CBSE Class 10 Social Science Federalism Important Questions Set B

Assertion and Reasoning Based Questions

Mark the option which is most suitable :
(a) If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion.
(b) If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion.
(c) If assertion is true but reason is false.
(d) If both assertion and reason are false.

Question. Assertion : Belgium and Spain has ‘holding together’ federation.
Reason : A big country divides power between constituent states and national government.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (a)

Question. Assertion : India is a federation.
Reason : Power resides with the central authority.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (a)

Question. Assertion : Coalition government is formed during dearth of coal in the country.
Reason : It helps in overcoming coal crisis.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (d)

Question. Assertion : India has a federal system.
Reason : Under a unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to Central government.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (b)

Question. Assertion : Zilla Parishad Chairperson is the political head of the Zilla Parishad.
Reason : Mayor is the head of municipalities.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (b)

Question. Assertion : A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992 by amending the constitution.
Reason : Constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (a)

Question. Assertion : Third-tier of government is local government.
Reason : It made democracy weak.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (c)

Question. Assertion : Hindi is identified as the only official language of India.
Reason : It helped in creating supremacy of Hindi speaking people over others.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (c)

Question. Assertion : The subjects which are not included in Union List, State List and Concurrent List are considered as residuary subjects.
Reason : The subjects included that came after constitution was made and thus, could not be classified.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (a)

Question. Assertion : It is very simple to make the changes in the basic structure of the constitution.
Reason : Both the houses have power to amend the constitution independently.
(a) Option (a)
(b) Option (b)
(c) Option (c)
(d) Option (d)
Answer: (d)

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. Name any two subjects that are included in Concurrent List. How are laws made on these subjects ? Explain. 
Answer: Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest to both the Union and State government. These subjects are education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession etc. Both the state and the Union governments can make laws on these subjects. But if the laws made by both the government contradict each other, or a dead lock is created, then the law made by the Union government will prevail.

Question. How is sharing of power between the Union and the State governments forms the basic to the structure of the Constitution of India ? Explain.
Answer: Sharing of power between the Union and the State governments is very basic to the structure of the Constitution. The Constitution has distributed the legislative powers between the state government and Union government by dividing the subjects in Union list and State list, on which, these governments can make laws respectively. There is Concurrent list as well on which, both the governments can make laws. Many provisions of the Indian Constitution are not applicable in the states without the approval of the state government. On the other hand, the Union government enjoys its own hold over some of the union territories. This distribution of power is well embedded in the provisions of the constitution and is its basic structure.

Question. Under which type of federation India comes ? Mention any two features of such federation. 
Answer: India comes under ‘holding together’ federations. Features of this type of federation are: (i) The power is divided between the constituent States and the national government. Central government tends to have more powers vis-a vis the States. (ii) Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers. Some units are granted special powers. (iii) India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of federation.

Question. Which features of Panchayati Raj do you like the most and why ? Explain. 
Answer: There are so many features of Panchayati Raj system. But the feature I like the most is that there are seats reserved for women. About 1/3 seats are reserved for women in the rural local bodies. In my point of view it is a revolutionary step which works for women empowerment and it creates leadership quality in the women of India, which is almost half of the population of the country.

Question. Explain any three forms of power sharing among different organs of government in India. 
Answer: Forms of power sharing are : (i) Horizontal form of power sharing e.g., Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. (ii) Vertical form of power sharing e.g., Union government and State government. (iii) Power sharing between political parties and pressure groups and movements e.g., colonial government

Question. Explain the two levels of a federal system.
Answer: The two levels of a federal system are : (i) The central authority which is responsible for few subjects of common national interest. (ii) The governments at state level which are responsible for administering day-to-day affairs of their respective states.

Question. What is the reason for real success of federalism in India ?
Answer: The credit of real success of federalism in India can be attributed to democratic politics. It helped in ensuring that diversity is dually respected and the desire for living together becomes a mutual idea for the country.

Question. Why is it difficult to make changes in power sharing arrangement between union government and state government ? Explain with examples.
Answer: It is difficult to make changes in power sharing arrangement between Union government and state government as parliament can’t make any changes on its own. Any change in power sharing arrangement in India has to be first passed through both the houses of Parliament with at least two-third majority. Then, it has to be approved by the governments of at least half of the total States.

