federalism

what is federalism?

Federalism is a system of gov. In which power is divided between the central authority and the regional or state gov.

In federation there is usually two or more than two levels of gov.

One is for the entire country. It is usually responsible for few subjects of common national interest

Other is the gov. At the level of provincial/states. They look after much of the day to day administering of the state

Both levels of gov. Enjoy their power independently

what is unitary system?

there is only one level of gov or the sub units are subordinates to the central gov. the cg can pass on orders to the provincial or local gov

key features of federalism

Key features of federalism :

Two of more than two levels of gov.

Diff. Levels of gov. Govern the same citizens but each tier has it own jurisdiction on specific matters of legislation taxation and administration

The jurisdiction of the respective tiers of gov. Has been specified in the constitution so its existence and authority is constitutionally guaranteed

The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of the gov.

Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of the diff. Levels of the gov. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between diff. Levels of gov. When exercising their respective powers.

Sources of revenue has been fixed for diff. Levels of gov. To ensure finacial autonomy.

The federal system thus has dual objectives

1. To safeguard and promote the unity of the country

2. Accommodate regional diversity

two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism

gov at diff levels should agree to some rules of power sharing

they should trust that each would abide by its side of the agreement

ideal federal system = mutual trust and agreement to live together

what are the two kinds of ways through which federations has been formed

coming together federations

holding together federations

coming together federations

Coming together federations involves independent states coming together on their own to form a bigger unit,so that by pooling sovereignty and retaining identity they can increase their security

Ex. Usa , swizerland , australia

All the constituent states usually have equal power and are strong vis-a-vis the federal gov.

holding together federations

A large country decides to divide it power between constituent staes and the national gov.

Ex: india spain belgium

The central gov. Tends to have more power vis-a-vis the states

Very often the constituent units of federation have unequal powers. Some are granted special powers

on what principles of federalism is Indian union based on?

>The constitution originally provided for two tier system of gov. The union gov. Or the central gov. Representing the union of India and the state gov.

Later a third tier of federalism was added in the form of panchayat and municipalities

>Each tier of gov. Has its own jurisdiction specified in the constitution. The constitution clearly provided a threefold distribution of legislative power between the union gov. And the state govs.(union list, state list, concurrent list and residuary list)

>Holding together federation- does not give equal power to its constituent units

All states In the Indian union do not have identical power some states enjoy special power

>Judiciary plays an imp. Role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures in case of dispute about the division of power high court or supreme court takes the decision

>The union and state gov have the power to raise resources by imposing taxes in order to carry on the gov and responsibilities assigned to each of them

what is the threefold distribution of legislative powers between the union and state gov.?

union list:

includes the subjects of national importance ex: defense of the country, foreign affairs, communication , banking, currency, etc. they are included in this list because we need uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. the union gov alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in this list

state list:

contains subjects of state and local importance ex: trade, police, agri., irrigation, etc. the state gov can alone make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the state list

concurrent list:

it includes subjects of common interest of both the union and the state gov ex: education , adoption, marriage, forest, trade unions, commerce, etc. both the union as well as the state gov can make laws on the subjects mentioned in the concurrent list. if their laws conflict with each other the law made by the union gov will prevail

residuary subjects:
all the subjects which do not fall in any of the list and came up after the constitution was made ex: computer, e-commerce, social media,etc the central gov can make laws on them

what is the concept of union territories?

units of the Indian union that enjoy very little power. they areas are very small to become an independent state and also cannot be merged with any of the existing states. these territories do not have the powers of a state. the cg has special powers in running these areas. ex: Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Delhi, etc.

power sharing

basic structure of the constitution.

it is not easy to make changes to this power sharing arrangement

the parliament cannot on it own change arrangements

any change to it as to be first passed by both the houses of parliament with at least two-thirds of majority

then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total states

what is necessary for the success of federalism?

the constitutional provisions are necessary for the success of federalism but these are not sufficient

the real success of federalism in india can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country

linguistic states

people who speak the same language live in the same state

creation of LS was the first and the major test for democratic politics in our country

some leaders feared that the creation of linguistic states would lead to the disintegration of the country

the cg resisted the formation of linguistic states for some time

the experience has shown that this has made the country more united

it has also made the administering easy

some states are not formed based on language but to recognize differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography

ex: Jharkhand, Nagaland, Uttarakhand , etc.