Ch-2 Politics Federalism notes
Ch- 2 politics Federalism
Federalism
·
It is a system of govt. in which the power is
dividied betn a central authority and various constituents units of the country
. Power is shared among central govt. and various states, regional and local
govt. .Both central and and non-central govt are answerable to the citizen of
the country who lelect them.
Unitary vs. Federal
·
Unitary govt.-Either there is only one level
of govt. or- sub units are subordinates to the central govt. . . Central govt.
can pass on orders to the provincial or the local govt.
·
Federal system, the central govt. cannot
order the state govt. to do something.
State
govt. has power of its own .It is not answerable to central govt.
Both
state and central govt. are answerable to people.
Features of Federalism
·
2 or more levels of govt.
·
Each tier has its own jurisdiction in
specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration
·
Jurisdiction of each level are specified in
the constitution and each level is constitutionally guaranteed.
·
Fundamental provision of constitution cannot
be unilaterally changed. Such change require consent of both levels of govt.
·
Courts have the power to interpret the
constitution and power of govt at diff. levels . The highest court acts as
umpire if disputes arise in the exercise of their respective powers.
·
Sources of revenues for each level of govt
are specified to ensure the financial autonomy.
Federal
system has dual objective
·
To safeguard and provide unity of country
·
To accommodate regional diversity.
2 kinds of routes through
which federations have been formed.
-
Coming together federation -Independent states
coming together to form bigger unit. As in USA Switzerland U and Australia.
-
Holding together federation -Second
route is where a large country decides to divide its power betn the constituent
states and national govt. The holding together federation are found in India,
Spain and Belgium.
India
is federal country.
After independence India
princely states became part of a country.. Constitution declared India as a
union of states. Constitution provided 2 tier system central govt and state
govt. Later on 3rd tier was added Panchayati Raj or municipalities.
The constitution of India
provides three –fold distribution of legislative powers between union and state
govt. It contains three list
Union list It
includes subject of national importance. Defence foreign affairs , banking ,
currency an communication
State list
–matters of state level importance police , trade agriculture , commerce and
irrigation.
Concurrent list includes
common interest of both central and state govt. eg marriage education,forest, and
trade
In case of conflict the
decision of Union govt. will prevail.
Subject which do not fall in
any of this list come under residuary subject like computer software that came
after constitiuion was made
Union govt. has power to
legislate on residuary subject
·
Unequal power to diff state. Some exceptional
states like J and K has its own constitution. Manyu provisions of constitution
are not application to this stae without the approval of state assembly
·
Many states like Chandigarh or Lashwadeep or
capital of Delhi are called union territories
do not have powers of state. The central govt has specila power in
running these states.
How
is Federalism practiced?
1. Linguistic
states – In 1947 the boundaries of several old states of India changed in order
to create new states. People who spoke same language lived in same state. Some
states were created to recognize differences based on culture , ethiniciy or
geography.
2. Centre
state relation in India. Earlier in India Same party ruled at the centre and
state level. State govt. did not have autonomus power.
But after 1990 there was rise of
regional political partiesin many staes of the country.
-this gave rise to coalition govt.
This was also the era of coalition govt
at the centre. Since no single party got clear majority in Lok Sabha, the major
national parties had to enter into an alliance with many parties, including
many several regional parties tyo form govt. at the centre. This led to new culture
of power sharing and respect for autonomy of state govt
3. Language
policy
Our constitution has not given the
status of national language to any one language.
4. The
constitutional amendmentIn 1992 The constitution was amended in 199 to make
theird tierof govt. more powerful and effective. Local self govt. known as
panchayati raj
5. Local
govgovt. Bodies in urban areas. In towns municipal corporation and in big
cities theses are municipal corporations.
Decentralization- (The power taken
away from the central and state government
and given to the local government that is called decentralization.)
Why is it important to have a local
government?
(The problems are easier to settle on
a local level, people at that level have a better idea on
approaching and solving a particular
matter.)
Comments
Post a Comment