Class 10 Social Science Notes for Session 2025-26 Chapter - 2 Federalism
Class 10 Social Science Notes for Session 2025-26 Chapter - 2 Federalism
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For Session 2025-2026
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CBSE
CLASS 10
Social Science
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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.
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02
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Zilla
Parishad
(District level)
Panchayat Samiti
(Block Level)
Gram Panchayat
(Village Level)
Municipal Corporations
• Urban local bodies in small towns are known as municipalities. Large cities have
municipal corporations. Both local bodies consist of representatives elected by the
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people.
• The Municipal Chairperson is the head of the municipality, while the Mayor is the head
of the Municipal Corporation.
This new system of local government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted
anywhere in the world. 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.
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Important Questions
Multiple Choice questions-
1. The System of Panchayati Raj involves
(a) The village, block and district levels
(b) The village, and state levels
(c) The village district and state levels
(d) The village, state and Union levels
2. In case of a clash between the laws made by the centre and a state on a subject in
the concurrent list:
(a) the state law prevails.
(b) the central law prevails.
(c) both the laws prevail within their respective jurisdictions.
(d) the Supreme Court has to intervene to decide.
3. Which of the following subjects is not included in the state list?
(a) Law and order
(b) National defence
(c) Education
(d) Agriculture
4. In India’s federal system, the state governments have the power to legislate on all
those subjects which are included in the:
(a) Union list
(b) State list
(c) Concurrent list
(d) Residuary subjects
5. The Constitution of India
(a) divided powers between Centre and states in three lists.
(b) divided powers between Centre and states in two lists.
(c) listed the powers of the states and left the undefined powers to the state.
(d) Specified the powers of the states and left the residuary powers with the Centre.
6. Which of the following government has two or more levels?
(a) Community Government
(b) Coalition Government
(c) Federal Government
(d) Unitary Government
7. Which of the following countries is an example of “coming together federation”?
(a) U.S.A
(b) India
(c) Spain
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02
(d) Belgium
8. Here are three reactions to the language policy followed in India. Which of the
following holds true in the case of India?
(a) The policy of accommodation has strengthened national unity.
(b) Language based states have divided us by making everyone conscious of their
language.
(c) The language policy has only helped to consolidate the dominance of English over
all other languages.
9. Consider the following statements on the practice of federalism in India. Identify
those which hold true for decentralisation after 1992.
A. Local governments did not have any power or resources of their own.
B. It became constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government
bodies.
C. The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local
government bodies.
D. No seats are reserved in the elected bodies for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes
and other backward classes.
(a) B and C
(b) A and C
(c) A and D
(d) B and D
10. In a ‘Holding together federation’:
A. A large country divides its power between constituent states and the national
government.
B. The Central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the States.
C. All the constituent states usually have equal powers.
D. Constituent states have unequal powers.
Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) A, B, C and D
(b) A and D
(c) B and C
(d) A, B and D
11. Which among the following are examples of ‘Coming together federations’?
(a) India, Spain and Belgium
(b) India, USA and Spain
(c) USA, Switzerland and Australia
(d) Belgium and Sri Lanka
12. The Union List includes subjects such as:
(a) Education, forests, trade unions, marriages, adoption and succession.
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(A) Union Territory (i) Decision-making body for the entire village
(B) Local self (ii) An alliance of more than government two parties
(D) Zila Parishad (iv) Area which is run by the Union / Central government
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8. The Subjects like-Defense, Banking and Communication are come under which list?
9. Point out one feature in the practice of federation in India that is similar from that
of Belgium.
10. Point out one feature in the practice of federation in India that is different from to
that of Belgium.
Short Questions-
1. Why is the central government of India not compelling states to adopt Hindi as their
official language?
2. Contrast a federal system of government with a unitary set-up with examples.
3. Highlight the two types of routs through which the federations are formed. Give
example.
4. Explain the role of union list, state list and concurrent list with context to India.
5. What are significances of Panchayat Raj?
6. Explain the organization of the local government bodies of urban areas.
7. Differentiate between Federal Government and the Unitary Government.
8. How federalism leads to reservation of seats for different caste groups?
9. What was the Amendment in regard to decentralization?
10. How is the Federal government better than a Unitary Government? Explain with
the example of Belgium and Sri Lanka.
Long Questions-
1. Explain five changes towards decentralization brought in the Constitution after the
Amendments made in 1992.
2. Is it right to say that India is federal country but the word federalism is not used
anywhere in the constitution? Explain.
3. What is the rationale for decentralization of power? Explain the structure of Rural
local government in India.
4. How is the Federal government better than a Unitary Government? Explain with the
example of Belgium and Sri Lanka.
Assertion Reason Questions:
1. DIRECTION: Mark the option which is most suitable:
a. If both assertion (A) and reason (R) are true and reason (R) is the correct
explanation of assertion (A).
b. If both assertion (A) and reason (R) are true, but reason (R) is not the correct
explanation of assertion (A).
c. Assertion (A) is true, but reason (R) is false.
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that the formation of linguistic States has actually made the country, more united.