Question. Explain the role of judiciary in a federal system.
Answer: In a federal system judiciary plays an important role of ensuring the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. If any dispute arises between Centre and States regarding exercise of power, it is settled either by supreme court or high court.

Question. Panchayat Samiti exist at what level and how is it formed ?
Answer: Panchayat Samiti is formed at block level. Gram Panchayats of a block together form a Block or Panchayat Samiti or Mandal. Its members are elected by the members of all the Panchayats in that block.

Question. Describe the rationale behind the implementation of Decentralisation in India. 
Answer: The rationales behind the implementation of decentralisation in India are : (i) India is a vast country; central government is unable to hear the needs of people from different areas. (ii) The local government can easily understand the needs and demands of their people. (iii) It helps women to participate in decision making process because 33% seats are reserved for women in local government. (iv) It takes off burden from central and state government. (v) It strengthens democracy. (vi) At the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making.

Question. Describe any three provisions of amendment made in ‘Indian Constitution’ in 1992 for making ‘Three-Tier’ government more effective and powerful. 
Answer: (a) It is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular and free elections to local bodies (Panchayats and municipal corporations, other urban and rural local bodies). (b) Reservation of seats in local bodies and executive heads for scheduled classes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes. (c) 1/3rd of the seats reserved for women. (d) Independent State Election Commission set up to conduct municipal and panchayata elections. (e) State govt. are supposed to transfer some power and resources to local bodies. This distribution varies from state to state.

Read the sources given below and answer the questions that follows–
Source A– Centre State Relations
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 entre 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
Source B– Linguistic Diversity of India
The latest information that we have is from the Census of India in 2011. This census recorded more than 1300 distinct language which people mentioned as their mother tongues. These languages were grouped together to come under major languages. For example language like Bhojpuri, Magadhi, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Rajasthani and many other were grouped together under ‘Hindi’. Even after this grouping, the census found 121 major languages. Of these 22 language are now included in the Eight Schedule of the Indian Constitution and are therefore called ‘Scheduled Language’ Others are called ‘non Scheduled Language’. In terms of language, India is perhaps the most diverse country in the world.
Source C– Decentralisation in India
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.

Question. What is the coalition governments ?
Answer: When no single party got majority in the Lok Sabha, the Major national parties had to enter into an alliance with many parties to form a government at the centre. This kind of government is called coalition government.

Question. What are ‘Scheduled languages’?
Answer: As per Census 2011, out of 121 major languages, 22 languages are now included in the Eighth Scheduled of the Indian Constitution and are therefore called scheduled languages.

Question. State any one advantage of decentralisation ?
Answer: The most important benefit of decentralisation is to solve the regional issues at the local level as the people of the area have better knowledge of the regional issues.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. Why has federalism succeeded in India ? Which three policies adopted by India have ensured this success ?
Answer: Federalism is the system of government in which power is shared among the different institutions not within the single constitution body. The constitution outlines the details of power and functioning of the governments at different levels. India has tried to accommodate all its diversities in its federal set up. The policies that ensures success are : (i) Linguistic states : States are divided on the basis of the language spoken in the state or region. Eg. Marathi is the language of Maharashtra, Assamese is the language of Assam. (ii) Language policy : All languages have equal rights. There is no state language in the country. (iii) Centre state relations : Powers are distributed among the two states and centres.

Question. Mention any two achievements and shortcomings of Panchayati Raj system in India.
Answer: Following are its major achievement : (i) The concept of local government helped in taking democracy to the grass-root level. (ii) It helped in increasing representation of scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward (OBC) and woman candidates.
Shortcomings: (i) Though, elections are held regularly, yet, meetings of Gram Sabhas, Block Commitiees and Zila Parishads are not held regularly. (ii) Most of the State governments are reluctant to share powers and revenue with the Local government.

Question. Explain the three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the union government and the state governments. OR Explain how India can be regarded as a federalist country ? OR Explain how power is distributed among Centre and States through a three-fold distribution system ?
Answer: India has a three-tier federalism with distribution of power between Union of India, the State governments, and Panchayats and Municipalities. Each of the three different tiers enjoy separate jurisdiction. The Constitution clearly laid a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments through Union List, State List and Concurrent List.
Union List : It includes Now 100 originally - 97 subjects of national importance like national defence, foreign affairs, communications, banking and currency. The Union Government is given liberty to make laws associated with the subjects included in the Union List.
State List : It contains Now 61 originally - 66 subjects of State and regional importance like police, agriculture and irrigation, trade and commerce. The State Governments are given liberty to make and implement laws associated with the subjects included in the State List.
Concurrent List : It consists of subjects of common interest to the Union Government and the State Governments, like education, forest, marriage, adoption, trade unions and succession. Both the Union and the State Governments is given liberty to make laws related with the subjects included in this list. In case of any contradiction, the law made by the Union Government will be followed.

