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Federalism Class 10 Extra Questions Civics Chapter 2
Class 10 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions Question 1.
Define Federalism.
Answer:
Federalism is a system of government in which the governmental power is divided into a central authority and it various constituent units.
Federalism Class 10 Extra Questions Question 2.
What do you mean by unitary system of government?
Answer:
Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.
Extra Questions For Class 10 Civics Chapter 2 Question 3.
Write the dual objectives of the federal government.
Answer:
The federal system has dual objectives:
- To safeguard and promote unity of the country and
- To accommodate the regional diversity.
Class 10 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions And Answers Question 4.
Which aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism?
Answer:
- Agreement to live together : Government at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing
- Mutual trust: They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.
Federalism Class 10 Extra Questions And Answers Question 5.
Define Jurisdiction.
Answer:
Jurisdiction : The area over which someone has legal authority. The area may be defined in terms of geographical boundaries or in terms of certain kinds of subjects.
Class 10 Civics Ch 2 Extra Questions Question 6.
Explain the contents of Union List.
Answer:
Union List includes subjects of national importance such as defence, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency.
Extra Questions Of Federalism Class 10 Question 7.
What are the subjects of State List?
Answer:
- State List contains subjects of state and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture irrigation etc.
- The state governments alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the state list.
Extra Question Answers Of Chapter Federalism Question 8.
Who is authorized make laws about subjects that do not fall in any of the three lists?
Answer:
According to the Indian Constitution, the Union government has the power to legislate on these ‘residuary subjects’.
Federalism Class 10 1 Mark Questions Question 9.
Whose role is important in the implementation of constitutional provisions?
Answer:
- The judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures.
- In case of any dispute about the division of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court make a decision.
Class 10 Federalism Extra Questions Question 10.
What was the basis of creation of new states in India?
Answer:
- In 1947, the boundaries of states of India were changed in order to create new states. This was done to ensure that people speaking same language lived in the same state.
- Same other states were created to recognize differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography.
Example-Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.
Ch 2 Civics Class 10 Extra Questions Question 11.
What was the main fear of some national leaders on creation of new states on linguistic basis?
Answer:
When the demand for the formation of states on the basis of language was raised, some national leaders feared that it would lead to the disintegration of the country.
Federalism Class 10 Questions And Answers Question 12.
Do you think the creation of new states on the basis of language has helped India any way?
Answer:
- The experience shows that the formation of linguistic states has actually made the country more united and stronger.
- It has also made the administration easier.
Class 10 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions In Hindi Question 13.
Explain the composition and function of Gram Sabha?
Answer:
- The Gram Panchayat works under the overall supervision of Gram Sabha.
- All the voters in the village are its members.
- It meets at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of the Gram Panchayat and to review the performance of the Gram Panchayat.
Civics Chapter 2 Class 10 Extra Questions Question 14.
Who controls municipalities and municipal corporations?
Answer:
Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s representatives.
Civics Class 10 Chapter 2 Extra Questions Question 15.
What are the difficulties of the institutions of local self-government?
Answer:
- While elections are held regularly gram sabha are not held regularly.
- Most State governments have not transferred significant powers to the local governments.
- The institutions of local self-governments do not have adequate resources also.
Question 16.
What is federalism? What are its two types?
Answer:
Federalism is a system of government in which the governmental power is divided between a central authority and its various constituent units. Usually, a federation has two levels of government. One is the government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
The other are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day to day administering of their state. Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.
Question 17.
How is the ‘Coming together federations formed?
Answer:
The exact balance of power between the central and the state government and within various state governments varies from one federation to another. This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.
The first route 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. This type of coming together’ federations include USA, Switzerland and Australia. In this first category of federations, all the constituent stales usually have equal power and are strong vis-a-vis the federal government.
Question 18.
What do you mean by ‘holding together’ federations?
Answer:
The exact balance of power between the central and the state government and within various state governments varies from one federation to another. This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.
The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government. India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. In this second category the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the states Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. Some units are granted special powers.
Question 19.
“All states in the Indian Union do not have identical powers.” Explain.
Answer:
- Most federations that are formed by ‘holding together’ do not give equal power to its constituent units.
