DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL
Secunderabad
NACHARAM |MAHENDRA
HILLS|NADARGUL
DEVELOPMENT
Class
Subject- Social Science
Notes
Chapter – Federalism (Civics) Class- X
1. What is federalism?*
It’s a system of governance where
 The power is distributed between the central and the provincial
governments.
 Central government takes care of the subjects related to the
national interest like defense, foreign affairs, post and telegraph,
foreign trade etc.
 Provincial or the state government takes care of the day to day
administering of the state.
 Both have their independent powers under the union list and the
state list.
2. Differentiate between Unitary system and federal system
Unitary system
 This system has only one
level of government i.e.
central govt., which is
having all the powers.
State governments are
subordinate to the central
govt.
 Central govt. can pass
orders to the state
governments
Federal system
 It has two or more level of
governments. Powers are
distributed between the
Centre and the state
governments
State governments are not
the sub ordinate to the
central govt.
 Central government cannot
order to the state
Governments.
 State governments are
answerable to the central
government
Example. Sri Lanka,
China, Japan, France
etc.
 Both Centre and state
governments are
answerable to the people
Separately
Example India , Russia ,
Germany etc.
3. Mention the Characteristics of Federalism.*
• Two or more level of govt. like Central, State and Local govt.
• Different tires of government govern the same citizens but each
tire has its own area of jurisdiction related to taxation, legislation
and administration.
• Authority of each tire of govt. related to the area of jurisdiction is
constitutionally guaranteed.
• Fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally
changed by one government, it requires the consent of both the
governments.
• Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the power
of different level of govt. Supreme Court acts as an umpire in case
of conflict between different levels of govt.
• Sources of revenue for the central and state govt. are clearly
specified to give financial autonomy.
• Federal system has two objectives 1)to safeguard and promote
the unity
2) To accommodate the regional diversity.
4. Distinguish between Coming together and holding
together Federation.*
Coming Together Federation
• Independent states come together on their own to form bigger
unit by pooling their sovereignty and retaining their identity.
• The objective is to increase the security.
• All constituent states have equal power and states are equally
powerful like Centre.
Example – USA, Switzerland, Australia
Holding together federation
• Larger countries decide to divide the power between state
governments and central government.
• For the easy governance of bigger countries.
• All the states do not have equal power and the central govt. is
more powerful than the state governments.
• Example –India , Belgium, Spain
5. What makes India a federal
country?*
Or.
How are the legislative powers distributed between the central
and state governments?
Or
“The Indian Union is based on the principle of Federalism”. Justify
the statement.
i. The constitution has provided for a two tire system of
government, the Union government and state governments and
later a third tire of federalism was added in the form of local
government .
ii. As like other federations, these different tiers enjoy separate
powers. The constitution clearly provided the three fold
distribution of legislative powers between the Central and state
governments under three lists i.e. Union list , State list and
Concurrent list
iii. Union List. – 1. This list includes all the subjects of
national importance which are under the jurisdiction of
Central government.
2. Union government alone can make laws related to these areas.
3. For example. Defence, foreign affair, banking , currency etc.
4. These areas are included in the union list because we need to
have uniform policies in all these areas throughout the country.
iv.
State List 1. This list includes all the subjects of state and local
importance which are under the control of state government.
2.Only state government can make laws related to these areas.
3. Example. Police, trade, commerce, agriculture, irrigation etc.
v. Concurrent list- 1.It includes the subjects of common interest to
both central and state governments.
2. Both centre and state can make laws related to these areas
3. For example. Education, forest, trade unions, marriage,
adoption , succession etc.
4. In case of conflict the law made by the union government will
prevail.
vi. Residuary subjects
 Subjects which are not coming under any of the three lists, or the
subjects which have come after the constitution was made , the
central govt. has the power to legislate.
 Exp. Computer software
 India has the court system to see that the constitutional provisions are
followed and implemented.
 Change in the fundamental provisions of the constitution can only be done,
if the bill will be accepted by both.
6. “In holding together federation all the states do not enjoy
equal power” Justify the statement.
• J&K enjoys special provision, having its own constitution. Many
provisions of the Indian constitution are not applicable to this state
without the approval of state Assembly. Indians who are not the
permanent residents of this state cannot buy land or house here.
• Small units like Chandigarh, Delhi Lakshadweep are called UT
and do not enjoy the power of state and run by the central govt.
7. Can anyone level government make change in the power
sharing arrangement done by the constitution? How can be
done?
 NO
 For any change in the constitution related to the power
distribution, the bill has to be passed in both the houses of
parliament with 2/3 majority.
 Then it has to be accepted by the legislatures of half of the total
states.
8. What is the role played by Judiciary in a federal system?
• Overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and
procedure.
• Solving the disputes between governments related to the
distribution of power.
• The union and state governments have the power to raise resources
by levying tax in order to carry out their responsibilities.
9. How is federalism practiced in India?
• The success of federalism in India is not only because of the
constitutional provisions but also because of the democratic
politics. Democratic politics ensures the spirit of federalism,
respect for diversity and desire for living together .
• It has happened in number of ways.
a) Creation of Linguistic states
 It was the first and major test for democratic politics in our
country.
 In 1947, the boundary of several old states was changed in
order to create new states. This was done to ensure that
people speaking one language will be in one state like
Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha etc.
