CHAPTER-2 FEDERALISM

ONE MARK QUESTIONS

1. What is federalism?
Federalism is a system of government in which power is
divided between Central authority and various constituent
units of the country. The government works at two levels, both
the centre and the state. Both these levels of governmens
enjoys their power independent of the other.
2. Name three co!tries that follo" federalism.
India, nited !tates of "merica and #ussia follow federalism.
#. Name o!e lar$e co!tr% that does !ot follo" federalisam.
China is one large country which does not follow Federalism.
&. Which state i! I!dia e!'o% s(ecial (o"er?
$ammu % &ashmir is the state in India which enjoy special
powers.
). *efi!e the follo"i!$+
a, U!io! Territories
There are areas which are too small to become an
independent state but could not be merged with any
e'isting state, These areas , like Chandigarh,
(akshadweep or the capital city of )elhi are called
nion Territories.
-, U!io! .ist
nion (ist includes subjects of national importance such
as defence of the country,foreign affairs,banking,
communication and currency.
c, State .ist
!tate (ist contains subjects of !tate and local
importance such as *olice, trade,commerce,agriculture
and irrigation.
d, /o!crre!t .ist
Concurrent list includes subjects of common interest to
both the nion +overnment as well as !tate
government, such as education , forests, trade unions,
marriage, adoptionand succession.
e, Residar% S-'ects
!ubjects which do not fall under any of the above lists,
are considered as #esiduary subjects. nion
+overnment has got the power to legislate on these
,residuary subjects-.
f, *ece!tralisatio!
.hen power is taken away from Central and !tate
+overnments and given to (ocal +overnment,it is called
decentralisation.
0. O! "hat -asis ha1e !e" states -ee! created?
/ew state have been created not on the basis of language but
to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or
+eography. These include states like /agaland, ttarakhand,
$harkhand.
2. What is the la!$a$e (olic% of I!dia?
(anguage policy is the test of Indian Federation. 0ur
constitution did not give the status of national language to any
one language. 1indi was identified as official language .
3. What do %o !dersta!d -% the term4Schedled
.a!$a$es4?
Besides 1indi, there are 23 other languages recognised as
!cheduled languages by the constitution. " candidate in an
e'amination conducted for Central +overnment positions may
opt to take e'amination in any of these languages.
5. Name three co!tries that follo" the !itar% s%stem.
nited "rab 4mirates, China and !ri (anka follow unitary
system .
16. O!e "ord each to descri-e the methods ado(ted -% Sri
.a!7a a!d 8el$im to sol1e their eth!ic (ro-lem
.
Sri .a!7a U!itar%
8el$im 9ederal
T:REE MARK QUESTIONS
1. ;i1e three differe!ces -et"ee! federal $o1er!me!t a!d
!itar% $o1er!me!t.
a. There are two or more levels of government in federal
government but there is only one level of government of
nitary +overnment or the sub units are sub ordinate to
the central government.
b. Central government can pass on orders to provincial or
the local government in nitary +overnment whereas in
a federal system, the central government cannot order
the state government to do something.
c. !tate governments are not answerable to Central or
national government in the federal government and the
state governments or sub units are answerable to the
central government in unitary government.
d. Courts such as supreme court of India safeguard and
interpret the constitution in Federal +overnment and
courts do not enjoy such powers in nitary +overnment.
2. ;i1e t"o differe!ces -et"ee! < comi!$ to$ether4 a!d
<:oldi!$ to$ether4 9ederatio!.
a. In 5 Coming together federations6 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 while in 5 1olding together6
federation, a large country decides to divide its powers
between the constituent states and the national
government.
b. In 5Coming together6 federations, all the constituents
states have e7ual powers whereas in 5 holding together6
federations, some units are granted special powers.
#. Wh% is dece!tralisatio! im(orta!t?
a8 There are a large number of problems and
issues which are best settled at the local level as people
have better knowledge of problems in their localities.
b8 It is possible for the people to directly participate
in decision making thus it brings democracy to grass
root level.
c8 It reduces the burden of the Central and the state
government.
&. Me!tio! the difficlties faced -% the local $o1er!me!t i!
I!dia toda%.
a8 .hile the elections are held regularly and
enthusiastically, gram sabhas are not held regularly.
b8 9ost state governments have not transferred to
significant powers to local governments.
c8 9ost state governments have not given ade7uate
resources to the local governments.
). :o" are 1illa$es $o1er!ed?
4ach village or a group of villages is some states , has a gram
panchayat.It is the decision making body for the entire
village." few gram panchayats are grouped together to form a
*anchayat samiti or block or mandal.The panchayat works
under the supervision of gram sabha. "ll the voters in the
village are its members.