- Thus all states in the Indian Union do not have identical powers Some states enjoy a special status. Jammu and Kashmir has its own Constitution.
- Many provisions of the Indian Constitution are not applicable to this state without the permission of the state assembly.
- Indians who are not permanent residents of this state cannot buy land or house here.
Question 20.
Explain the main contributing factor towards success of federalism in India.
Answer:
- Constitutional provisions are necessary for the success of federalism but these are not sufficient.
- If the federal experiment has succeeded in India, it is not merely because of the clearly laid out constitutional provisions.
- The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country.
- This ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together became a shared ideal in our country.
Question 21.
What is the rational behind decentralisation of power in India?
Answer:
The federal governments have two or more tiers of governments. But a vast country like India cannot be run only through these two tiers. States in India are as large as independent countries. In terms of population, Uttar Pradesh is bigger than Russia, Maharashtra is about as big as Germany.
Many of these states are internally very diverse. There is thus a need for power-sharing within these states. Federal power-sharing in India needs another tier of government, below that of the State governments. This is the for decentralisation of power. Thus, resulted a third tier of government, called Local Government.
Question 22.
“The basic idea behind decentralisation is that there are a large number of problems which are best settled at the local level” Justify.
Answer:
- When power is taken, away from Central, and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralisation.
- The basic idea behind decentralisation is that there are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level.
- People have better knowledge of problems in their localities. They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently.
- Besides, at the local level, it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making. This helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.
- Local government is the best way to realise one important principle of democracy, namely local self-government.
Question 23.
“There was very little decentralisation in effective terms before 1992.” Explain.
Answer:
- The need for decentralisation was recognised in our Constitution. Since then there have been several attempts to decentralise power to the level of villages anf towns.
- Panchayats in villages and municipalities in urban areas were set up in all the states. But these were directly under the control of State governments
- Elections to these local governments were not held regularly.
- Local governments did not have any powers or resources of their own. Thus there was very tittle decentralisation in effective terms.
Question 24.
Which problem undermined the spirit of federalism in before 1990?
Answer:
- The constitutional arrangements for sharing power work, in reality, depend to a large extent on how the ruling parties and the leader follow these arrangements,
- In India, for long time, the same party (Congress Party) ruled both at the centre and in most of the states. This meant that the state governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units.
- As and when the ruling party at the state level was different, the parties that ruled at the centre tried to undermine the power of the states.
Question 26.
What steps have been taken after 1992 to decentralise power in India?
Answer:
- A major step towards dece¬ntralisation was taken in 1992. The Constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
- Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to the local government bodies.
- Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward classes
- An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each state to conduct the panchayat and municipal elections.
- The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies. The nature of sharing varies from state to state.
Question 27.
Describe the working of panchayat raj system in India.
Answer:
Rural local government is popularly known by the name Panchayati Raj, Each Village, or a group of villages in some states, has a Gram Panchayat. This is a council consisting of several ward members, often called Panchayat, and a President or Sarpanch. These are directly elected by all the adult people living in that ward or the village. It is the decision making body for the entire village. The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the Gram Sabha.
All the voters in the village are its members. It has to meet at least twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of the gram panchayat and to review the performance of the gram panchayat. The local government structure goes right up to the district level. A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat Samiti or block.
The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that area. All the panchayat in a district together constitutes the Zilla (district) Parishad. Most members of the Zilla Parishad are elected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLA’S of that district and some other officials of other district-level bodies are also its members. Zilla Parishad Chairperson is the political head of the Zilla Parishad.
Question 28.
Analyse the benefits of decentralisation of power in India.
Answer:
- This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world
- There are now about 36 lakh elected representatives in the panchayats and municipalities etc. all over the country.
- This number is bigger than the population of many countries in the world.
- Constitutional status for local government has helped to deepen democracy in our country.
- It has also increased women’s representation and voice in our democracy
- At the same time, there are many difficulties. While elections are held regularly and enthusiastically, gram sabha are not held regularly
- Most state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local governments. Nor have they given adequate resource.
Question 29.
Explain some of the key features of federalism.
Answer:
Some of the key features of federalism are as following:
- There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government.
- Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
- The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government are constitutionally safeguarded.
- The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of the both the levels government.
- Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire in case disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
Question 30.
What makes India a federal country?
