward groups. 1/3rd seats of all positions are
reserved for women
`
Significance of Panchayat Raj/ local-self-government:
 It is the third level of Indian federal structure.
 It has deepened democracy in India.
 It has given chance to people of villages to become representatives and directly
participate in local government.
 It has increased women’s representation and their voice or opinion in democracy.
 Has reduced the administrative load off the state governments. There are now 36 lac
elected representatives
in local self-governments all over India.

Problems / difficulties in local –self-government:

 Elections are held regularly but gram sabhas are not held regularly.
 State governments still have significant powers over the local bodies.
 They do not send enough revenue to the local government to keep them dependent on the state
government.

KEY WORDS & CONCEPTS

Federal ,Unitary, Coming together ,Holding together, India referred as an Union of
States ,Quasi federal Union, State, Concurrent & Residuary
Lists ,Decentralization., Linguistic states ,Language policy, Centre /state
relation ,Coalition Government ,Panchayati Raj, Gram Panchayat ,Gram
Sabha ,Municipal Corporation ,Municipality ,Zilla Parishad ,Unilaterally .Union
Territories

FEDERALISM
 QUESTION BANK

1. State the differences between the federal and unitary system.

2. Which is the third tier in federal country?
3. Why subjects like foreign affairs, banking and currency included in the Union List?
4. What are ‘Union Territories’? Name them.
5. What is the role of judiciary in the federal system?
6. ‘The constitution does not mention the word Federation but Indian Union is based on the
principles of federation.’ Explain the statement. OR Give the features of federal system.
7. Who elects the member of the Lok Sabha ?
8. How are constitutional changes made in a federal system?
9. Which special provisions are provided to some states of India?
10. State any achievements and any problems of the Panchayat System.
OR ‘Local governments have made a significant impact on democracy. At the same time
there are many difficulties.’ Explain.
11. Explain how the federal experiment has been successful in the matter of formation of states
in India.
12. Explain the constitutional amendments of 1992 to make local government more effective and
powerful.
13. How challenge of language policy was sorted in a federal country like India ?
14. Explain any five advantages of decentralisation of power.
15. How has the Panchayati Raj strengthened the democracy in India?
16. Discuss the change in centre state relation post-1990.
17. Explain the relation between the centre - state relation before the coalition era (1990).
18. What are the important features of federal system in India? OR Which features adopted by
India ensures it is a federal country?
19. How is federalism practiced in India? OR How has federalism succeeded in India?
20. How are changes made in power sharing arrangement between the Union and the States?
21. “Holding together federations do not give equal powers to its constituent units. Explain the
statement with the help of examples in context to India.”
22, Discuss the distribution of Legislative powers between the Union and the State Governments
of India.
23.” Sharing of power between the Union and the State governments basic to the structure of
Constitution of India. ‘Analyze the statement with suitable arguments
24. The Constitution did not use the word Federation but the Indian Union is based on the
principles of Federation. Explain.
_________________________________________________________________________
FEDERALISM
BOARD PAPERS
1. Describe any three provisions of amendment made in Indian Constitution in 1992
for making three tier government more effective and powerful? (3)

(Refer to the notes section)

 2. Discuss the power sharing arrangement between the Central and State
Governments in federal country like India? (5)

Ans.What makes India a federal country? Or How can you say Indian Union is based
on the principles of Federalism?

( Points given for the above answer to be referred from the notes section)
3. How has the Panchayati Raj strengthened the democracy in India? Express your
views? (3)
(Refer to the note section)
4. Explain any five provisions of the Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 that
strengthened the third tier of Government in India. (5)

(Refer to the note section)

5. Explain the factors that make federal government in India so attractive. (3)

Ans. Following factors have made Indian federal system attractive.

