Grade 10

Democratic Politics-II

Chapter 2

Federalism
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1.How do you differentiate federalism from a Unitary form of government?

Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between the

central authority and various constituent units of the country. A federation consists of
a government for the entire nation and government at the levels of
provinces or states.
In a federal system, both the levels of the government enjoy their power independent of the
others. Powers of each level are specified in the Constitution.The Central government
cannot order the state government to do something and the State government is not
answerable to the Central government.
Eg: India, Spain, Belgium
A unitary government has one level of government or the subunits are
subordinate to the Central government. The Central government can pass orders to the
provincial or the local government.
Eg: France, China, and Japan.

2.State any two differences between the local government before and after the Constitutional
amendment in 1992.

Before the constitutional amendment :

1. Panchayats in villages and municipalities in urban areas were set up in all the states but
they were directly under the control of the state government.
2. Local government did not have any power or revenue of their own.

After the constitutional amendment :

1. Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local governments

2. At -least one third of all positions are reserved for women.

3.Why is it very difficult to make changes to the power sharing arrangement between the Union
Government and State Governments? (C.B.S.E 2008)
OR
How can a fundamental provision of the Constitution be changed in India?

i) It is not easy to make changes to power sharing arrangement In the Indian Constitution.
The fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be changed by one level of government.
Such changes require the consent of both levels of government.

ii) It has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least two-thirds
majority.
iii) Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States.
4. “The creation of the linguistic states was the first and major test for democratic politics in our
country‟. Justify the statement. (CBSE 2010) OR
Why did some national leaders fear when the demand for the formation of states on language was
raised?

Formation of Linguistic states:

● After 1947, the boundaries of several old States of India were changed in order to create new
States. This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same State.
● Some States were created not on the basis of language but to recognise differences based on
culture, ethnicity or geography. These include States like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.

● When the demand for the states on the basis of language was raised, some national leaders feared
that it would lead to the disintegration of the country.
● The Central government resisted the idea of linguistic states for some time.
● But the creation of linguistic states has actually made the country more united and it also made the
administration easier

Homework - Questions

1. Explain the threefold distribution of legislative powers between the union government and the state
governments. (2010) ( Hints : Union List, State list, Concurrent list) CBSE 2008
2. Describe any five features of federalism. [2008, 2011 & 2017 ]