Federalism Notes PDF

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

central authority and various constituent units of the country. This vertical division of
power among different levels of governments is referred to as federalism. Federalism
is one of the major forms of power-sharing in modem democracies.
Key features of federalism are:
1. Two or more levels of government.

2. Different levels of government govern the same citizens, where each level has
its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
3. Existence and authority of each level of government is constitutionally
governed.
4. The fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be unilaterally changed.
Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government.
5. Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution. The highest court acts as
the umpire if any dispute arises between different levels of governments.
6. Sources of revenue for each level of government are specified to ensure its
financial autonomy.
7. Federal system has dual objectives to safeguard and promote unity of the
country, and to accommodate regional diversity.
Union Territories:
Some units of the Indian Union, which are too small to become an independent state
and could not be merged with any of the existing states, are called Union Territories.
They are also called ‘Centrally Administered Territories’. For example, Chandigarh,
Lakshadweep.
Coalition government:
A government formed by coming together of at least two political parties. Usually,
partners in a coalition form a political alliance and adopt a common programme.
For example, National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) and the Left Front.
India a federal country:

The Constitution declares India as a Union of States. Although the word ‘Federation’
is not used, the Indian Union is based on the principles of federation. The
Constitution originally provided for a two-tier system of government, the Union
Government or the Central Government representing Union of India and the State
Governments. A third-tier of federation was added in the form of Panchayats and
Municipalities. As in any federation, these different tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction.
The Constitution provides for a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between
the Union Government and State Government. It contains three lists:
 Union List (97 Subjects),

 State List (66 Subjects),
 Concurrent List (47 Subjects).
Since India is an example of ‘holding together’ federation where the Central

Government is more powerful vis-a-vis the states; some states, for example, enjoy a
special status like Jammu & Kashmir, which has its own Constitution.
‘Coming together’ federations:

This agreement induces independent states coming together on their own to form a
bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignty and retaining identity they can increase
their security. Examples are: USA, Switzerland and Australia.
‘Holding together’ federations:

In this agreement, a large country decides to divide its power between the
constituent States and the national government. The Central Governments tend to
be more powerful vis-a-vis the states. Often different constituent units of the
federation have unequal powers. Some units are granted special powers, for
example, India, Spain, Belgium.
Sharing of power between the Union Government and State Governments:

The sharing of power between the Union Government and the State Governments is
basic to the structure of the Constitution. The Parliament cannot, on its own, change
this arrangement. Any change has to be first passed by both the Houses of the
Parliament with at least two-third majority. It has then to be ratified by the legislatures
of at least half of the total states. In case of any dispute about the division of powers,
the High Courts and the Supreme Court make a decision.
Reasons for success of federalism in India:
 Clearly laid out Constitutional Provisions providing a three-fold distribution of

powers in the three lists—Union List, State List and Concurrent List—between
the Union and State Governments,
 The nature of democratic politics in our country.
 The creation of linguistic states. 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.
 Restricting of Centre-State relations.
Language policy of India:

Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language.
The formation of linguistic states united the country and made administration easier.
The leaders of our country adopted a very cautious attitude in spreading the use of
Hindi. Hindi was identified as official language. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other
languages recognized as scheduled languages by the Constitution.
Major steps towards decentralization taken in 1992 are:

 Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to Local
Government bodies.
 Seats are reserved in elected bodies for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes
and other backward classes (OBCs).
 Atleast one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
 The State Election Commission was created to conduct Panchayat and
Municipal elections.
 The State Governments are required to share some powers and revenue with
Local Government bodies.
Structure of the new Panchayati Raj institutions: Rural Local Government is

known by the name of Panchayati Raj.
 Each village or group of villages has a Gram Panchayat. Panch, President or

Sarpanch are directly elected by all the adult population of the village and is the
decision-making body.
 The Panchayat works under the supervision of Gram Sabha, with all the voters
as its members. The local structure goes up to the district level—a group of
Gram Panchayats form a Panchayat Samiti or Block or Mandal. All the
Panchayat Samitis or Mandals together constitute the Zilla Parishad which
consists of elected members.
 Lok Sabha members, Local MLAs and officers are also members of the Zilla
Parishad. Its Chairperson is the political head of the Parishad.
Urban areas local bodies:

Municipalities are set up in towns. Big cities are constituted into Municipal
Corporations. Both are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s
representatives. Municipal chairperson is the political head of the Municipality. The
head of Municipal Corporation is an officer called the Mayor.

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Federalism

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

Key features of federalism are:

1. Two or more levels of government.

India a federal country:

 Union List (97 Subjects),

Since India is an example of ‘holding together’ federation where the Central

‘Coming together’ federations:

‘Holding together’ federations:

Sharing of power between the Union Government and State Governments:

Reasons for success of federalism in India:

 Clearly laid out Constitutional Provisions providing a three-fold distribution of

Language policy of India:

Major steps towards decentralization taken in 1992 are:

Structure of the new Panchayati Raj institutions: Rural Local Government is

 Each village or group of villages has a Gram Panchayat. Panch, President or

Urban areas local bodies:

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