Class 10 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions and Answers Federalism

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Class 10 Civics Chapter 2 Extra Questions and Answers Federalism

Federalism Class 10 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 2 Very Short Answers Type

Question 1.
What is meant by federalism? (Imp)
Answer:
Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.

Question 2.
What status has been given to the Hindi language by the Constitution of India? (Imp)
Answer:
Hindi has been given the status of official language by the Constitution of India.

Question 3.
Mention any one feature of federalism.
Answer:
Different levels of government govern the same citizens, but each level has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.

Question 4.
What is the percentage of seats reserved for women in local government bodies?
Answer:
The percentage of seats reserved for women in local government bodies is 33.

Question 5.
What are the dual objectives of the federal system?
Answer:

To safeguard and promote unity of the country, and
To accommodate regional diversity.

Question 6.
What are the two aspects of an ideal federal system? (Imp)
Answer:

Mutual trust, and
Agreement to live together.

Question 7.
What is ‘coming together’ federation? Give examples.
Answer:
It is a federation where several sovereign states come together to create a common central government to which the states surrender some of their sovereignty. This type of federation is found in the USA, Australia and Switzerland.

Question 8.
What is ‘holding together’ federation? Give examples.
Answer:
It is a federation where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government. This type of federation is found in India, Spain and Belgium.

Question 9.
What are ‘residuary’ subjects? {Imp)
Answer:
Subjects which do not fall in any of the three lists are known as ‘residuary’ subjects. For example, computer software. Since it came up after the Constitution was made, it was placed in residuary subjects and the Union Government has power to legislate on these subjects.

Question 10.
What is the role of judiciary in a federal government?
Answer:
The judiciary oversees 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.

Question 11.
Name the states which were created to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography.
Answer:
Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand.

Question 12.
What is rural local self-government popularly known as?
Answer:
It is known as the Panchayati Raj.

Question13.
Name two countries which follow ‘coming together’ federalism.
Answer:
America and Australia.

Question 14.
What is the language policy of the Government of India?
Answer:
The language policy of the Government of India is not giving the status of national language to any one language. Hindi has been identified as the official language.

Question 15.
What is meant by coalition government? (Imp)
Answer:
It is a government formed by the coming together of two or more political parties, usually when no single party enjoys majority support of the members in a legislature. The partners in a coalition form a political alliance and adopt a common programme.

Question 16.
What is meant by decentralisation?
Answer:
When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralisation.

Question 17.
What is the basic idea behind decentralisation?
Answer:
The basic idea behind decentralisation is that there are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level.

Question 18.
How is the village sarpanch elected?
Answer:
He/she is directly elected by all the adult population living in that village. He/she presides over the meetings of the gram panchayat.

Question 19.
What functions does the gram sabha perform?
Answer:
The gram sabha approves the annual budget of the gram panchayat and reviews the performance of the gram panchayat.

Question 20.
Which local body has the ‘Mayor’ as its head?
Answer:
The head of the municipal corporation is known as the Mayor.

Question 21.
What is called Panchayat Samiti?
OR
How is Panchayat Samiti formed?
Answer:
A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form a Panchayat Samiti or block or mandal.

Question 22.
A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992. What was it?
Answer:
The Constitution was amended to make the third-tier of democracy i.e., local government more powerful and effective.

Federalism Class 10 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 2 Short Answers Type

Question 1.
There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed. Describe them.
Answer:
(i) ‘Coming together’ federation: This is the first route which involves independent states coming together on their own to form a bigger unit and the states surrender some of their sovereignty to it. This type of federation includes the USA, Switzerland and Australia. All the constituent states in this type usually have equal power and are strong with regard to the federal government.

(ii) ‘Holding together’ federation: This is the second route. Here a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government. These types of federations are found in India, Spain and Belgium. In this category, the central government tends to be more powerful in comparison to the states. Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. Some units are even granted special powers.

Question 2.
Contrast federal form of governments with those of unitary governments.
Answer:
Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government. The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government. But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something. State government has power of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. Both these governments are separately answerable to the people.

Question 3.
How can you say that Jammu and Kashmir enjoys a special status?
OR
Mention three points that give Jammu and Kashmir a special status.
OR
All states in Indian Union do not have identical powers. Explain with reference to Jammu and Kashmir. (Imp)
Answer:
Some states in Indian Union enjoy a special status. Jammu and Kashmir is one of them.