It has also made administration easier.
i. Select the two bases on which new states of India have been created.
a. Religion and geography.
b. Language and regional culture.
c. Culture and religion.
d. Language and community.
ii. Which state of India was first form on the bases of language?
a. Karnataka.
b. Tamil Nadu.
c. Andhra Pradesh.
d. Telangana.
iii. Here are four reactions to the language policy followed in India. Which are
true in the case of India?
a. Language based states have divided us by making everyone conscious
of their language.
b. The policy of accommodation has strengthened national unity.
c. The language policy has only helped to consolidate the dominance of
English over all other languages.
d. It lead to the disintegration of the country.
iv. Which was the first test for democratic politics in our Country?
a. Caste problem.
b. Language problem.
c. Problems related to union territories.
d. Creation of linguistic state.
MCQ Answers-
1. Answer: a
2. Answer: b
3. Answer: b
4. Answer: b
5. Answer: a
6. Answer: c
7. Answer: a
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8. Answer: a
9. Answer: a
10.Answer: d
11.Answer: c
12.Answer: d
13.Answer: d
14.Answer: c
15.Answer: c
Very Short Answers-
1. Ans. Jammu and Kashmir
2. Ans. Federalism is a system of government, under which power is divided between
a central authority and its various constituent units.
3. Ans. In unitary government there is only one level of government and if sub units
are there, that are subordinate to the central government.
4. Ans. It is council consisting of several ward members at village level, often called
the Panch and the head is Sarpanch.
5. Ans. A few Gram Panchayats are grouped together to form a Panchayat Samiti or
Block or a Mandal.
6. Ans. All the panchayat Samitis or Mandals in a district together constitute the Zila
Parishad.
7. Ans. Mayor is the head of a Municipal Corporation.
8. Ans. Union List
9. Ans. In both countries there are two or more levels of Government.
10.Ans. In Belgium Community Government is there, but in India such type of
provision is not there.
Short Answers-
1. Ans.
a) India is multilingual country. According to the census of 1991 recorded more than
1500 distinct languages, people mentioned their mother tongues.
b) Hindi is mother tongue of only 40% of the people of India.
c) There are 21 languages recognized by the constitution.
d) In states of Southern India there has been violent opposition to Hindi.
2. Ans.
a) Federalism has at least two levels of government.
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c) In Federal system the focus is on national and state issues and in unitary system,
the focus is completely on gaining power.
d) In country like France, Italy, Japan and UK use unitary system. The countries like
US, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Austria, India, and Switzerland use federal system
of government.
8. Ans.
a) Federalism means sharing power among the central and non central authorities. it
seeks to give equal representation to all the constituent units.
b) Even in the constituent units or in states, there is diversity in the population with
respect to language, religion, caste and culture.
c) To give equal opportunity and voice to various social groups, there is reservation
for some categories like SCs, STs, OBCs and women in some areas.
d) This reservation aims to give power to the socially weaker sections of the society
to give them an equal chance and representation in the political system.
9. Ans.
a) In 1992, 73rd Amendment Act gave constituent status to the Panchayati raj
institution.
b) It created the third tier of federalism in India below the central government level
and the state government level.
c)The Objective of this Amendment was to make democracy more powerful and
effective by giving power to the grassroots units of self government.
10. Ans.
a) If we study the main difference between the federal and the unitary governments,
in the present times the federal governments certainly score over the unitary
governments, especially when people of different religions, castes and cultures
resides in one and same country.
b) In chapter Power Sharing we have seen how a unitary form of government has
proved a failure in Sri Lanka while a federal type of government has proved a great
success in Belgium.
c) In Sri Lanka Unitary government fails to solve the dispute of different sections of
the society but in Belgium the federal government gives equal respect to the
demands of different sections of the society.
d) In Belgium all types of people have been accommodated while in Majoritarianism
has been thrust upon the people especially over the minority community in Sri
Lanka.
Long Answers-
Answer 1.
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• Decentralization: When power is taken from central and state governments and is
given to local government, it is called decentralization. The Constitution was
amended in 1992 to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
• Provisions of the Constitutional Amendment of 1992 are:
(i) Now it is mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
(ii) Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these
institutions for SCs, STs and OBCs.
(iii) At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.
(iv) An independent institution called State Election Commission has been created in
each state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
(v) The state governments are required to share some powers and revenue with
local government bodies.
Answer 2.
• India had emerged as an independent nation after a painful and bloody partition.
• Soon after independence several princely states become a part of the country.
• The constitution declared India as a Union of States.
• Although it did not use the word federation, the Indian Union is based on the
principles of federalism.
• India is fulfilling all the requirements which are required for a federal country.
Answer 3.
The basic idea behind decentralization:
• Large number of problems and issues are best settled at the local level because
people have
better knowledge of their local problems.
• It helps in promoting direct participation.
Structure of Rural Local Government:
• Zila Parishad: All the mandals in a district together constitute the Zila Parishad.
Most of the members are elected and headed by a chairperson.
• Panchayat Samiti or Mandal or Block: The members of this body are elected by the
entire panchayat members in that area. A few Gram Panchayats are grouped
together to form this government body.
• Gram Panchayat: A council consisting of several ward members often called Panch.
The president is called sarpanch. It is the decision-making body for the entire village.
Answer 4.
a) If we study the main difference between the federal and the unitary governments,
in the present times the federal governments certainly score over the unitary
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