ch2 Federalism

Chapter 2

FEDERALISM

What is federalism?

Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various state governments of the country.

A federation has two levels of government. One is the government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects (departments) of common national interest.

The state governments at the provinces look after much of the day-to-day administration of their state subjects( departments)

The dual objectives federal system:

1.      To safeguard and promote unity of the country.

2.       At the same time accommodate regional diversity. 

Two aspects those  are crucial for the institutions or governments which practice federalism (Two qualities of Ideal Federalism).

1.      Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power-sharing. They should trust each other.

2.      People must have agreement to live together.

(An ideal federal system has both aspects: mutual trust between central government and state governments and agreement between majority and minority to live together).

There are two kinds of routes through which federations are formed.

1.      The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit to increase their security. This type of federation is called coming together federation.

2.      In this category of federations, all the States are equally powerful and strong. Examples- the USA, Switzerland and Australia

3.      The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the States and the national government. This type of federation is called holding together federation.

4.      In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful than the States. Examples- India, Spain and Belgium.

What is Unitary system?

Under the unitary system, in a country there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government. The central government can pass  any orders to the state or the local government.

Explain some of the key features of federalism:

1.      There are two or more levels of government in federalism.

2.      Different levels of government govern the same citizens, but each level has its own jurisdiction for legislation, taxation and administration which are specified in the constitution.

3.      The fundamental provisions of the constitution can be changed only by consulting both the levels of government.

4.      Supreme Court has the power to interpret the constitution and the 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.

What makes India a federal country?

OR

What are the power sharing arrangements done in our country?

OR

 The three (four) fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments.

1.    Union List includes subjects of national importance such as defense, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in this list because we need a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. The Union Government alone can make or change laws relating to these subjects.

2.     State List contains subjects of State and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. They are included in this list because we need to respect regional sentiments. The State Governments alone can make/ change laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the State List.

3.    Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government as well as the State Governments, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession. Both the Union as well as the State Governments can make laws on these subjects.

4.    Residuary list  includes the subjects that do not fall in any of the three lists like computer software, space science, nuclear research etc that came up after the constitution was made. Union Government has the power to legislate on these ‘residuary’ subjects.

5.    Some territories of India which are not having enough resource to manage themselves are under the direct control of the union government are called Union Territories which enjoy a special status. In these territories some taxes are not collected from people and central government bears all the expenditure.

How is federalism practiced in India? 

1     By dividing India into Linguistic States

a.       The creation of Linguistic States was the first and a major test for federal practice in our country.

b.      In 1947, the boundaries of several old States of India were changed in order to create new States.

c.       This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same State.

d.      Some States were created not on the basis of language but to recognize differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography.

e.       These include States like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.

2.      Language policy

a.        Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language.

b.      Hindi was identified as the official language. But Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 per cent of Indians. Therefore, there were many safeguards to protect other languages.

c.       Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution.

d.      A candidate in an examination conducted for the Central Government positions may opt to take the examination in any of these languages.

e.       States too have their own official languages. Much of the government work takes place in the official language of the concerned State

3.      Centre-State relations

a.       Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice.

b.      For a long time, the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the States. This meant that the State governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units.

c.       In those 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.

d.      All this changed significantly after 1990. This period saw the rise of regional political parties in many States of the country.

e.       System of coalition government led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State Governments. This trend was supported by a major judgement of the Supreme Court that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state governments.

Decentralisation in India

What is decentralization? Explain its needs.

1.      When some powers are taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government bodies, it is called decentralization.

2.      The basic idea behind decentralization is that there are many  problems and issues which are best settled at the local level.

3.   People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.

4.      They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently.

5.   Besides, at the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making.

Local governments are facing a few problems too

1.      Elections to these local governments were not held regularly.

2.       Local governments did not have any powers or resources of their own.

What were the major steps that taken towards decentralization 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 once in five years

2.    Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

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

4.    An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.

5.    The State and central governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.

Explain the working of Local Self Government in India?

1.       Each village, or a group of villages in some States, has a gram panchayat. A president or sarpanch is directly elected by all the adult population living in that village.

2.      A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form a panchayat samiti or block samiti. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchyat members in that block.

3.      All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad. Most members of the zilla parishad are elected. Zilla parishad chairperson is the political head of the zilla parishad.

4.   All the small towns are having town panchayat and the chairperson is elected by all the adult citizens of the township.

5.     Similarly, local government bodies exist for urban areas as well. Municipalities are set up in all small cities. Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality.

6.     Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations. In a municipal corporation such an elected representative is called the mayor.

Assignment for federalism

1.       What is federalism?

2.       Explain the dual objectives of federalism.

3.       Two aspects those are crucial for the institutions or governments which practice federalism- explain them

4.       What are the two kinds of routes through which federations are formed?

5.       What is unitary system?

6.       Explain some of the key features of federalism.

7.      What makes India a federal country?

8.      What are the power sharing arrangements done in our country?

9.       What is the threefold distribution of legislative power between the Union Government and the State Governments?

10.   How is federalism practiced in India? 

11.   How is federalism practiced in India by dividing India into many linguistic States?

12.   How is federalism practiced in India by practicing a unique language policy?

13.   How is federalism practiced in India by improving centre-State relations after 1990?

14.   What is decentralization? Explain its needs.

15.  What are the two major problems faced by local governments in India?

16.   What were the major steps that were taken towards decentralization to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effective?

17.   Explain the working of Local Self Government in India?