Title Chapter 2 Federalism.pdf ✅

(1) FEDERALISM 02 Federalism Federalism and its Features Federalism is a democratic form of government in which the power to govern the country is shared or divided between the Central and the State Governments. Largely, both these levels of government work independently of each other. Examples: India, USA, Australia, Switzerland In contrast to federalism, there also exists a unitary form of government. In the unitary form of government, all powers are concentrated only in the hands of the Central Government. Provincial governments or local governments may exist, but they are bound to work according to the guidelines provided by the Central Government. Examples: Great Britain, Sri Lanka, North Korea Main Features of Federalism Some main features of the federal form of government are • There are two or three levels of governments—Central Government, State Government and Local Government. • Each level of government administers over the same region, but they have their own jurisdiction in matters of administration, taxation and legislation. • The Government at each level derives its power from the Constitution of the country. Thus, the Central Government cannot dilute the powers of the State or Local Governments. • The basic principles of the Constitution and the rights given to the people cannot be changed by only one tier of the Government. It requires the consent of governments at both levels. • Courts of the country act as a referee between the Central and the State Governments if any dispute arises between the two. • Both levels of the Government can collect taxes from the people according to the guidelines of the Constitution of the country. • Federalism thus not only safeguards the unity of the nation but also maintains the regional and linguistic diversities of the people. It is to be noticed that both levels of government should agree to the rules of power sharing and trust each other. Powers of the Central and the State Governments differ from country to country. There are two ways in which a country may become federal. When independent states come together and form one country, they retain their power to maintain their identity. This kind of federation is called ‘coming together’ federations. Examples: USA and Australia. The second way in which a country can become federal is when it decides to divide its powers between the Central and the State Governments. This may be termed ‘holding together’ federations. Examples: India and Spain.