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Federalism

• In the example of Belgium & Srilanka democracy, important changes was-
• In Belgium-
• Power of Central government was reduced and transferred to state governments
• But Central government could withdraw powers from state governments anytime
• So in 1993, state government got constitutional power and are independent of Central government
• Thus Belgium shifted from unitary to federal form of government

In Sri Lanka-

• Sri Lanka remained unitary system where Central government held all the powers

 What is Federalism?

• It is a system of government where power is shared between central government and individual states or provinces
• Federation has two levels of government: Country level and State or Province level

 Difference between Federal govt. and Unitary govt.

 

Unitary government	Federal government
There is either only one level of government or sub-units are junior to central govt.	Power shared among central government and state govt.
Central government orders state or local government	Central government cannot order state or local government to do something

 

Key features of Federalism

1. Federalism has two or more levels of government
2. Different levels of government governs citizens with its own power in laws, taxation and administration matter
3. Constitution sets power of different level of government.
4. So existence and authority of each level of government is constitutionally guaranteed
5. One level of government cannot itself change fundamental services of constitution. Changes require permissions of both levels of government
6. Court has power to interpret (rewrite) constitution and powers of different levels of government.
7. Highest court acts as an umpire to resolve disputes between different levels of government
8. Sources of economy for each level of government are clearly defined to avoid financial problem
9. Federal system has two objectives:
1. To safeguard and promote unity of country
2. Accomodate regional diversity

Ideal Federal System           

A perfect federal system has two features:

1. Mutual trust between different levels of government
2. Agreement to live together

 Balance of Power

• Exact balance of power between central and state government depends on historical Factors in which federation was formed
• Two routes through which federations have been formed are-

1. Coming together federations-

• All independent states come together to form bigger unit.
• All constituent states have equal power and strong relation to federal government
• This type of federation exists in USA, Switzerland and Australia

2. Holding together federations-

• Large country divide its power between States and national government
• Central government is more powerful than States
• This type of federation exists in India, Spain and Belgium

  What makes India a federal country?

• India is Union of States. Indian union is based on principles of federalism
• Indian constitution provided three-tier system of governments- Union or Central government, State governments, Panchayats and Municipalities
• All these separate tiers enjoy separate jurisdictions( powers)
• Constitution clearly defined distribution of powers between govt. Thus it contains 3 lists-
• Union List
• It includes defence, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency
• Uniform policy applied on these matters throughout country
• Union government make laws for matters in union list
• State List
• It includes police, trade, commerce, agriculture, and irrigation
• State government make laws for matters in state list
• Concurrent List
• It includes education, forests, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession
• Both Union as well as State government make laws for matters in concurrent list
• Union government is preferred over State government during law conflicts
• Union government has the power to make laws on “residuary” ( subjects that do not fall in three lists) subjects

Power distribution in Indian States

• All Indian states have different powers due to “holding together” federation
• Some States enjoy special status such as Jammu & Kashmir has its own constitution
• Some units of Indian union enjoy very little power such as Chandigarh, Lakshadweep or Delhi. These are called Union territories
• The Central government runs Union territories

 Changes in Power Sharing

• It is difficult to make changes in power sharing. Any change has to be passed by both Houses of Parliament with at least two-thirds majority
• Then it is to be rated by legislatures of at least half of total states

 Role of Judiciary ( Courts)

• Judiciary plays an important role in implementing constitutional rules and procedures
• High courts and Supreme courts makes decisions in case of disputes
• The Union and State governments can raise resources by charging taxes to run government

How is Federalism Practised?

Major ways for success of Federalism in India are-

• Linguistic States
• First and major test for democratic politics in India was Creation of linguistic states
• Many old states have vanished and new states have been created
• Areas, boundary and names of the states have been changed to ensure that people speaking same language lived in same state
• Some states like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created on basis of culture, ethnicity, or geography
• Central government opposed linguistic states for sometimes but accepted afterwards
• Formation of linguistic state made country- More united, Easier administration
• Language Policy
• Second test for federation is language policy
• No language entitled as national language by constitution
• Hindi was identified as official language
• Hindi is mother tongue of only 40% Indians
• Besides Hindi, there exists 21 other languages
• Candidates can give government exams in regional state languages
• Much government work takes place in respective state language
• Flexibility of Indian political leaders helped country avoid situations that other countries faced 

• Centre-State relations
• Restructuring of Centre-State relations made federalism strong
• Sharing of power depends on ruling parties and leaders
• Central government misuse constitution to dismiss State governments. All these destroying federalism
• In year 1990, many regional political parties formed in States of country
• This was the period of COALITION GOVERNMENT (govt. of at least two political parties in alliance)
• No party won majority and thus parties came together to form alliance
• This led to new form of power sharing. In India today’s power sharing is more effective than at time of constitution.

  Decentralisation in India

• India is very vast country.
• Federal power sharing in India needs a tier of government below state government
• Thus, there is a third-tier of government called local government
• Transfer of power from Central or State government to local government is called Decentralisation
• This is the reason for decentralisation (transfer of power from Centre to authority) of power

 Benefits of Local government

• Many problems and issues best solved at local levels
• People have better knowledge of problems in their localities
• People also know where to spend money and manage things efficiently
• People directly participate in decision making
• It shows one principle of democracy- local self-government

 Constitutional steps for decentralisation

In 1992, Constitution was changed to make third tier of government more powerful

1. It is mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies
2. Seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes
3. At Least one-third of all positions are reserved for women
4. State Election Commission has been formed to conduct panchayat and municipal elections
5. State government shares more power and revenue with local government bodies

 Rural Local government

• Also known as Panchayati Raj
• Each village or group of villages has a gram panchayat
• This council (group of people) consists of ward members often called panch, and a president or sarpanch
• They are elected from people of that ward or village
• Panchayat works under supervision of gram sabha
• Gram panchayat is evaluated every twice or thrice in a year

 Structuring of local government

• Local government structure goes up to district level
• Gram Panchayats are grouped together to form Panchayat samiti or block or mandal
• All panchayat samitis or mandals in a district forms zilla (district) parishad
• Most members of zilla parishad are elected
• Members of Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and officials are also its members
• Zilla parishad chairperson is political head of zilla parishad
• Local government bodies exist for urban areas as well
• Municipalities are setup in towns and Municipal corporations set up in big cities
• Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies
• Municipal chairperson is political head of municipality, in municipal corporation this head is called the mayor.

Demerits of local government

• Gram sabhas are not held regularly
• Most state government have not transferred significant powers to local governments
• Local government lack adequate resources

 Conclusion

• Today there are about 36 lakh elected representatives in panchayats and municipalities all over country
• Local government has helped to build strong democracy in our country
• Local government increased women’s representation and voice in our democracy