 Some of the states were created not only on the basis of
language but also on the basis of culture, ethnicity or
geography. Exp- Nagaland, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand
b)Language policy –
 No language has got the status of National language.
 Both Hindi and English are considered as the
official language to avoid confusion.
 Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized as
“scheduled language” by the constitution. A candidate for
central govt. job can write in any of these languages.
 Each state has its own official language.
c) Centre – State relationship -
The era of coalition government has changed the relationship
between centre and state. The regional parties supported the
national parties to form the government at the centre.
This led a new culture of power sharing and a respect for the
autonomy of the state. This was supported by a major judgment of
the Supreme court.
10. “Creation of Linguistic states was the first and major test
for democratic politics in our country”. Justify.*
• In 1947, the boundaries of several old states were changed in
order to create new states.
• This was done to ensure that people speaking one language will
be in one state.
• Some of the states were created not on the basis of language but
also on the basis of culture, ethnicity or geography
• Exp- Nagaland, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand
• When the demand for the formation of states rose on the basis of
language, it created fear in the mind of the leaders that it may
lead to disintegration. But over the period of time it is seen that
formation of linguistic states has actually made the country more
united.
11. “A second test for Indian federation was the Language
policy.” How?
• No language has got the status of National language.
• Both Hindi and English are considered as the official language to
avoid confusion.
• Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized as
“scheduled language” by the constitution.
• A candidate for central govt. job can write in any of these
languages.
• Each state has its own official language.
• Promotion of Hindi continues to be the official policy of the
government of India. Promotion does not mean that central govt.
can impose Hindi on the states speaking different language.
12. Write a note on Linguistic diversity in India.
• 2001 census has found more than 1500 distinct languages as
mother tongue of the people.
• These mother tongues are grouped under certain major
languages. Such as Bhojapuri, magadhi,
Bundelkhandi,Rajastani and many other languages are grouped
under Hindi
• There are 114 major languages, out of which 22 languages are
included in the 8th schedule of Indian constitution and known as
“Scheduled Language” and rest are known as Non scheduled
language.
• The largest language is Hindi , spoken by 41% of the people. If
we include the people who knows Hindi, then it comes around
50%.
13. ” Federal power sharing is more effective today than it was in
the early years after constitution came in to force.” Justify.*
i. For a long time same party ruled both at the centre and most of
the state governments. This meant that the state governments
did not exercise their power autonomously as federal unit.
ii. When the ruling party at the state govt. was different, the central
govt. tried to undermine the power of the state govt.
iii. In those days central govt. often miss use the constitution to
dismiss the state govt. that was controlled by the rival party. This
undermined the spirit of federalism.
iv. But after 1990, the scenario has changed due to the beginning of
the coalition government.
v. Since no single party has got the majority, that’s why the major
national parties had to form alliance with the regional parties to
form the govt. This gave a new culture of power sharing and
respect for the autonomy of the states. This was supported by the
Supreme Court.
14. What do you mean by decentralization?*
i.
When power is taken away from the Central and state
governments and given to the local government that is called
decentralization.
15. What are the basic ideas behind decentralization?
i. Solving large number of problems and issues at local level.
ii. People have better knowledge of the problems in their localities.
iii. Better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage
things efficiently.
iv. People’s participation in decision making.
v. This helps to inculcate the habit of democratic participations.
16. What were the steps taken towards decentralization in 1992?*
i. It is mandatory to hold election to local government.
ii. Reservation of seats for SC, ST and OBC
iii. 1/3 rd seat reservation for women
iv. State election commission to conduct election for local
governments.
v. State governments are required to share some power and
revenue with the local government.
17. Discuss the structure and composition of rural self government.
Rural local government is otherwise called Panchayati Raj.
Gram Panchayat
A large village or Group of villages has ‘Gram Panchyat’
• It’s a council consisting of several word members and a
Sarpanch. They are directly elected by the adult people of that
village.
• It’s the decision making body of the village which works under the
supervision of Gram Sabha.
• All the voters are the member of Gram Sabha
• It has to meet at least twice or thrice to approve the annual
budget and to review the performance of Gram Panchayat.
Panchayat samiti/ block or mandal
• Few Gram Panchayats are grouped together to form Panchayat
Samiti.
• The members of this body are elected by the members of
Panchayat.
• The political head of Panchayat Samiti is chairman
Zilla Parishad
• All the Panchayat Samities of a district together constitutes the
ZillaParishad
• Most members are elected
• MPs and MLAs of the concerned district and some other officers
are also its members
• The political head of ZillaParishad is ZillaParishad Chair person
18. Write a note on the local self government of the urban areas.
i. We have Municipalities for the towns and this is headed by
municipal chair person.
ii. We have Municipal Corporation for the cities and this is headed by
Mayor.
19. “We are still a long way from realizing the idea of
self government.” Analyse.*
Or
Make analysis of the achievements and challenges of
decentralization or Local self government in India.
Achievements of Local self govt.
• Now there are near about 36lakhs elected representatives in
Panchayat and Municipalities which is larger than any country
• Local govt. has helped to deepen the democracy in our
country.
• It has increased the women’s participation.
Difficulties faced by the local self
governments
• Elections to Gram Sabha are not taking place regularly.
• Most of the state governments are not transferring power
and resources.
Instructions – Write down the star marked(*) questions in your class work.