Preview

Federalism in India

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1707 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Federalism in India
Federalism in India

Abstract

India is a big country characterized by cultural, regional, linguistic and geographical diversities. Such a diverse and vast country cannot be administered and ruled from a single centre. Historically, though India was not a federal state, its various regions enjoyed adequate autonomy from central rule.
Keeping in view these factors in mind, the Constitution makers of India opted for the federal form of government. Though, the Government of India Act 1935 envisaged a federal set-up for India; federal provisions of the Act were not enforced. Thus, India became a federal polity with the Constitution of India.

Federalism is a system of governance in which the powers to legislate is in two levels as Central and subordinate levels.

Features of Federalism

Federalism in India has a strong bias towards the Union Government. Some unique features of federalism in India are: * There is no equality of state representation. Representation in the Parliament can vary widely from one state to another depending on a number of factors including demography and total land area. * No double citizenship, i.e. no separate citizenship for country and state. * The consent of a state is not required by the Parliament to alter its boundaries. * No state, except Jammu and Kashmir, can draw its own Constitution. * No state has the right to secede. * No division of public services.

The main features of Federalism * Provision for more than one form or government to act simultaneously on the same territory and on the same time. * Each government must have their own authority and spheres of power, though they may overlap. * Neither level of government, state or national can abolished the other.

Why Federalism is Important?
Federalism is important because of the following reasons: * Because of diversity, there is a division in the power of federalism (to legislate in better manner). * For better

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Federalism has been renovated to meet modern stability and progress. An advantage for the establishment of federalism include the closer ties between people and government…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A system of dividing up power between a central national government and a local state governments that are connected to one another by the national government defines a federal government. While some areas are under control by the national government, the same boundaries are placed with the state or local governments that are set by the constitution. The questions that should be asked are what powers are granted, what powers are denied, and what powers are shared to both types of government.…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Federalism makes sure no one group of people has all the power. In Document A it…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cooperative Federalism

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Federalism is defined as “the federal principle or system of government”. This concept of “federalism” is explored in Lowi et al and Zimmerman. These two sources list and define two types of federalism. The first type they list is dual federalism, the second one is cooperative federalism. One of the most distinctive differences between the two is how the powers of the national and state governments are defined, this ties into the classic struggle of Founding Fathers: How should power be separated between the states and the national government? Both of these systems are used in our Constitution, however, I believe our current situation in the United States best fits under the system of cooperative federalism. These concepts I will explore in…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Some of the features of federalism include the different powers that are seen within the central and state governments. Within state governments it can be seen that issues on crime and punishment can vary between states as states are awarded the power to choose different policies on these issues. This is why some stats still adopt the death penalty and others have abolished it. At the central level of government it can be seen however that issues such as war, diplomacy and the powers of defence are issues that the central government must control as it can be seen that local governments will be unable to handle these major issues successfully. One of the most important powers which the States have control of, is the power to conduct elections in whichever way they see fit. An example of this would be that Iowa choose to elect their…

    • 1456 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Federalism is the system of government in which power is dispersed between central and state governments, each level of government having different responsibilities.…

    • 2083 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cooperative federalism becomes tricky when the distribution of power is neither given to the national government or the state government. Instead, it is supposed to be shared among the three governments, which can cause problems because their is no specific answer to the question, who decides…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Federalism, as defined by The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the distribution of power in an organization (as a government) between a central authority and the constituent units”. A more basic definition of federalism is the sharing of power between the national government and the State government. The Federalist Party is thought to have been started by Alexander Hamilton in an attempt to form a strong central government. Today, there have been two types of federalism, dual and cooperative. Dual Federalism was the first of the two and it lasted about one hundred and fifty years ranging from the 1780’s to the 1930’s. Cooperative Federalism then began in the 1930’s and lasted until the 1970’s. I feel as if dual federalism was good for its time period but I believe it would cause harm in today’s society.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is Federalism? Well, Federalism is defining as the allocation of power between the national government and regional government; a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and constituent political units.…

    • 775 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The benefits of federalism which includes the protection against tyranny. This is pointed out as one of the most important points because of the division of national and state government; and the distribution of power among the three branches. Which this serves as a check and balances on each other; which serves as a deterrent to tyranny and a runaway with more power than everybody else. With the protective of our system against tyranny that shows why this one is the most important to follow and why it was designed. Also diffusion of power in which powers is shared with the state and the federal government into the legislative, executive, and the judicial branches the backbone of federalism. Which keeps everyone in one accord meaning to make…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Federalism is the federal principle or system of government. It is a method of government that allows two or more entities to share control over the same geographic region. Federalism provides a kind of check and balance, as the state governments and federal government would both have certain ways to limit and influence each other. The founders of federalism are Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and George Washington. Federalism started in 1789 to avoid tyranny, to allow more participation and so that we can use the states as laboratories for new ideas and programs. Some types of federalism are Dual, Cooperative, Regulated and New Federalism.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Time may be ripe for Goans to demand Special Status to Goa, by seeking amendment of the Article 371 once again to satisfy their demand. The latest such amendment as 371 (J) has approved special status to the region of north Karnataka, including six districts of Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Yadagir, Koppal and Bellary. This creates special conditions for the development of this region. The legislation granting the status was signed by the Congress backed President Pranab Mukherjee, but with political backing of Sonia Gandhi’s United Progressive Alliance.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The proposition given by Prof. P.K. Tripathi as the third sense of federalism which hecalled as the “mythical sense of federalism”18 describes that the Constitution “...underconsideration does not satisfy the essential and indispensable requirements…

    • 1469 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Federalism in India

    • 3262 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution of India in which the Union of India is permanent and indestructible. Both the Centre and the States are co-operating and coordinating institutions having independence and ought to exercise their respective powers with mutual adjustment, respect, understanding and accommodation. Tension and conflict of the interests of the Centre and the respective units is an integral part of federalism. Prevention as well as amelioration of conflicts is necessary. Thus, the Indian federalism was devised with a strong Centre. Federalism with a strong Centre was inevitable as the framers of the Indian Constitution were aware that there were economic disparities as several areas of India were economically as well as industrially far behind in comparison to others. The nation was committed to a socio economic revolution not only to secure the basic needs of the common man and economic unity of the country but also to bring about a fundamental change in the structure of Indian society in accordance with the egalitarian principles. With these considerations in mind the Constitution makers devised the Indian federation with a strong Union.…

    • 3262 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nature of Indian Constitution

    • 11186 Words
    • 45 Pages

    In a federal set up there is a two tier of Government with well assigned powers and functions. In this system the central government and the governments of the units act within a well defined sphere, co-ordinate and at the same time act independently. The federal polity, in other words, provides a constitutional device for bringing unity in diversity and for the achievement of common national goals. K.C. Wheare defines federal government as an association of states, which has been formed for certain common purposes, but in which the member states retain a large measure of their original independence. A federal government exists when the powers of the government for a community are divided substantially according to a principle that there is a single independent authority for the whole area in respect of some matters and there are independent regional authorities for other matters, each set of authorities being co-ordinate to and subordinate to the others within its own sphere. The Constitution of India has adopted federal features; though it does not, in fact, claim that it establishes a federation. The question whether the Indian Constitution could be called a federal constitution troubled the minds of the members of the Constituent Assembly. This question cannot be answered without going into the meaning of federalism and the essential features that are evident in federal state.…

    • 11186 Words
    • 45 Pages
    Powerful Essays