0. What is the com(ositio! of =ila >arishad?
"ll the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together
comstitute the :ila *arishad. 9ost members of the ;ila
parishad are elected. 9embers of the (ok !abha and 9("s of
that district and some other officials of other district level
bodies are also its members.:ila parishad chairperson is the
political head of ;ila parishad.
2. E?(lai! the differe!ces a!d similarities -et"ee!
M!ici(al /or(oratio!s a!d M!ici(alities.
*iffere!ces
a8 9unicipalities are set up in towns and Big cities are
constituted into municipal corporations.
b8 9unicpal chairperson is the political head of the
municipality. In municipal corporation such an officer is
called the mayor.
Similarities
a8 Both 9unicipalities and 9unicipal corporations are
controlled be elected bodies consisting people-s
representatives.
9OUR MARKS QUESTIONS
1. What are the featres of a federal $o1er!me!t@ a!% for
(oi!ts,?
a8 There are t"o or more le1els of $o1er!me!t.
b8 4ach level of government has separate jurisdiction that us
mentioned in the constitution and cannot be changed
unilaterally by the Central +overnment. /o!stittio! is
s(reme la" of the la!d.
c8 There is division of power between the levels, but each
level has its o"! 'risdictio! in matters of legislation,
ta'ation and administration.
d8 There is an independent judiciary, which has the power to
i!ter(ret the co!stittio! and the powers of different
levels of government.
e8 /o government, Central or state , can ame!d the
co!stittio! alone. Consent and approval of both types of
government is needed for amendment to the constitution
specially fundamental provisions.
f8 Sorces of re1e!e for each level of government are
clearly specified.
g8 There are two objects of federal system of government<
i8 To safeguard and promote unity of the country
ii8 To accommodate regional diversity . It is mutual trust
and agreement to live together.
2. What ma7es I!dia a federal co!tr%?
!ince all the seven features of a federal country are applicable
to the provisions of Indian constitution, we can say that India is a
federal country. The applicability of all the features of a Federal
country is described as under<
3. The constitution provide for a two tier system of
government, the central government, representing the
nion of India and the !tate +overnment.(ater a third tier
of federalism was added in the form of *anchayats and
9unicipalities.
2. These different tiers enjoy separate jurisdictions.
=. The constitution clearly provided a three fold distribution
of legislative powers between union and state
governments, thus it contains three lists, namely, nion
(ist, !tate (ist and Concurrent (ist.
>. "ll states in India do not have identical powers. !ome
states like the $ammu and &ashmir enjoy a special
statusIt is not easy to make changes to this power sharing
arrangement. The parliament cannot on its own change
this arrangement."ny change to it has to be passed by
both houses of parliament with at least two third majority.
Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half
of the total states.
?. The judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the
implementation of constitutional provisions and
procedures.
@. In case of any dispute about the division of powers, the
1igh Court and the !upreme Court make a decision.
A. The union and state governments have the powers to
raise resources by levying ta'es in order to carry on the
government and the responsibilities assigned to each of
them.
#. What are the factors that ha1e co!tri-ted to the sccess of
federalism i! I!dia?
The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the
nature of democratic politics in our country.This ensured that
the spirit of federalism , respect for diversity and the desire for
living together became a shared ideal in our country.

&. State t"o featres i! the (ractice of federalism i! I!dia that
is similar a!d t"o featres that are differe!t from that of
8el$im.
3. Belgium shifted from unitary to federal system of government
whereas India-s first constitution was as a Federal
government.
). State a!% for differe!ces -et"ee! the local $o1er!me!t
-efore a!d after the co!stittio! ame!dme!t i! 1552.
a After the constitutional amendment in 3BB2 , is is
constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local
government bodies.
b. !eats are reserved in the elected bodies and the
e'ecutive heads of these institutions for the !cheduled
Castes , !cheduled Tribes and 0ther Backward
Classes.
c. "t least one third of positions are reserved for women.
d. "n independent institution called the !tate 4lection
Commission has been created in each state to conduct
panchayat and municipal election.
e. The state governments are re7uired to share powers
and revenue with the local government bodies. The
nature of sharing varies from state to state.
0. :o" far has the local $o1er!me!t -ee! sccessfl toda%?
a8 (ocal governments in India is the largest e'periment in
democracy conducted any where in the world.
b8 The constitutional status of local government has helped to
deepen democracy in our country.
c8 It has also increased women-s representation and voice in
our democracy.