Federalism...... Grade X

Summary Of The Topics

What is federalism?
What makes India a federal country?
How is federalism practiced?
Decentralisation in India

Introduction
In Power Sharing chapter we learnt that different levels of governments have vertical division of power among . It is one of the major forms of power sharing in modern democracies. It is commonly referred to as federalism. We will learn federalism in general terms and  understand the theory and practice of federalism in India. Federal constitutional provisions discussion is followed by an analysis of the policies and politics that has strengthened federalism in practice.  We will also learn about the local government as well as new and third tier of Indian federalism.

I. Answer the following questions:-

Q 1. What is Federalism?

1. Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. 
2. A federation has two levels of government. 
3. One is the government for the entire country that is responsible for a few subjects of common national interest. 
4. The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after the day-to-day administering of their state. 
5. These different levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.

Q 2.What is the difference between Federal and Unitary government?

1. Federal system of government are different from unitary governments.
2. Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government. 
3. The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government. 
4. But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something. 
5. State government has powers of its own and it is not answerable to the central government.
6. Both the governments are separately answerable to the people.

Q 3. What are the key features of Federalism?

1. There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government.These tiers of government govern the same citizens and  each tier has its own Jurisdiction in specific matters of such as legislation, taxation and also administration.
2. These jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the Constitution. Therefore the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
3. The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. These changes require the consent of both the levels of government.
4. Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court in the country acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
5. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
6. The federal system has dual objectives such as to safeguard and promote unity of the country while at the same time accommodate regional diversity.

Q 4. What do you understand by ‘coming together’ federations?

1. The independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security. 
2. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include the USA, Switzerland and Australia. 
3. In this type of federations, all the constituent States have equal power and are strong vis-à-vis the federal government.

Q 5.What do you understand by‘holding together’ federations?

1. When a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government are holding together’ federations. 
2. India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of‘holding together’ federations. 
3. In this the central government tends to be more powerful vis-à-vis the States. 
4. some times different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. 
5. Some units are granted special powers.