This state has its own constitution.
Many provisions of the Indian Constitution are not applicable to this state without the approval of the State Assembly.
Indians who are not permanent residents of this state cannot buy land or house here.

Question 4.
‘Federal power sharing is more effective today than it was before’. Explain. (Imp)
Answer:
(i) Before 1990, the centre-state relations were very different from what it is today. Because the same political party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the states. The State governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units. Very often the centre tried to undermine the power of the states.

(ii) 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 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. Thus, a new trend of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of the State governments emerged.

(iii) The Supreme Court of the country made a major judgement that made it difficult for the Central government to dismiss state governments in an arbitrary manner. All these changes made federal power sharing more effective after 1990.

Question 5.
Describe what undermined the spirit of federalism before 1990.
Answer:
In a true federal system, the Central government cannot order the State governments to do something. State governments have powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the Central government. But the situation was sharply different before 1990. This period saw the Centre more powerful and effective than the State governments. For a long time, the same political 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.

Question 6.
Power sharing between the Union and the State governments is basic to the structure of the Indian Constitution. Explain.
Answer:
Our Constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government. It is not easy to make changes to this power sharing arrangement. The Parliament cannot on its own change this arrangement. Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least two-thirds majority.

Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total states. Above all this, there is judiciary which oversees 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. The Union and State governments have the power to raise resources by levying taxes in order to carry on the government and the responsibilities assigned to each of them.

Question 7.
Describe in brief the panchayati raj system. (Imp)
Answer:
Rural local government is popularly known by the name Panchayati raj. The panchayati raj is a three there system. In other words, we can say that panchayati raj system works at three levels

(i) Gram Panchayat at village level: This is a council consisting of several ward members, often called panch, and a president or sarpanch. They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village. It is the decision-making body for the entire village. The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the gram sabha.

(ii) Block Samiti at block level: A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti or mandal or block. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that area.

(iii) Zilla Parishad at district level: Zilla Parishad is the body at highest level of the panchayati raj system. All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla (district) parishad.

Question 8.
Give three reasons that highlight the need for power sharing within the states of India. (Imp)
Answer:

India is a vast country and cannot be run only through the two-tiers (the Union Government, rep-resenting the entire country and the state governments).
States in India are as large as independent countries of Europe. Many of these states are internally very diverse.
Federal power sharing in India needs another tier of government, below that of the State governments, in order to solve the grassroot problems more efficiently and quickly.

Question 9.
What do you know about Zilla Parishad and its composition? Also mention its functions.
Answer:
Zilla Parishad is the highest institution of the panchayati raj system.
Composition: All the panchayat samities or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla parishad. Most members of the zilla parishad are elected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs 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.

Functions:
Zilla Parishad extends support to gram panchayats and block samitis. It also gives advice to these bodies whenever required. It supervises the community development programmes of the district.

Question 10.
What is Gram Sabha? Mention its important functions.
Answer:
Gram Sabha is one of the three main bodies of the panchayat system. It consists of all adult men and women in a village. Its functions are-

The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the gram sabha.
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.
If not satisfied with the work of the panchayat, it has the power to remove its members by a vote of no-confidence.

Question 11.
Give a brief description of local government bodies that exist for urban areas.
Answer:
(i) The local urban bodies have been created for the towns and big cities. The towns or small cities have municipalities. Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations. Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s representatives.

(ii) The political head of the municipality is the municipal chairperson. In a municipal corporation such an officer is called the Mayor.

(iii) The local urban bodies solve the problems of their area relating to water supply, health, drainage, waste management, cleanliness, lighting, etc.

Question 12.
What were the reasons behind the creation of linguistic states? What are their advantages? (Imp)
OR
Explain how the federal experiment has been successful in the matter of formation of states in India.
Answer:
(i) In 1947, the boundaries of several old states of India were changed in order to create new states. This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same state.

(ii) Some states like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography.

In the beginning, the Central government was not in the favour of linguistic states. But the experience has shown that the formation of linguistic states has actually made the country more united, and stronger. It has also made administration easier.

Question 13.
Mention two achievements and two difficulties of the local self-governments in India.
Answer:
Two achievements

Local-self governments have made the local administration easier and more effective.
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.

