Learning Objective
- What Is Federalism?
- What Makes India a Federal Country?
- How Is Federalism Practiced?
- Decentralization in India
What Is Federalism?
- Federalism divides power between a central authority and constituent units.
- There are two levels of government: national and provincial/state.
- The national government handles common national interests.
- Provincial/state governments manage day-to-day administration.
What Makes India a Federal Country?
- Union List: Subjects of national importance exclusively under Union Government’s jurisdiction, e.g., defence, foreign affairs.
- State List: Subjects of State and local importance solely under State Governments’ authority, e.g., police, trade.
- Concurrent List: Subjects of common interest to both Union and State Governments, e.g., education, trade unions.
- Laws made by Union Government prevail in case of conflict with State laws in the Concurrent List.
How Is Federalism Practiced?
- Linguistic States: Creation of states based on language was a significant step towards accommodating diverse linguistic identities.
- Language Policy: Hindi was designated as the official language, but the Constitution recognizes 21 other languages as Scheduled Languages. States also have their official languages, fostering linguistic diversity.
- Centre-State Relations: Power-sharing and respect for State autonomy are evident, especially in scenarios of coalition governments at the center involving regional parties, showcasing effective federal cooperation.
Decentralization in India
Transfer of power from central and state governments to local government for better resolution of local issues and increased citizen participation.
Constitutional Amendment (1992): Empowered the third tier of democracy, making local governments more effective and powerful.
Key Features of 3-Tier Democracy:
- Regular elections for local government bodies are constitutionally mandatory.
- Reservation of seats and executive positions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and women.
- Creation of State Election Commissions to conduct local elections.
- Requirement for state governments to share powers and revenue with local government bodies, varying by state.
Panchayati Raj System:
- Gram Panchayat: Decision-making body for villages, consisting of ward members and a president/sarpanch, directly elected by villagers.
- Gram Sabha: Supervises Gram Panchayat, consisting of all village voters, meeting regularly to approve budgets and review performance.
- Panchayat Samiti/Block/Mandal: Grouping of Gram Panchayats, with representatives elected by Panchayat members.
- Zilla Parishad: District-level body comprising all Panchayat Samitis in a district, including members of higher-level elected bodies.
Municipalities:
- Municipal Corporations for urban areas, governed by elected bodies.
- Municipal Chairperson/Mayor serves as the political head.
Significance: Largest experiment in democracy globally, with constitutional status enhancing democracy, increasing women’s representation, and deepening citizen participation.
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