NCERT Explained: Class X Political Science, Chapter 2 - Federalism: Sharing Power Between Levels of Government

Introduction to the Topic

In the previous chapter, we explored the concept of Power Sharing and how it helps in maintaining the democratic spirit of a nation. In this blog post, we dive deeper into one specific form of power sharing: Federalism. For students of Class X, understanding Federalism is crucial not just for exams, but for understanding how a diverse and vast country like India functions on a daily basis. Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. Usually, a federation has two levels of government. One is the government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest. The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day-to-day administering of their state. Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of each other.

Why do we need such a system? Imagine a country as large as India being ruled only from New Delhi. It would be nearly impossible to address the local needs of a village in Kerala or a town in Arunachal Pradesh effectively. Federalism provides the solution by bringing government closer to the people through regional and local administrations. Let us break down this fascinating system of governance.

Key Concepts Explained

1. What is Federalism?

Federalism is contrasted with Unitary Government. Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government. In a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something. The state government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government.

2. Key Features of Federalism

• Two or more levels: There are different tiers of government (Central, State, and Local).
• Different jurisdictions: Each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation, and administration. This means that while they rule the same citizens, they have different areas of authority.
• Constitutional Guarantee: The existence and authority of each tier of government are constitutionally guaranteed. The central government cannot change these powers on a whim.
• Rigid Constitution: 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.
• Role of Courts: Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The Supreme Court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
• Financial Autonomy: Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial independence.
• Dual Objectives: The federal system has dual objectives: to safeguard and promote the unity of the country, while at the same time accommodating regional diversity.

3. Two Routes to Federations

Federations are formed in two ways:

• Coming Together Federations: Independent States come together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignty and retaining identity they can increase their security. Examples include the USA, Switzerland, and Australia. In this category, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong vis-à-vis the federal government.
• Holding Together Federations: A large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. Examples include India, Spain, and Belgium. In this category, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-à-vis the States. Often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.

4. What Makes India a Federal Country?

The Constitution of India originally provided for a two-tier system of government: the Union Government (Central Government) and the State governments. Later, a third tier of federalism was added in the form of Panchayats and Municipalities. The Constitution clearly provided a threefold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments. It contains three lists:

• Union List: Includes subjects of national importance such as defence, foreign affairs, banking, communications, and currency. The Union Government alone can make laws relating to these subjects.
• State List: Contains subjects of State and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture, and irrigation. The State Governments alone can make laws relating to these subjects.
• Concurrent List: Includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government and the State Governments, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption, and succession. Both governments can make laws, but if their laws conflict, the law made by the Union Government prevails.
• Residuary Subjects: Subjects that do not fall in any of the three lists (like computer software) come under the jurisdiction of the Union Government.

5. How is Federalism Practiced in India?

Constitutional provisions are necessary for the success of federalism, but they are not sufficient. The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country. This ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity, and desire for living together became shared ideals.

• Linguistic States: The creation of linguistic States was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country. Many old States have vanished and many new States have been created. This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same State. This has actually made the country more united and administration easier.
• Language Policy: Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language, but Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 percent of Indians. Therefore, there are 21 other languages recognized as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution. This flexibility shown by Indian political leaders helped our country avoid the kind of conflict that Sri Lanka faces.
• Centre-State Relations: For a long time, the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the States. This meant that the State governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units. However, the rise of regional political parties and the era of Coalition Governments changed this. Since no single party got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, major national parties had to enter into an 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.

6. Decentralization in India

When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralization. The basic idea behind decentralization is that there are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level. People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.

A major step towards decentralization was taken in 1992. The Constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effective. Key features include:

• It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
• Seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.
• At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
• An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
• The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Federalism is a system where power is divided between a central authority and constituent units.
• India follows a 'Holding Together' model of federalism with a strong central tendency but significant powers for states and local bodies.
• Power is distributed via the Union List, State List, and Concurrent List.
• The success of Indian federalism lies in Linguistic States, Language Policy, and evolving Centre-State relations.
• Decentralization through the 1992 Amendment brought democracy to the grassroots level via Panchayati Raj and Municipalities.
• The Judiciary plays a vital role as an arbiter to ensure that both levels of government stay within their constitutional boundaries.