Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes Chapter 19 Basic Elements of Indian Federal System
- The government system adapted on the basis of distribution and the level of power is known as federalism.
- Under federal system of government, the operation of the government is carried by the centre and its various units.
- Federal government is formed by two processes: first, different sovereign units combine into one political unit, and secondly, one large political unit divides itself into different units with a view to providing efficient governance. At present, countries such as the USA, Australia, Russia, Canada and India are considered to be successful federal countries.
- In India, a federal government has been established under a constitution, in which the term “Union of states” has been used in place of “federation”.
- On the implementation of the constitution, a federal power (central govt) and then power of 14 states Provinces were established to form a federal structure.
- At present there are 29 states, and 7 union territories which are governed by the central government.
Main Elements of Indian Federal System:
- The main elements of Indian Federal system are :
- Clear distribution of governmental power
- Impartial and independent judiciary
- Supremacy of the constitution
- Single citizenship
- The Rajya Sabha: the house representing the states in the central legislature
- The post of the governor
- Unitary dominance
- Under section 7 of the constitution, in article 246, the power distribution between the centre and the states has been done by a list system.
- The centre has the right to enact laws on 97 subjects given in the union list.
- The states have the right to enact laws on 66 subjects given in the state list, whereas on 47 subjects of the concurrent list, both the centre and the states can enact laws, but in case of conflict between the two, the laws of the centre shall prevail.
- All the residuary powers have been vested in the centre. Because of these powers of the centre, experts call it ‘immortal union of mortal states’ and consider it as federalism of centre’s domination. © Impartial and independent judiciary is essential for the proper functioning of any federal system.
- Supremacy of the constitution has been established in the Indian federal system.A federal system of government is one that divides the powers of government between the national (federal) government and state and local governments. The constitution of the United States established the federal system, also known as federalism.
- In India, both the centre and the states get their power from the constitution. .
- Contrary to American federalism, due to Indian diversity, provision of only one constitution has been made.
- The federal units do not have the right to enact their separate constitution (except Jammu and Kashmir).
- Contrary to the provision of traditional federalism, there is a provision of single citizenship in the Indian federalism.
- To empower the federalism of the country, only the upper house of the Indian Legislature, the Rajya Sabha, has been established as a representative institution of the states, o The post of the governor is an important organ of Indian federal system.
- The governor appointed by the centre works as the representative of the central government.
- The centre has decisive role through several provisions. Regarding amendment in the constitution, creation of new states, redistribution of boundaries, emergency provisions, economic rights, the status of the centre has been made powerful and decisive.
- Different examples prove that the centrally-empowered Indian federalism has, in fact, played a very important role in maintaining the unity and integrity of India.
Unitary Features:
- The unitary features of Indian constitution are :
- One constitution
- Residuary powers
- Amendment in the constitution
- Division of power
- Emergency powers
- Unequal representation of the states in the Rajya Sabha
- Single citizenship
- Uniformity in some primary matters
- Unitarily organised judicial system
- The states do not have separate rights.
- No division in public services.
- The consent of the states is not mandatory for redistribution of the boundaries of a state.
- There is only one constitution for the center and the states in India, with the exception of Jammu and Kashmir, where the state has its own constitution.
- In India, there is only one constitution for the entire country, in which there are provisions in relation to the administration of the centre and the states, o As per the Article 248, Indian constitution has given residual powers to the central government.
- Residuary power relates to such a subject which does not belong to any of the three lists. In Indian constitution, this provision is taken from by the constitution of Canada.
- The Parliament can amend a major part in the constitution by a simple majority as per the procedure laid down in the constitution.
- The division of powers is in the favor of the center. The union list contains more important subjects than those mentioned in the state list.
- Division of powers makes the centre powerful which is a chief feature of the unitary government.
- According to article 352, if the President has an apprehension that there is a danger to the security of the country on account of war, outside attack, or armed rebellion, he/she can declare an emergency in the entire country or in any part of it.
- According to article 356, if the President has an apprehension through the governor of the state or by some other means, that such circumstances have been created in the state that the state cannot be governed as per the provisions of the constitution, he/she can declare a state of emergency.
