UPSC Prelims PYQ 2017: Which is not a feature of Indian federalism?
Which one of the following is not a feature of Indian federalism?
- There is an independent judiciary in India.
- Powers have been clearly divided between the Centre and the States.
- The federating units have been given unequal representation in the Rajya Sabha.
- It is the result of an agreement among the federating units.
Explanation
Option (d) is not a feature
- The term ‘federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution. Instead, Article 1 of the Constitution describes India as A ‘Union of States. According to Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the phrase ‘Union of States’ has been preferred to ‘Federation of States’ to indicate two things:
- the Indian federation is not the result of an agreement among the states like the American Federation; and
- the states have no right to secede from the federation.
Option (a) is a feature
- The Constitution establishes an independent judiciary headed by the Supreme Court for two purposes: one, to protect the supremacy of the Constitution by exercising the power of judicial review; and two, to settle the disputes between the Centre and the states or between the states.
Option (b) is a feature
- The Constitution establishes a dual polity consisting of the Union at the Centre and the states at the periphery. Each is endowed with sovereign powers to be exercised in the field assigned to them respectively by the Constitution.
- The Constitution divided the powers between the Centre and the states in terms of the Union List, State List and Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule.
Option (c) is a feature
- In Indian federalism, the federating units are not equally represented in the Rajya Sabha. State representation in the Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) is based on the population of each state, leading to unequal distribution of seats among the states.
Answer: (d) It is the result of an agreement among the federating units; Difficulty Level: Easy
