Ans) The important characteristics of federalism are as following:-

1. There are two or more tiers of government.
2. Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
3. 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 is constitutionally guaranteed.
4. Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different level of government. The high court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
5. The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government.
6. Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
7. The federal system thus has dual objectives to safeguard and promote unity of the country while at the same time accomodate regional diversity.

Ans) Relations between Central-States before 1990 in India-In India, 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.

Relations after 1990-This situation 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 the lok sabha, the major national parties had to enter into an alliance with many parties including several regional parties to form a government at the centre. This led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of state governments. This trend was supported by a major judgement of the supreme court that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state government in an arbitrary manner. Thus, federal power sharing is more effective today than it was in the early years after the constitution came into force.

Ans) Our constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language. But Hindi is the mother tongue of only 40 per cent of Indians therefore, there were many safeguards to protect other languages. Besides Hindi there are 21 other languages recognised as scheduled languages by the constitution. A candidate in an examination conducted for the central government positions may opt to take the examination in any of these languages, provided he selects it as optional language. States too have their official languages. Much of the government work takes place in the official language of the concerned state.

According to the constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965, but many non-hindi speaking states demanded to let the use of English continue. The central government responded by agreeing to continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes. Promotion of Hindi continues to be the official policy of the government of India but promotion does not mean that the central government can impose Hindi on states where people speak a different language. The flexibility shown by the Indian political leaders helped our country avoid the kind of situation that Sri Lanka finds itself in.

In 2011, the census of India recorded more than 1,300 distinct languages which people mentioned as their mother tongue. These languages were grouped together under some major languages for e.g.. languages like Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Rajasthani and many others were grouped together under ‘Hindi”. Even after this grouping, the census found 121 major languages. Of these 22 languages are now included in the Eighth schedule of the Indian constitution and are therefore called ‘Scheduled Languages’. Others are called non-scheduled languages. In terms of languages, India is perhaps the most diverse country in the world.

Ans) Meaning of decentralisation 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. 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.

Decentralisation in India-The need for decentralisation was recognised in our constitution. Since then, there have been several attempts to decentralise power to the level of villages and 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 power or resources of their own. Thus, there was very little decentralisation in effective terms.

A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992. The constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy more powerful and effective.

1. Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
2. Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes.
3. At least one third of all positions are reserved for women.
4. An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
5. The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies. The nature of sharing varies from state to state.

This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the world. There are about 36 lakh elected representatives in the panchayats and municipalities. 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 Power our democracy.

Ans) Refer Q.(9) in short type answers.

Ans) The third tiers of our country has bee made more effective and powerful by the constitutional amendment of 1992, which aims power local bodies through:-

1. It is constitutionally mandatory to hole the regular elections to local government basis.
2. Seats in elected bodies are reserved and the executive head is an institutional one for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
3. One third of all positions are reserved for women.
4. An independent institution called the state election commission has been created in each state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
5. The state government are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies. The nature of sharing various from state to states.

Ans) All the states in the Indian union do not have identical powers. Some states enjoy a special status like Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. Jammu and Kashmir has its own constitution.

There are some units of the Indian union which enjoy very little power. These are areas which are too small to become an independent state but which could not be merged with any of the existing states. These areas like Chandigarh or Lakshadweep or the capital city of Delhi come in this category and are called Union Territories. These territories do not have the powers of the state. The central government has special power in running these areas.