Question. Explain the rational behind decentralisation. Discuss the role of rural local government.
Answer: The rational behind decentralisation is that the regional issues. Moreover, these people also have better knowledge of where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently. It is also possible for the people to directly participate in the decision- making at the local level and it helps in inculcating the habit of democratic participation.
The role of rural local government is as follows : The rural local government has a three- tier structure. At the apex is the District or Zila Parishad followed by Block or Mandal and Village Panchayat. The ‘Village’ is the smallest unit of Indian government. At Village level there is gram panchayat, which is run by the Sarpanch and his team of representatives. A few Gram panchayat from a Block. At Block level there is Panchayat Samiti or Block Committee. All Panchayat Samiti of a District or Zila Parishad. Members of Lok Sabha and Members of Legislative assembly (MLAs) are members of Zila Parishad.

Question. How are Gram Panchayats formed ?
Answer: Local government at village level is known as Panchayati Raj. Gram Panchayat is the smallest unit of the three-tier system at village level. Every village or group of villages at some places form a village panchayat. There are many ward members, which are known as Panch and the head of the gram panchayat is sarpanch. The ward members are directly elected by the voters of the ward or village. It acts as a decision-making body for the village/group of villages. All the people of the village are its voters and it is supervised by gram sabha. Its meeting is held twice or thrice in a year for approval of its annual budget and for reviewing its performance and progress.

Question. Explain how Zila Parishad is formed.
Answer: Panchayat Samitis or mandals of a district form a Zila Parishad. members of the Lok Sabha and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the district and some officials of other district level bodies are also its members. Its political head is Zila Parishad chairperson. Most members of Zila Parishad are elected.

Question. Explain the local bodies in an urban area ?
Answer: The third-tier of federal system at the urban level are municipalities and Municipal Corporations. Municipalities are established in small towns and Municipal Corporations are formed in big cities. The municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies which consist of people’s representatives. The political head of a municipality is a Municipal Chairperson and the political head of a Municipal Corporation is known as ‘Mayor’.

Read the extract and answer the questions that follows :
Rural local government is popularly known by the name Panchayati Raj. Each village or a group of villages in some States, has a gram panchayat. This is a council consisting of several ward members, often called panch, and a president or sarpanch. The local government structure goes right up to the district level. A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti or block or mandal. The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that area. Similarly, local government bodies exist for urban areas as well. Municipalities are set up in towns. Big cities are constituted into municipal corporations.

Question. Who elects or chooses the members of the gram panchayat?
Answer: The members of the gram panchayat are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village.

Question. Explain the composition of zila parishad.
Answer: (i) All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zila parishad. Most members of the zila parishad are elected. (ii) Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members. (iii) Zila parishad chairperson is the political head of the Zila Parishad.

Question. Describe the composition of municipalities and corporations.
Answer: (i) Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people’s representatives. (ii) Municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality. (iii) In a municipal corporation such as an officer is called the mayor.

Read the source given below and answer the following questions.
Union List includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in this list because we need a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the Union List. State List contains subjects of State and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The State Governments 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. If their laws conflict with each other, the law made by the Union Government will prevail.
Answer the following MCQs by choosing the most appropriate option:

Question. In which of the following categories the legislative powers have been distributed between the Union Government and the State Government ?
(a) Union List
(b) State List
(c) Concurrent List
(d) All of these
Answer: (d)

Question. How many subjects are mentioned in the Union List?
(a) 44
(b) 86
(c) 97
(d) All of the above.
Answer: (c)

Question. Which one of the following subjects is included in the State List ?
(a) Agriculture
(b) Defence
(c) Marriage
(d) All of them
Answer: (a)

Question. Which of the following can make laws regarding currency?
(a) Union Government
(b) State Government
(c) Local Government
(d) All of them
Answer: (a)