- According to-article 360, if the President has an apprehension that such circumstances have been created that in India or in any part of it, which may cause financial instability he/she can declare a financial emergency.
- The uniformity in some primary matters is the chief feature of the Indian constitution, e.g. there is provision of uniform civil and criminal law in the entire country.
- There is one election commission for the whole country.
- An appeal against the states can be entertained by the supreme court. Similarly, lower courts of the states are subordinated to the High court.
- Contrary to the constitution of the USA, the Parliament of the Indian union can change the boundaries of the states or it may reorganize the states without the consent of the concerned states.
- In the article 312, the provisions for the creation of AU India Public Services have been made.
- Inspite of working under a state, an all India public servant may be dismissed from his post by the union only.
Nature of Indian Federalism:
- Constitution expert K.C. Wheare called, “Indian Federalism as Quasi-federal” while Granville
- Austin has called it “a cooperative federalism.”
- It is true that Indian federalism is pure federalism in principle and within different distinguished pluralistic forces, it has been vested with the unitary powers. The center has been made powerful.
- The states have been provided proper share and importance through various important’ institutions like National Development Council, Interstate Council (article 262), Regional council, the Policy Commission, etc., and the share of the states has been ensured within the federal structure.
- In the trend of coalition government, the center gradually becomes weak.
- The Sarkaria commission too had suggested a powerful center, and also strong states in its report which appears to be taking shape.
Important Dates and Events:
RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes Chapter 19 Important Terms
- Federalism : Having a governance system based on division of governance powers and its distribution into different levels is known as federalism. This system of government is one that divides the powers of government between the national (federal) government and state and local government. Federalism is used in the constitution of the USA. In India the term ‘Union of States’ has been used in place of Federalism.
- Constitution : A constitution is a document which describes the laws and procedures, the type of government and the relationship between the government and the citizens.
- Central Legislature : It is an important organ of a government. Its fundamental function is to enact laws. In India, the central legislature is called the Parliament (Sansad).
- The Rajya Sabha : The Rajya Sabha or council of states is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Its members are elected for the period of six years by single transferable vote system. This is the permanent house.
- Governor : He is the constitutional head of the state. He is appointed by the President of India. In general, his tenure is 5 years.
- State Legislature : The state legislature has two houses:
- Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)
- Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)
- Parliament : The central legislature of India is known as parliament. It constitutes of the President, the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha.
- Union list: The subjects on which the central legislature or the parliament makes laws, are contained in the union list. It contains 97 subjects, such as defence, foreign affairs, banking, communication, currency and other subjects of national importance.
- State list: The subjects on which the state legislature makes laws, are mentioned in the state list, such as: Police, trade, commerce, agriculture, irrigation and other subjects of regional and local importance.
- Concurrent list : This list contains the subjects on which both the centre and the state governments can make laws.
- Residuary list: The subjects which are not mentioned in any of the three lists, are mentioned in the residuary list. According to the constitution of India, the central government has the power to make laws on these subjects.
- Coalition governments : When no single political party wins a clear majority in Lok Sabha / Vidhan Sabha, then several political parties come together and form the governments. This is known as coalition government.
- Goods and Services Tax (GST) : 101st constitutional amendment is related to this only. The President signed it in September 2016. This is a tax imposed on various goods and services.
- National Development Council: It was established in 1952. It is the apex body for decision making and deliberations on development matters in India. This is presided over by the Prime Minister. It comprises the Union cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers of all states representatives of the Union Territories and the members of the NITI Aayog.
- Sir Kenneth Clinton Wheare (CMG) : He was a renowned expert of the constitu- tion of the British Commonwealth. He called Indian federalism as “Quasi-federalism”.
- Granville Austin : A renowned expert of constitution. He called Indian federalism as “a cooperative federalism.”
- Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar : He was the chairman of the constitution drafting committee and considered Indian federalism as “a strictly federal structure.”
- Morris Jpnes : A renowned political thinker. He considered Indian federalism/union of states as “a federalism of bargain.”