CHAPTER 2

FEDERALISM
Federalism is a system of government in which power
is divided between a central authority and various
constituent units of the country.

A federation has two levels of government. Both these

levels of governments enjoy their power independent
of the other.

1. One is the government for the entire country that is

usually responsible for a few subjects of common
national interest.
2. Governments at the level of provinces or states that
look after much of the day-to-day administering of
their state.
 Difference between Unitary System and Federal System
Unitary System Federal System
There is only one level of government or There are two or more levels (or tiers)
the of government.
sub-units are subordinate to the Central
Government.
The Central Government cannot order
The Central Government can pass on the state government to do something.
orders tothe provincial or local
government.

The central government is supreme, and State Government has powers of its
the administrative divisions exercise own for which it is not answerable to
only powers that the central the central government.
government has delegated to them.
Their powers may be broadened and
narrowed by the central government
Key Features of Federalism

Some of the key features of federalism system are:

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 specific matters of legislation, taxation
and administration.
3. The existence and authority of each tier of government is
constitutionallyguaranteed.
4. The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally
changed by one level of government. Such changes require the
consent of both the levels of government.
5. Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of
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 has dual objectives: i) To safeguard and promote
theunity of the country ii) Accommodate regional diversity.
Different ways of
Federations formed
Two aspects are crucial for the
institutions and practice of
federalism: mutual trust between
the government of different levels
and agreement to live together.
There are two kinds of routes
through which federations have
been formed.
1. The first route involves
independent States coming
together on their own to form a
bigger unit. This kind of “coming
together” federations is formed in
the USA, Switzerland and Australia.
2. The second route is that a
large country decides to
divide its power between the
constituent States and the
national government. This
kind of ”holding together‟
federations is followed in
India, Spain and Belgium.
What Makes India a Federal Country?
All the features of the federal system apply to the provisions of the Indian
Constitution. The Indian Constitution is a three-fold distribution of
legislative powers between the Union Government and the State
Governments. The 3 lists are mentioned below:
1) Union List: It includes subjects of national importance such as the
defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and
currency. The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the
subjects mentioned in this list.
2) State List: It contains subjects of State and local importance such as
police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The State
Governments alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned
in this list.
3) Concurrent List: It includes subjects of common interest to both the
Union Government as well as the State Governments. The list includes
education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession.
Both the Union as well as the State Governments can make laws on the
subjects mentioned in this list. If their laws conflict with each other,
the law made by the Union Government will be considered.
How is Federalism Practised?
The real success of federalism in India is attributed to
its nature of democratic politics. Have a look at some
of the major ways in which federalism is practised in
India.
Linguistic States
The creation of linguistic States was the first and a
major test for democratic politics in India. From 1947
to 2017, many old States have vanished and many
new States have been created. Areas, boundaries and
names of the States have been changed. Some States
have been formed of the people who speak the same
language. These states are known as Linguistic
States.
Language Policy
A second test for Indian
federation is the language
policy. Hindi was identified as
the official language. Besides
Hindi, there are 21 other
languages recognised as
Scheduled Languages by the
Constitution. States too have
their own official languages
and government work takes
place in the official language
of the concerned State.
Centre-State relations
Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one
more way in which federalism has been
strengthened in practice. If no single party gets
a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the major
national parties can alliance with many parties
including several regional parties to form a
government at the Centre. This led to a new
culture of power sharing and respect for the
autonomy of State Governments.
Decentralization in India

When power is taken away from Central and State governments and
given to the local government, it is called decentralisation. The basic idea
behind decentralisation is that there are a large number of problems and
issues which are best settled at the local level. Local people can also
directly participate in the decision making.

A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992. The

Constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more
powerful andeffective. Here are the key features of 3-tier democracy:

1. It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local

government bodies.
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. State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct
panchayat and municipal elections.
5. The State governments are required to share some powers and
revenue with local government bodies. The nature of sharing varies
from State to State.
Panchayati Raj System
Rural local government is popularly known as Panchayati Raj.
Each village, or a group of villages in some States, has a gram
panchayat. This is a council consisting of several ward
members, often called panch, and a president or sarpanch.
They are directly elected by all the adult population living in a
village or ward. Gram Panchayat is the decision-making body
for the entire village.
The Panchayat works under the overall supervision of the
Gram Sabha. All the voters in the village are its members. It
has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the
annual budget of the gram panchayat and to review the
performance of the Gram Panchayat.
When Gram Panchayat are grouped together, they form a
Panchayat Samiti or Block or Mandal. The members of
Panchayat Samiti representative are elected by all the
Panchayat members in that area.
All the Panchayat Samitis
or Mandals in a district
together constitute the Zilla
(district) Parishad.
Members of the Lok Sabha,
MLAs of the district, some
other officials of other
district-level bodies are the
members of Zilla Parishad.
Municipalities
As Gram Panchayat is for rural areas, similarly we have
Municipalities for urban areas. Big cities are constituted into
Municipal Corporations. Both Municipalities and Municipal
Corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of
people’s representatives. The Municipal Chairperson is the
political head of the Municipality. In a Municipal
Corporation such an officer is called the Mayor.

This new system of local government is the largest

experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world.
Constitutional status for local government has helped to
deepen democracy in our country. It has also increased
women’s representation and voice in our democracy.