Chapter – 2 { civics}

Federalism
Made by : Himanshu Dixit

Federal government vs unitary government

Federal Government Unitary Government

Only one level. If there are sub-units, they are subordinate to the
Two or more levels of government
central government

In the federal system. the central government cannot order the state The central government can pass orders to the provincial or local
governments to do something. government.

State government has its own powers. Separately answerable to the

The national government has all the powers.
people.

Kinds of federations

Coming together’ Federations ’Holding together' Federations

A large country decides to divide its power between the states and
Independent states voluntarily form a bigger union
the central government

The central government is always more powerful than the regional

They enhance their security by pooling their sovereignty and identity
states,

Some units have special powers. Different constituent units have

The states and the centre have equal powers
unequal powers.

Example : USA, Australia, Switzerland Examples : India, Spain, Belgium

 Special Note : Only 25 countries of the world’s 192 countries have the federal system. Most of
the large countries of the world are federations.
Key features of federalism
1. There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government.
2. Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own JURISDICTION
in a specific matter of legislation, taxation and administration.
3. The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the Constitution.
4. The fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of
government.
5. Courts have the power to resolve the dispute between the different levels of government.
6. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial
autonomy.
7. The federal system thus has dual objectives: to safeguard and promote the unity of the country,
while at the same time accommodate regional diversities

What makes India a Federal country

1. All the features of federalism are present in the Indian Constitution. The only difference is that in
addition to the two-tier system, India added a third — panchayats and municipalities.
2. The Constitution has made provisions for distribution of legislative powers between the Union
government and the State governments.
3. These powers come under three lists –

Legislative Powers

(I) The Union List (ii) The State List (iii) Concurrent List

has 97 subjects Has 66 subjects Has 47 subjects

Both the Centre and the states can make

Subjects of national interests — defence , Subjects like police local governments, trade
laws on the subjects
foreign policy, atomic energy; banking; post and commerce within the state and agriculture
e.g. : education, forest. trade unions,
and telegraph are included in this are included in it.
marriage.

Only the Union government can pass laws on Only the state governments can pass laws on
adoptions and succession.
these subjects. this list,

Residuary subjects : There might be some subjects that do not come under any list. (For
example, Computers). The Union government has the power to make laws on these ‘residuary
subjects.’
 Special Features of the Indian Federation
1. Centre is more powerful than the states. All states do not have same powers. Jammu and Kashmir
has a special status.
2. No dual citizenship, like the USA. Every citizen votes as an Indian.
3. The Constitution provides special powers to the Centre if there is an emergency in the country.
4. Chandigarh, Lakshadweep or the capital city of Delhi are too small in area to become independent
states and are called Union Territories. The Union government has the power to run them.
5. According to the Constitution, the powers of the states and the Union government is specified,
therefore if any change is needed, it has to be passed by both houses of the Parliament with at
least 2/3 majority. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least 1/2 of the total states.
6. The judiciary has the power to oversee the implementation of the Constitution.

special notes :The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2003, has a new scheme called the
Overseas Indian Citizenship (OIC) scheme which allows overseas Indians (of
specified countries) to hold dual citizenship.

HOW IS FEDERALISM PRACTISED

1. New states have been created. Areas, boundaries and names of the states have been changed.
2. Creation of new states was done on two bases :
(I). culture, ethnicity or geography, e.g., Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
(II). on the basis of language, e.g., Andhra, Maharashtra and many others.
Linguistic states
1. The creation of linguistic states was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country.
2. Many old States have vanished and many new States been created.
3. In 1947, the boundaries of several old states of India were changed in order to create new States.
4. This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same States.
5. When the demand for the formation of States on the basis of language was raised, some national
leaders feared that it would lead to the disintegration of the country.

Language Policy

1. Our Constitution has not made any language the national language of India.
2. Hindi is the official language spoken by 40% of the population.
3. Besides Hindi, 21 other languages are recognised by the Constitution. They are :
 4. English was to cease as an official language in 1965. But there were agitations in many states
[specially Tamil Nadu] against this, so English is allowed to continue. English is the 22nd language.