 Constitutional provisions are clearly stated. All the tiers of government have their own
well defined jurisdiction of power mentioned in the Constitution.
 Nature of democratic politics which has upheld all the principles of federalism.
 Spirit of accommodation for living together and respect for diversity that exists in our
society historically.
 Administrative knowledge of the people and efficacy in solving problems at all levels.
 It involves mobilisation that reduces concentration and misuse of power.
 The provision of Lists with the subjects grouped according to their importance have made
Indians realise their importance. They are the Union, State, Concurrent and Residuary
list.
 The best part of this division of power is according to the Constitution and cannot
be changed without a Constitutional amendment.

6. In which List of the Indian Constitution does education come? Why? (1)
Ans. Education comes under Concurrent List. Both Centre and States can legislate
on education. Thus it has been included in the Concurrent List.

7. Why was States Reorganization Commission formed? (1)

Ans. The States Reorganization Commission was formed in 1954 to recommend
creation of States in on the Linguistic basis.

8. ‘India has a large cultural, regional, and religious diversity but there is unity
among people’. Which factors are responsible for this? (3)
Ans. The factors responsible for our unity in diversity are:
  Our Constitution: It has provided all citizens with Fundamental Rights. The provision of
Directive Principles of State policy are guidelines to the state government to provide
equality, justice and security to all citizens. The constitution has adopted the model of

secular state. Universal adult Franchise and reserved constituency and reserved seats has
assured political unity.
 Creation of linguistic states have enabled people with same language and culture to live
in same state. This has helped to strengthened Indian unity.
 Prudential language policy has shown respect for our linguistic diversity.
 Federal structure promoted the unity of India and accommodate regional diversity.
 We the people the people of India have shown our willingness to live in unity.
Democratic principle of people’s participation in decision making have brought
people of different region and religion together irrespective of their personal
background. This has united people farther in India.

9. Explain any five features of Panchayati Raj system in India. (5)

Ans. The five important features of Panchayati Raj are:
 Rural local government is referred to as Panchayati Raj.
 Each village has a Gram Panchayat with Sarpanch as its head. Sarpanch and its Panch
take all the decisions for the village.
 Sarpanch is directly elected by the adult population living in the village.
 Panchayat works under the supervision of the Gram Sabha. All the voters are its members.
 All the voters meet at least twice or thrice a year to approve the annual budget and review
the performance of the Panchayat.
 Few Gram Panchayats come under come together to form Panchayat Samiti/ ,
Block/ Mandal at the district level.

10. Highlight three major distinctions between the federations of

coming together and Holding together type? (3 marks)

Holding together Coming together

Large countries with huge and diverse Independent States come together on their
population decides to divide its power own to form a bigger unit.
between states and centre.
Central government tends to be more All the States have equal power and are not
powerful. subordinate to the Centre.
Federating units have unequal power. By pooling sovereignty and retaining their
identity ,increases their security.All units
have equal power
Eg: India, Spain, and Belgium. Eg: U.S.A, Switzerland, and Australia.

11. Highlight any three steps taken by India towards making it a federation. (3)
Ans. The three steps are:
 Reorganisation of States on linguistic basis
 Language policy
  Restructuring its Centre –State relation:
 Decentralisation:
(Each point needs to be explained in detail)
12. Differentiate between Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat. (3)
Ans. The differences are:
Gram Panchayat: is a council consisting of several ward members often called Panch
with a Sarpanch at its Head. The members are directly elected by the adult
population living in that ward or villagen also referred as Gram Sabha.
 It is the decision making body for the village
 Gram Sabha: All the voters or adult population are its members. The Gram
Panchayat works under the supervision of the Gram Sabha.
 It meets twice or thrice a year to approve the annual budget of the panchayat and to
review the performance of the Panchayat.

