CLASS 10 NOTES

CLASS 10 NOTES

PRASHANT KIRAD

POLITICAL SCIENCE

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Fedralism Fedralism

State

Central

Local

Introduction

Fedralism

It is a type of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various other constituents of the country.

Features of Federalism

Power

Dual objectives of Federalism

to safeguard and promote unity of the country.

at the same time accomodate regional diversity

There are two or more levels of government.

They operate independently in their respective areas but are bound by the constitution and the overall governance structure. However, they have some degree of autonomy within their spheres of authority.

The constitution serves as the supreme law of the land, and both the central and regional governments must operate within the boundaries set by the constitution.

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While each level of government operates independently in its sphere, there is often a degree of interdependence and cooperation between them. They may share responsibilities in certain policy areas or collaborate on issues of national importance.

Federal systems often incorporate checks and balances to prevent the abuse of power by any one level of government.

The fundamental provisions of the constitution can’t be changed unilaterally by one level of government.

Types of Federations

Federations

Coming Together Federation Holding Together Federation

Coming Together Federation

Independent states coming together on their own to form a bigger unit.

States have equal power and are equally strong.

Emphasizes preservation of distinct identities and cultures.

USA, Switzerland and Australia

Holding Together Federation

Large country decides to divide its power between central government and the constituent states.

Emphasizes unity of the whole nation

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Constituent units have unequal power. Some units are granted speical powers.

India, Spain and Belgium.

India as a Federal Country

Federation in India

India is based on the principles of federalism and is declared as a union of states by constitution.

Three tiers of government : Central, State and Local.

Each tier of government has its own juridiction specified in the constitution of our country.

Powers Division in India by Constitution

Union List

It includes subjects that are solely under the control and legislative authority of the central government.

These subjects are of national importance and relevance.

Such as defense, foreign affairs, banking, currency, interstate trade and commerce, taxation, railways, and atomic energy, among others.

State List

Comprises subjects on which only the state legislatures have the power to make laws

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State governments have the power to legislate, enact laws, and implement policies on matters included in the State List.

Such as police, public health, agriculture, local government, public order, land, trade within the state, etc.

Concurrent List

It comprises subjects on which both levels of government have the authority to enact laws

Both the central and regional governments can pass laws on matters listed in the concurrent list. However, in the case of a conflict between a central law and a regional law on a concurrent subject, the central law usually prevails.

They often include areas like education, forests, trade unions, marriage, adoption, succession, bankruptcy, and so on.

Residuary List

It consists of powers that are not explicitly assigned to either level of government in the constitution.

These powers are retained by the central (federal) government by default.

Matters in the residuary list can include issues related to national importance, inter-state commerce, international relations, etc.

More About India as a Federal country

Indian states have unequal power among themselves. Some states are given special powers and thus Indian is a holding together federation.

India has union territories that don’t have powers equal to the states.

Central government plays a major role in running union territories.

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Judiciary takes decision in case of any dispute between any forms of government.

The basic structure of power sharing is mentioned in the constitution.

If any change has to be made regarding this, it has to be passed by 2/3 majority in both houses of parliament and more than half of the state legislative assemblies in the country.

Practice of Federalism in India

The success of the federalism depends on the nature of the democratic politics.

When India got independence, there was a feared among the leaders that the creation of linguistic states might led to disintegration of the country. But in reality, it has forged the unity of the country and made our administration easier.

Language Policy

We don’t have any national language but Hindi is identified as our official language.

Besides Hindi, 21 other languages were recognised as Schedule Languages.

It is taken care especially that there will be no conflict on the grounds of language, as we saw in Sri Lanka.

Center - State Relations

The powers of both the Center and State has been stated clearly to avoid any tensions between the two levels of government.

The parties can form a coalition government and come into power. It is especially taken care of that one party doesn’t dominate the other parties.

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Big Cities Municipal Corporations Head is called Mayor

Towns Municipalities Head is called Municipal chairperson

Village Gram Panchayat Head is called Sarpanch

Groups of gram panchayats form Panchayat Samiti (Block / Mandal)

Groups of panchayat samiti form Zila parishad

The powers of the Central government are checked by the constitution, that has increased the autonomy of the states.

Decentralisation in India

Steps taken towards decentralization in 1992

It mandated reservations for marginalized groups, including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and women.