Some Facts:

1. only 0.02 per cent Indians have English as their mother tongue.
1% know English as the second or third language. The Census of 1991 recorded 1500 distinct
languages claimed by people as their mother tongue.
2. After grouping them under some major languages, the census found 114 major languages.
Example : Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Awadhi, Braj, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi and Rajasthani were
grouped under “Hindi”.
3. Even after grouping, people who knew Hindi as their second and third language, the tota l number
of Hindi-speaking people was less than 50%.

Centre-State Relations

The way Constitution has made the Centre and the States share powers has also strengthened
federalism in India.

Before 1990 After 1990

Same party ruled the Centre and most of the states. Rise of regional parties after 1996 changed the situation.

This led to the state government elements not exercising

An era of 'coalition governments' at the centre began.
the rights as autonomous federal units.
Spirit of federalism undermined by the central Since no single party got a clear majority in the Parliament
government as they often dismissed state governments (Lok Sabha). the major national parties formed alliances with
controlled by rival patties. several regional parties to form government at the Centre.

The state governments now cannot be dismissed by the Centre

arbitrarily.
Note : The result is more power-sharing in the federation than
before 1990.

DECENTRALISATION IN INDIA
1. India has a three-tier system of government.

2. The three-tier system was adopted because :

(I) India is a very big country.
(ii) Difficult for the union and state governments to manage big provinces and huge population.
3. Decentralisation means that some power is taken away from the central and state governments and given to
local governments.

REASONS FOR DECENTRALISATION

1. In a big country like India, it is essential to have an elected government at the local level also.
2. Local people have better knowledge of local problems.
3. Local people have better ideas of where to spend money and which problem to tackle first, of how to manage
things more efficiently.
4. Common citizens can be involved in decision-making, concerning their needs and how to plan development.
5. People can approach a local government for solving their problems easily and quickly. The cost is also
reduced to the minimum.
6. Local governments provide training in becoming active participants in the working of a democracy. It trains
one for leadership.
7. Local governments at grass root level ensure stability, strength and health of democracy.
The 73rd Amendment (1992) concerned the rural local governments (referred to as Panchayati Raj
Institutions or PRIs). The 74th Amendment made provisions for urban local governments (Nagar Palikas).
They came into force in 1993.
8. 1992 : Amendments to the Constitution (the 73rd and 74th amendments) made the three-tier system more
powerful and effective.
9. Before 1992 : The local bodies were directly under the state governments. Regular elections
were not held and the local bodies did not have any resources or powers of their own, no real
decentralisation
.

Rural Local Bodies Urban Local Bodies

 All states have Panchayati Raj systems.

 Urban local bodies are divided into two major
 Each village, or a group of villages, has a Gram
categories : Municipal Corporations and Municipalities.
Panchayat.
 In larger urban areas, there are corporations and in
 It is a council, consisting of several ward
smaller urban areas, there are municipal corporations,
members. often calico a Punch and a Sarpanch
 They also have : (i) direct elections (ii) reservations (iii)
as its head.
transfer of subjects from the State List (iv) State
 all are directly elected by adult population for a
Election Commission and (v) State Finance
learn of five years Decision-making body for the
Commission.
entire village.
 There are about 70 Municipal Corporations in India.
 The gram Sabha is the general body with all the
Head is called a Mayor.
villagers as its members.
The Municipal Council has one of its members as the
 They meet twice or thrice a year and approve the
head and he or she is called the President, with a Vice
general budget of the panchayat and review its
President under him/her.
work.
 Gram panchayats grouped together to form
Panchayat or Block or Mandal Samiti is.  Other local bodies are : Town Area Committees,
 The members of this body are elected by all Cantonment Boards, Notified area Committee
the Panchayats of that area.
 Some Important Facts
 All the Samitis or Mandal’s in a district together
 In India, over lakh representatives are elected for the
form a Zila Parishad
various panchayats and municipalities.
 Most members of the Zila Parishad are elected.
 Reservations for women is compulsory for the
 The MLAs and the Members of the Lok Sabha,
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward
and some other officials of oilier district level
classes also.
bodies are also its members. Zila Parishad head
 There is reservation for the position of die Chairpersons
(chairperson) is its political head.
or Adhvakshas at all the three levels.