Federalism Class 10 Notes | Civics Chapter 2 Class 10 Notes

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Federalism Class 10 Notes

Federalism Class 10 Notes

What is Federalism?

Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and Various Constituents units of the country.

Federation ( country following Federalism ) has two levels of government Both these levels of government enjoy their power independently of the other.

1. One is the government for the entire country which is usually responsible for a few common national interests.

2- Governments at the level of states that look after much of the day-to-day administering their states.

Differences between the unitary system and the federal system

Unitary System

There is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the Central Government.

The Central Government can pass on orders to the provincial or local government.

The Central Government is Supreme, and the administrative divisions exercise only powers that the central Government has delegated to them. Their powers may be broadened and narrowed by the central Gou.

Federal System

There are two or more levels ( OR Tiers ) of government.

The central Government cannot order the state government to do something.

state Government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the Central.

Key Features of Federalism

(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 are constitutionally guaranteed.

(4) The fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both levels of government.

(3) Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution and the powers of different levels of government.

(4) Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure financial autonomy.

(7) The federal system has dual Objectives

To safeguard and promote the unity of the country 

Accommodate regional diversity.

Different routes through which federations can be formed

Two aspects are crucial for the institution 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 federation is formed in the US Switzerland and Australia.

2. The second route involves is that a large Country deciding to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government.

This kind of Holding Together federation is followed in India, Spain & Belgium.

What makes India a federal country?

All the features of the federal system apply to Indian Constitution.

The constitution of India is a threefold distribution of powers between the union and state government These three are given below.

(1) Union list

• Defense
• Foreign affairs
• Banking
• Communications and
• Currency

The Union Government can make laws

(2)State List

Contains subjects of state and local importance such as:-

• Police
• Trade
• Commerce
• Agriculture

The State Government alone can make laws related to the topics mentioned above.

(3) Concurrent list

Includes interest of both union and state Government as well as the State Government This Includes

• Education
• Forest
• Trade
• Unions
• Marriage
• Adoption

Both Central and state gout can make laws if their laws conflict with each other

The law made by the center will be valid.

How is Federalism practiced?

The real success of federalism in India is included in its nature of politics. Now have a look at some of the major ways in which federalism is practiced in India.

Linguistic states

The creation of Linguistic states was the first and a major test for democracy in India.

From 1947 to 2017, many old states vanished and many new states have been created.

Some states have been formed of people who spoke the same Language These are known as Linguistic states.

Language policy

The second test for the Indian Federation is the language policy.

Hindi was identified as an official language (Please note not a national Language) Besides Hindi there are 21 other languages recognized as scheduled Languages by the Indian Constitution.

States can have their own languages and government works takes place in the official language of the State.

Center-state relations

If no single party gets a clear majority in Loksabha The major national parties can ally with many parties also from various states to form Government at the center.

This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the Autonomy of State Governments.

Decentralisation 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 decentralization is to connect and solve local people's problems and issues locally and they can also participate in Decision making

A major step towards decentralizing was taken in 1992 The Constitution was amended to make the 3rd tier of democracy more powerful and effective.

Some features of the 3rd tier local government

1. It is mandatory to hold regular elections for local government bodies.

2. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these bodies for the SC, ST, and OBC.

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 government is required to share some powers and revenue with the local Government.

Panchayati raj system

Rural local government is p openly known as Panchayati Raj.

Each Village or no of villages in some states has a gram panchayat.

This is a Council consisting of several ward members called Panch and President Sarpanch.

They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that village or ward.

Gram Sabha

The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the Gram Sabha.

All the voters in the village are its members they meet at least twice a year to approve the annual budget of the gram panchayat and review the performance.

Panchayat Samiti or Block

when Gram panchayat is grouped together they form a Panchayat Samiti OR Block or Mandal.

The member of Panchayat Samiti representatives is elected by all the Panchayat members of that area.

Zilla (district ) Parishad

All the panchayat Samitis on Mandals in a district together constitute the Zilla Parishad.

Members of the Lok Sabha , MLAs of the district, and some other officials of other district-level bodies are members of Zilla Parishad.

Municipal corporations

In big cities, there are Municipal corporations both these local government bodies are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people representatives.

The municipal chairperson is the political head of the Municipality mayor is the political head of the municipal corporation.

Over there are about 36,00,00 elected representative in Panchayat and municipalities and one-third of them are women which increase woman’s voice in our democracy.