It was made mandatory to hold elections regularly.

State governments now have to share their powers and revenue with local government bodies.

Each state should have an independent state Election Commission to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.

Rural and Urban Local Government

In villages, people elect a body called gram sabha which approves annual budget for gram panchayat and review the performance of gram panchayat.

Head is called Zila Parishad chairperson

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Top 7 previous year questions

Describe any three features of 'unitary government'.

Features of unitary government are discussed below (i) In unitary system, all powers are centralised in the hands of the central government and only centre is the reservoir of all state powers. (ii) Another feature of unitary form of government is that laws of unitary system, unlike federation, are uniform because laws are made only by a single central government for the whole state. (iii) One of the important feature of this system is that it may become despotic when the rulers are not faithful as there is no check upon the exercise of these unlimited powers.

Short questions

1.

Name any two subjects that are included in concurrent list.

How are laws made on these subjects?

Two subjects included in Concurrent list are education and forest. The laws on these subjects can be made by both the union government i.e. government at the center and the state governments. Subjects on the Concurrent list are of common interest to both (union and state) so anyone can make laws on it.

If in case, the laws conflict with each other, then in that case the law made by union government will prevail. Other subjects included in the Concurrent list are trade unions, marriage, adoption, succession etc.

2.

Evaluate strengths and limitations of local self government in a democracy.

3.

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Local self-government have made a significant impact on Indian democracy by its achievements which are (i) The constitutional status for local government has helped to deepen democracy in our country. (ii) Local government has increased women's representation and voice in our democracy.

At the same time, the local self-government are facing many difficulties.

These are (i) While elections are held regularly, Gram Sabhas are not held regularly to review the performance of the Gram Panchayat. (ii) Most State Governments have not transferred significant powers and adequate resources to the local governments.

In Panchayati Raj System, one-third of the seats have been reserved for women. Do you feel that the same should be done for State Legislature and the Parliament? Support your answer with arguments.

In Panchayati Raj System, one-third of the seats are reserved for the women. This reservation should also be done for State Legislature and Parliament. But, the Women Reservation Bill is a pending bill in India which proposes to amend the Constitution of India to reserve 33 per cent of all seats in the Lok Sabha and in all State Legislative Assembly for women.

This bill should be passed for the following (i) To increase women participation in politics and society. (ii) To increase opportunity and respect in all for women.

4.

Which is the highest tier of the Panchyati Raj? Explain its composition.

5.

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The highest tier of the Panchayati Raj System in rural areas is the Zilla Parishad. The Zilla Parishad coordinates the activities of all the Block Samitis in the whole district.

The composition of Zilla Parishad is (i) All the Panchayat Samitis or Mandals in a district together constitute the Zilla Parishad. (ii) Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of the district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members. (iii) Zilla Parishad Chairperson is the political head of the Zilla Parishad.

How are the legislative powers distributed between the Union Government and the State Government by the Constitution?

Explain with example.

The division of power between the Central and State Governments is done in a three fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Government. There are three lists i.e. Union list, State list and Concurrent list.

(i) Union List: It includes subjects of national importance, e.g. defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communication and currency. The Central Government alone can make decisions on these matters. The aim of including these matters in Union List is to ensure uniformity in the policy of these areas throughout the country. (ii) State List: It includes subjects of state and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The State Government alone can make laws and decisions on these areas. (iii) Concurrent List: It includes those subjects which are of common interest to both the Central as well as State Governments. It includes matters like education, forests, marriage and trade unions. Both the State and Central Government can make decision on these matters.

Long questions

6.

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"The creation of a linguistic state was the first and major test for democratic politics in our country." Justify the statement.

The creation of a linguistic state was the first and major test for democratic politics in our country. This can be justified in the following ways (i) In 1947, the boundaries of several old states were changed in order to create new states. It was done according to the language that people speak. But many national leaders feared that the formation of state according to language would lead to the disintegration of the country. (ii) In our country, some states were created not on the basis of language but on the basis of culture, ethnicity and geography. These include Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. (iii) Linguistic states has made the country more united. It has helped to maintain our federal structure. (iv) Linguistic states made administration easier for the local people.

People feel comfortable to work in their mother tongue. It fulfils their expectations from democracy.

7.

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