13. Which subjects are included in the Union List? (1)

(Refer to the note section)
14. Describe any five key features of federalism. (5)
(Refer to the note section)

15. Why has federalism succeeded in India? Which were the policies adopted by
India that ensured this success? (5)

 Federalism has succeeded in India due to the nature of democratic policies adopted in
India which has upheld all the principles of federalism. The constitution has clearly
defined the powers of the different units of government in four different lists (give the
names).
The policies that that our constitution has adopted to make federalism a success are the
following:
 Linguistic policies:
 Language Policy:
 Centre-State relation:
 Decentralisation of power:

16. The creation of linguistic states was the first and the major test of democratic politics in our
country. Justify the statement.
Answer:The creation of linguistic states was the first and the major test of democratic politics in
our country

 After 1947, the boundaries of several old states of India were proposed to be changed to
ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same state. It was felt that it
would case administrative constraints also.
 Some states like Nagaland were not created on the basis of language but because of their
distinct culture, ethnicity and geography.
  When the demand for the formation of linguistic states rose, some leaders feared that it
would again lead to disintegration.
 This idea was thus resisted for some time fearing any further tension or conflict within the
country.
 But when the actual creation of states was done on the basis of language, it so proved that
the country was more united. This process did away with all fears and tension.
 Thus, the framing of the language policy was the test for Indian federation. It inspired the
confidence in different language speaking people that no language will be imposed on
them. In a way Language policy has strengthened the unity and integrity of Indi

(Refer to the notes section for explanation of each point)

Multiple Choice questions for practice (Competency Based Question)
1. Identify the correct statement(s) about the theory of Federalism in the
Indian Constitution.
I. The Constitution declared India as a Union of States.
II. Sharing of power between the Union Government and the State government is basic
to the structure of the Constitution.
III. It is easy to make changes to this power-sharing arrangement.
IV. The parliament can on its own change this arrangement.
Options
a. I & II
b. II & III
c. I & III
d. II & IV
Ans. Option (a)

2. Which of the following subjects is not included in the state list?

a. Law and order
b. National defense
c. Education
d. Agriculture
Ans. Option (b)

3. Which of the following options proves that India is a quasi-federal state?

I. More powers with Centre
II. Residuary subjects with Centre
III. Equal subjects with Centre and State
IV. Currency and Railways with Centre
Options:
a. I, III & IV
b. I, II & IV
c. II, III & IV
d. I, II & III
Ans. Option (b)

4. Which of the following states of India enjoy special powers under Article 371(A) of the
Constitution of India?
a. Nagaland
b. Rajasthan
 c. Punjab
d. Tamil Nadu
Ans. Option (a)

5. How does Judiciary act as an umpire in a federal nation?

a. Judiciary rules over Centre and State
b. Centre and Judiciary work collectively
c. Courts can change the structure of the Constitution
d. Courts use the power to interpret the Constitution
Ans. Option (d)

5.In federal system, central government cannot order the:

(a) Union Government
(b) Local government
(c) State government
(d) None of the above
Ans : (c) state government

Assertion & reasoning (Competency Based Questions)

 Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation of
Assertion (A) .
 (B) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true but Reason (R) is not the correct explanation
of Assertion (A) .
 (C) Assertion (A) is true but Reason (R) is false.
 (D) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are false.
(E) A is false but R is true.

1) Assertion (A): It is very simple to make the changes in the basic structure of the
Constitution.
Reason (R): Both the houses have power to amend the Constitution independently.
Answer: (D) Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are false.

2) Assertion (A): India is a federation.

Reason (R): Power resides with the Central authority.
Answer: Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true and Reason (R) is the correct explanation
of Assertion (A).

3) Assertion (A) : Zilla Parishad Chairperson is the political head of the Zilla Parishad.
Reason (R): Mayor is the head of municipalities.
Answer: Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true but Reason (R) is not the correct
explanation of Assertion (A) .
4) Assertion (A): Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one
language.
Reason (R): Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one more way in which federalism
has been strengthened in practice.
Answer: Both Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are true but Reason (R) is not the correct
explanation of Assertion (A).

5) Assertion (A): The local government structure goes right up to the state level.
Reason (R): A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a
panchayat samiti or block or mandal.
Answer: A is false but R is true.
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