Answer:
- The Constitution of India declared India as a Union of States. Although it did not use the word federation, the Indian Union is based on the principle of federalism.
- The Constitution originally provided for a two-tier system of government, the Union government or what we call the central government representing the union of India and die State governments.
- The Constitution clearly provided a three¬fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union government and the State governments.
Thus it contains three lists:
(a) Union List includes subjects of national importance such as the defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in this list because we need a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. The Union government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the Union List.
(b) State List contains subjects of state and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The State governments alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the State List.
(c) Concurrent list includes subjects of common interest to both the Union government as well as the State governments, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriages, adoption and succession. Both the Union as well as the State governments can make laws on the subjects mentioned in this list. If their laws conflict with each other, the law made by the union government will prevail.
4. According to the Indian constitution, the Union government has the power to legislate on ‘residuary’ subjects.
Question 31.
“Federal power-sharing is more effective today than it was in the early years after the constitution came into force.” Justify.
Answer:
- Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice. The constitutional arrangements for sharing power, work in reality, depend to a large extent on how the ruling parties and leaders follow these arrangements.
- For a long time, the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the states. This meant that the state governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units.
- As and when the ruling party at the state level was different, the parties that ruled at the centre tried to undermine the power of the states.
- In those days, the Central government would often misuse the Constitution to dismiss the state governments that were controlled by rival parties. This undermined the spirit of federalism.
- All this changed significantly after 1990. This period saw the rise of regional political parties in many states of the country. This was also the beginning of the era of coalition governments at the centre. Since no single party got a clear majority in Lok Sabha, the major national parties had to enter into an alliance with many parties including several regional parties to form a government the centre.
- This led to a new culture of power-sharing and respect for the autonomy of the state governments.
Objective Type Questions
Four alternatives have been given to the following questions.
Choose the correct answer:
Question 1.
Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to be a:
(a) Unitary system
(b) Federal system
(c) Monarchy
(d) Autocracy
Answer:
(b) Federal system
Question 2.
A system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units- is called
(a) Federalism
(b) Unitary
(c) Monarchy
(d) None of these.
Answer:
(a) Federalism
Question 3.
A system of government in which either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government is called:
(a) Federalism
(b) Aristocracy
(c) Monarchy
(d) Unitary
Answer:
(d) Unitary
Question 4.
USA is the example of
(a) Coming together federation
(b) Holding together federation
(c) (a) and (b) both
(d) None of these.
Answer:
(a) Coming together federation
Question 5.
India is the example of:
(a) Coming together federation
(b) Holding together federation
(c) (a) and (b) both
(d) None of these.
Answer:
(b) Holding together federation.
Question 6.
The Indian Constitution originally provided for a
(a) One-tier system of government
(b) Three-tier system of government
(c) Five-tier system of government
(d) Two-tier system of government
Answer:
(d) Two-tier system of government
Question 7.
Communication comes under:
(a) Residuary list
(b) State list
(c) Union list
(d) Concurrent list
Answer:
(c) Union list
Question 8.
Agriculture comes under.
(a) Residuary list
(b) State list
(c) Union list
(d) Concurrent list
Answer:
(b) State list
Question 9.
Education comes under
(a) Residuary list
(b) State list
(c) Union list
(d) Concurrent list
Answer:
(d) Concurrent list
Question 10.
Who has the power to legislate over residuary subjects?
(a) State
(b) Union
(c) District
(d) None of these
Answer:
(b) Union
Question 11.
If there is a conflict over law made by the union and state government, on the subject related to concurrent list, whose law would prevail?
(a) Union government
(b) State government
(c) (a) and (b) both
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) Union government
Question 12.
All States in the Indian union do not have identical powers:
(a) True
(b) False
(c) Sometimes true
(d) None of these
Answer:
(a) True
Question 13.
Which state has its own constitution?
(a) Bihar
(b) West Bengal
(c) J&K
(d) Tamil Nadu
Answer:
(c) J&K
Question 14.
Chandigarh is a
(a) State
(b) Union Territory
(c) District
(d) Tamil Nadu
Answer:
(b) Union Territory.
Question 15.
Which is the official language of India?
(a) English
(b) Hindi
(c) Bengali
(d) Tamil
Answer:
(b) Hindi.