Chapter 2 — Federalism

Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units like states. Typically, a federation has two levels of government—one for the entire country (responsible for national issues like defence and foreign affairs) and others at provincial/state level that handle day-to-day administration. Both levels enjoy independent power.

Key features of federalism include: (1) two or more tiers of government; (2) different tiers govern the same citizens but each has its own jurisdiction; (3) jurisdictions are specified in the constitution; (4) fundamental constitutional provisions cannot be changed by one level alone without both levels' consent; (5) courts interpret the constitution and act as umpire in disputes; (6) revenue sources for each level are clearly specified to ensure financial autonomy.

India is a federal country because the Constitution distributed power among multiple levels of government. Although the Constitution declares India as a 'Union of States' (rather than 'Federation'), it is based on federalism principles. The Constitution provides a three-tier system with the Union Government, State Governments, and local governments, each with separate powers and jurisdictions.

The Union (Central) Government handles subjects of national importance listed in the Union List (defence, foreign affairs, banking, communications, currency). State Governments handle State and local importance subjects from the State List (police, trade, commerce, agriculture, irrigation). Local governments (panchayats in villages, municipalities in urban areas) manage local affairs and allow direct citizen participation.

The Indian Constitution contains three lists that distribute legislative powers: (1) Union List—subjects of national importance like defence and banking; (2) State List—subjects of State and local importance like police and agriculture; (3) Concurrent List—subjects of common interest to both Union and State governments like education and forests. If Union and State laws conflict on Concurrent List subjects, the Union law prevails.

Union Territories are areas that are too small to become independent States but could not be merged with existing States, such as Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, and Delhi. They do not have the powers of a State; the Central Government has special powers in running these areas.

The creation of linguistic States was the first major test of Indian federalism. Between 1947 and 2019, state boundaries were reorganised to ensure people who spoke the same language lived in the same State. This made administration easier and counter to fears that it would disintegrate the country, linguistic states actually made India more united. Some States were also created on the basis of culture, ethnicity, or geography.

The Indian Constitution did not give any single language national status. Hindi was identified as the official language, but it is the mother tongue of only about 40 per cent of Indians. The Constitution recognised 22 other languages as Scheduled Languages and provided safeguards to protect them. Candidates in Central Government exams may take examinations in any of these languages. States have their own official languages. This cautious, flexible approach avoided conflicts like those in Sri Lanka.

Decentralisation is when power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local governments. A vast country like India, with states as large as European countries, needs power sharing within states. Decentralisation allows problems to be settled at the local level where people have better knowledge of local issues. It enables direct citizen participation in decision-making and promotes local self-government—a fundamental principle of democracy.

The 1992 constitutional amendment made the third tier of local government more powerful and effective by: (1) making elections to local government bodies constitutionally mandatory; (2) reserving seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes; (3) reserving at least one-third of all positions for women; (4) creating an independent State Election Commission in each State to conduct panchayat and municipal elections; (5) requiring State governments to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies.

Panchayats are village-level local government bodies. A gram panchayat is a council of ward members (panch) elected by all adult voters living in that ward or village, with a president called a sarpanch. The gram panchayat is the decision-making body for the entire village and is supervised by a gram sabha (meeting of all voters). Several gram panchayats form a panchayat samiti (block), and panchayat samitis form a zilla parishad (district council). This three-tier structure enables decision-making from village to district level.

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