Two difficulties

While elections are held regularly, gram sabhas are not held regularly.
Most state governments have not transferred significant powers to the local governments. Nor have they given adequate resources.

Federalism Class 10 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 2 Long Answers Type

Question 1.
Throw light on the key features of federalism.
Answer:
Following are the key features of federalism-
(i) There are two or more levels or tiers of government.

(ii) Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.

(iii) The jurisdictions of the respective tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So, the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.

(iv) 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.

(v) Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.

(vi) The federal system has dual objectives – to safeguard and promote unity of the country, while at the same time accommodate regional diversity. Also, the governments at different levels should trust each other and agree to live together.

Question 2.
What makes India a federal country?
OR
Describe the power-sharing arrangements in India.
Answer:
The Constitution declared India as a Union of States. Although there is no mention of the word federation in the Constitution, the Indian Union is based on the principles of federalism. Originally we had two- tier system of government – a general government for the entire country and governments at the state level but later, a third tier of federalism was added in the form of panchayats and municipalities. These different tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction. Our Constitution provided a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union government and the State governments. It contains three lists-

(i) Union List: The list includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. These are the matters on which the Union Government alone can make laws.

(ii) State List: This list contains subjects of state and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. These are the matters on which the State government alone can make laws.

(iii) Concurrent List: This list includes subjects of common interest to both the Union government as well as the State governments, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession. Both the Union as well as the State governments can make laws on the subjects mentioned in this list. In case of conflict, the law made by the Union Government will prevail.

There are also some matters which do not fall in any of the three lists and they are called residuary subjects. Subjects like computer software came up after the constitution was made and the Union Government has the power to legislate on these residuary subjects.

Question 3.
Throw light on the language policy of India.
OR
Write the characteristic features of India’s language policy.
Answer:
The Indian Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language. Since Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 percent of Indians, so 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. States too have their own official languages. Much of the government work takes place in the official language of the concerned state.

Indian leaders adopted a very cautious attitude in spreading the use of Hindi. According to the Constitution, the use of English for official purposes was to stop in 1965. But many non-Hindi speaking states stood against such decision. They demanded that the use of English continue.

Finally the Central Government agreed to continue the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes. Moreover, the promotion of Hindi continues to be 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. Thus, India’s language policy is fully balanced.

Question 4.
Which five provisions of the constitutional amendment of 1992 really strengthened the third tier of democracy in India? (Imp)
OR
How has the third tier of the government in our country been made more effective and powerful by the constitutional amendment of 1992?
OR
What steps have been taken by the government to make the third tier more powerful and effective?
OR
What major steps were taken in 1992 towards decentralisation of power in India?
Answer:
Our Constitution was amended in 1992 to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective. The following provisions were adopted in this regard

Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for the scheduled castes (SCs) scheduled tribes (STs) and other backward classes (OBCs).
At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each state to conduct 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 5.
Describe the structure of the panchayati raj system, both in rural and urban areas.
Answer:
Rural local government is popularly known by the name Panchayati raj. The panchayati raj is a three there system. In other words, we can say that panchayati raj system works at three levels

(iv) The local urban bodies have been created for the towns and big cities. The towns or small cities have municipalities. Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations. Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s representatives.

(v) The political head of the municipality is the municipal chairperson. In a municipal corporation such an officer is called the Mayor.

(vi) The local urban bodies solve the problems of their area relating to water supply, health, drainage, waste management, cleanliness, lighting, etc.

Question 6.
Describe how the division of power takes place between the Central and State governments in India. (Imp)
Answer:
The Constitution declared India as a Union of States. Although there is no mention of the word federation in the Constitution, the Indian Union is based on the principles of federalism.

Originally we had two- tier system of government – a general government for the entire country and governments at the state level but later, a third tier of federalism was added in the form of panchayats and municipalities. These different tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction. Our Constitution provided a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union government and the State governments. It contains three lists-

Question 7.
Most federations that are formed by ‘holding together’ do not give equal power to its constituent units. To what extent this statement is true in Indian context?
Answer:
In India too we find that all of its states 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 approval of the State Assembly. Indians who are not permanent residents of this state cannot buy land or house here. Similarly special provisions exists for some other states of India as well.

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 emerged with any of the existing states. These areas, like Chandigarh, or Lakshadweep or the capital city of Delhi, are called Union Territories. These territories do not avail powers of a state. The administration in these territories is run under the instruction of the Central government.

