Class Ten Civics Chapter 2 NCERT Solutions
Chapter 2: Federalism
TEXTBOOK EXERCISES
1. Locate the following States on a blank outline political map of India:
Manipur, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh and Goa.
Ans
2. Identify and shade three federal countries (other than India) on a blank outline political map of the world.
Ans,
3. Point out one feature in the practice of federalism in India that is similar to and one feature that is different from that of Belgium.
Ans. (i) Like Belgium, India also has regional and cultural differences, and many languages are spoken. So no one language is made the national language and equal importance is given to different cultures and languages.
(ii) Though in India there are central and state governments that share power, the centre is made stronger than the states. It has more powers. In Belgium, the state governments are not subordinate to the central government.
4. What is the main difference between a federal form of government and a unitary one? Explain with an example.
Ans. In Federal form of government, the power is divided between the central authority and various constituent units of the country, whereas in the unitary system, there is only one level of government at the national level.
Example: Federal – USA. Unitary – England.
5. State any two differences between the local government before and after the Constitutional amendment in 1992.
Ans. The following changes took place as a result of the constitutional amendment of 1992 :
(i) It is mandatory now to hold regular elections after every 5 years to local government bodies.
Before 1992, elections to the local bodies were not held regularly.
(ii) 1/3rd of seats are reserved for women in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions. An earlier specified number of seats were not reserved for women.
6. Fill in the blanks
Since the United States is a ____________ type of federation, all the constituent States have equal powers and states are ____________ vis-a-vis the federal government. But India is a ____________ type of federation and some states have more powers than others. In India, the ____________ government has more powers.
Ans. coming together, strong, holding together, union.
7. Here are three reactions to the language policy followed in India. Give an argument and an example to support any of these positions.
Sangeeta: The policy of accommodation has strengthened national unity.
Arman: Language-based States have divided us by making everyone conscious of their language.
Harish: The policy has only helped to consolidate the dominance of English over all other languages.
Ans. I agree with Sangeeta. If the policy of accommodation was not followed, and states were not created on linguistic basis, there would have been a further partition of India. For example, the imposition of Hindi as the national language would have led the South to break away from the North.
8. The distinguishing feature of a federal government is :
(a) The national government gives some powers to the provincial government.
(b) Power is distributed among the legislature, executive and judiciary.
(c) Elected officials exercise supreme power in the government.
(d) Governmental power is divided between different levels of government.
Ans. (d) Governmental power is divided between different levels of government.
9. A few subjects in various lists of the Indian Constitution are given here. Group them under the Union, State and Concurrent Lists as provided in the table below. (A) Defence; (B) Police; (C) Agriculture; (D) Education (E) Banking, (F) Forests, (G) Communications; (H) Trade; (I) Marriages.
Examine the following pairs that give the level of government in India and the powers of the government at that level to make laws on the subjects mentioned against each. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched?
Ans. (d) Residuary powers are given to the Central government only.
11. Match List I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists.
Ans. (c) A C, D, B
12. Consider the following two statements.
A. In a federation, the powers of the federal and provincial governments are clearly demarcated.
B. India is a federation because the powers of the Union and State Governments are specified in the Constitution and they have exclusive jurisdiction on their respective subjects.
C. Sri Lanka is a federation because the country is divided into provinces.
D. India is no longer a federation because some powers of the States have been devolved to the local government bodies.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) A, B, and C (b) A, C and D (c) A and B only (d) B and C only Ans. (c) A and B only.