Class 10 Social Science Notes — Chapter 13: Federalism
Federal structure of India — features, decentralisation, and language policy.
Detailed NCERT notes
- Federalism = government at more than one level, with each level having some independent decision-making powers under a written constitution.
- Features: two or more levels of government; each level has its own jurisdiction; sources of revenue are specified; the constitution guarantees the arrangement; independent judiciary settles disputes.
- Two routes to federalism:
- Coming-together — independent states join for mutual benefit (USA, Switzerland, Australia); constituent units are strong.
- Holding-together — a large country divides power among constituent units to accommodate diversity (India, Spain, Belgium); centre stronger.
- India is 'holding-together' federalism with a strong Union.
- Constitution provides three lists:
- Union list — 100 subjects; only Parliament makes laws (defence, foreign affairs, banking, currency).
- State list — 61 subjects; only state legislatures (police, trade, agriculture).
- Concurrent list — 52 subjects; both (education, forest, marriage, adoption). Union law prevails in case of conflict.
- Residuary powers (like cyber laws) rest with the Union.
- Special status: Article 371 (special provisions for some north-eastern states, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka); former Article 370 for J&K abrogated in 2019 (fact-based reference).
- Union Territories: administered by centre; some (Delhi, Puducherry) have their own legislature.
- Language policy: India adopted a plural approach; Hindi as official language (Article 343) with English as associate; states can adopt regional languages (Eighth Schedule now lists 22 languages).
- Reorganisation of states on linguistic lines began with Andhra (1953) and States Reorganisation Act (1956); India now has 28 states and 8 UTs.
- Centre–state relations: earlier dominated by Congress; became more balanced after coalition politics from 1990s; growing role of finance commissions and NITI Aayog.
- Decentralisation: 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (1992) empowered Panchayati Raj (rural) and Municipalities (urban); mandatory elections every 5 years; reservation for women (33%), SC/ST; State Election Commissions and State Finance Commissions.
- Three-tier PRI: Gram Panchayat (village), Panchayat Samiti (block), Zila Parishad (district). Gram Sabha oversees the panchayat.
Formulas & key results
Mind map
- Coming-together vs holding-together
- Union/State/Concurrent lists; Residuary → Union
- Language policy; linguistic reorganisation
- Decentralisation → 73rd & 74th amendments
Tricks & shortcuts
- Concurrent list conflict → Union law wins.
- 73rd = Panchayats, 74th = Municipalities.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming India is 'coming-together' — it is holding-together.
- Ignoring the role of the finance commission.
Competency-based questions & answers
- Q. How has decentralisation strengthened Indian democracy?A. Panchayats and municipalities empower local decision-making; reservations for women and SC/ST have created grassroots representation and better public accountability.
- Q. Why did India adopt a plural language policy?A. Deep linguistic diversity meant imposing a single language would have alienated large regions (as happened with Sinhala-only in Sri Lanka); a plural policy accommodates all groups.