Question 8.
‘The creation of linguistic states was the first and major test for democratic politics in our country’. Support the statement.
Answer:
(i) In 1947, the boundaries of several old states of India were changed in order to create new states. This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same state.

(ii) Some states like Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography.

Question 9.
‘The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country.’ Justify the statement.
OR
Why has federalism succeeded in India? What policies were adopted by the country to ensure this success?
OR
Describe how is federalism practised in India.
Answer:
The federal experiment has succeeded in India mainly due to the nature of democratic politics in our country. Although the clearly laid out constitutional provisions have also played their important role in making Indian federalism a success, the nature of democratic politics ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together became shared ideals in our country. Some of the major ways in which this happened are given below:

(i) In 1947, the boundaries of several old states of India were changed in order to create new state. This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same state. States such as Nagaland, Uttrakhand and Jharkhand were created to recognise differences based on culture, ethnicity or geography. Such changes have brought good results. The formation of linguistic states has made our country stronger and more united.

(ii) India’s language policy is the second test for its federation. Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution. States too have their own official language.

(iii) Restructuring the centre-state relations has also strengthened the practice of federalism in India.Before 1990, there was a trend that 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. But all this changed after 1990 with the rise of regional parties in many states of the country. As a result, coalition governments emerged at the Centre. This led to a new culture of power-sharing and respect for the autonomy of state governments.

(iv) A major judgement of the Supreme Court has also put a check on the Central government. Now it cannot dismiss state governments in an arbitrary manner.

Federalism Class 10 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 2 Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) Questions

Question 1.
Why is decentralisation favoured in democracy? Give reasons.
OR
What is the basic idea behind decentralisation?
OR
What is decentralisation? Why is it important in democracy?
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.The need for decentralisation was recognised in our Constitution. As a result, panchayats in villages and municipalities in urban areas were set up in all the states.

Question 2.
Mention three points that show there was very little decentralisation in effective terms before 1992.
Answer:

In an effort to decentralise power, 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 bodies were not held regularly.
Local governments did not have any powers or resources of their own.

Question 3.
Mention various functions of urban local bodies.
Answer:
Urban local bodies i.e., municipalities and municipal corporations perform several functions.
Some of them are-

To keep the town/city clean and suitable arrangements are made in this direction.
To make arrangement for water supply.
Construction and maintenance of roads and public buildings, forest, public wells, etc. within city limits.
To make arrangement for lighting in public buildings, streets and roads.
Maintenance of public health facilities.
To establish schools and to maintain public libraries, museums and zoos.
Registration of births and deaths.

Question 4.
Critically evaluate the linguistic diversity that exists in India.
Answer:
(i) The latest information that we have about the linguistic diversity of India is from the Census of the country held in 2001. This Census recorded more than 1500 distinct languages which people mentioned as their mother tongues.

(ii) These languages were grouped together under some major languages. For example, languages like Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Rajasthani and Bhili and many others were grouped together under ‘Hindi’.

(iii) Even after this grouping, the Census found 114 major languages. Of these, 22 languages are now included in the eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and are called Scheduled Languages. Others are called ‘non-Scheduled Languages.’

(iv) The Scheduled Languages include Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Federalism Class 10 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 2 Value-based Questions (VBQs)

Question 1.
What is the importance of the panchayati raj system? Which values are associated with it?
Answer:
The panchayati raj system emerged in an effort to decentralise powers to the level of villages. The values associated with this system are:

The problems and issues at the local level are settled efficiently and quickly.
The system gives opportunity to the local people to directly participate in decision making. The decisions made by them prove to be more practical and satisfactory.
Such participation helps to inculcate a feeling of responsibility among the local people. They come to know their worth and feel elated. Thus, their energy is used in positive things. They become more responsible, and help in the smooth running of the village administration.

Question 2.
Which values are reflected by federalism?
Answer:
(i) Federalism is based on the principle of power sharing arrangement. Needless to say that this arrangement brings peace and coordination all around.

(ii) Federal system not only safeguards and promotes the unity of the country, but also accommodates regional diversity. It is working well in a diverse country like India.

(iii) Federalism promotes trust between governments at different levels. Agreement to live together is also an important aspect to this system.

(iv) The system leaves least chance of complaints and grievances. Everyone feels satisfied and does his/her bit.