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A meeting of all the adults living within the area covered by a Panchayat is called a Gram Sabha. It constitutes of any adult (18 years or more) living within the panchayat area. This meeting which is held two to four times a year is an example of local participation in the decision-making process. The meeting allows local people to discuss topics related to local governance and local development. This in turns influences the Panchayat to implement development programs which are mandated, supervised and monitored by the Gram Sabha. This establishes the overarching influence of the Gram Sabha on the Panchayat. The Gram Sabha also needs to provide its consent regarding the decisions of the Panchayat. The decisions taken by the Gram Sabha can only be annulled by the same members of the Gram Sabha.

States Reorganization Commission was formed in 1954 to recommend creation of States on the linguistic basis.

In the early years India although a federation was in general ruled by one major party both at the Centre and at the state levels. States ruled by rival parties were often ignored by the Centre in favour of those states ruled by the political party at the Centre exhibiting a clear misuse of power by the central government. The era of the Coalitions Government started in India in 1990. This period saw the rise of several regional political parties in the states of the country. Since no political party got an outright majority in Lok Sabha, the major political parties had to form alliances with the regional parties to form a government at the Centre. This, in turn, led to a new culture of power-sharing and respect for the autonomy of state governments. The Supreme Court also passed judgments that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss the views and concerns of any State Government in an arbitrary fashion. Thus, federal power-sharing in India has become more effective than in early years after the Constitution came into force mainly due to Coalitions Government and the backing of the Judiciary.

The State List or List II has 61 items listed under it and belongs to Schedule Seven in the Constitution of India. These items range from public order, police, trade, and commerce within the state, agriculture, several taxes, elections to state legislatures etc. The respective state governments have exclusive power to legislate on matters relating to these items.

India became a Union of States because it consisted of both British-ruled territories as well as many princely states- Some sub-political units of India have a special status.

(i) French and Portuguese-ruled territories were given the status of Union territory.

(ii) Jammu & Kashmir joined India on a special condition.

(iii) Some units were too small to become independent states. They were made Union Territories.

(iv) States in the north-east have been given a special status as they have a large tribal population with a distinct history and culture.

Federal Government

The Concurrent List includes the subjects on which both the Union Government as well as the State Government have jurisdiction. This includes subjects such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession. In case of the conflict regarding the laws on subjects of the Concurrent List between the State and the Union government , the law made by the Union Government prevails.

USA and Australia

Education comes under concurrent list so that both the centre and the states can legislate on any aspect of education.

The Union List or List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India lists 100 subjects over which the Parliament and by association, the central government has exclusive power to legislate. It includes subjects like the defence matters of India, Industries, citizenship, banking etc.

Defence of the nation, foreign affairs, banking, currency/ communication.

Marriage, education, forest, trade unions, adoption and succession.

Residuary List.

(i) Right to equality.

(ii) No discrimination on the basis of caste, creed region or religion.

(iii) SCs & STs have some seats reserved and do get representation.

(iv) Right to freedom of religion and cultural and educational rights.

The High Court and the Supreme Court can make a decision.

Agriculture, police, public health, land

First, to safeguard and promote unity of the country and secondly, to accommodate regional diversity.

India, Spain and Belgium

Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

When power is taken away from central and state governments and given to local government, it is called decentralisation. Decentralisation of powers is the sharing of powers among local self-governing bodies. It helps in proper functioning of government and through this, help by government can be reached to even remote parts of the country. On basis of decentralisation three tier Panchayat Raj system has been introduced.
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.

Municipal Corporation.

Mayor............

Since the United States is a coming together type of federation, all the constituent States have equal powers and States are strong vis-à-vis the federal government. But India is a holding together type of federation and some States have more power than others. In India, the Central government has more powers.

(i) 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.

(ii) Provisions of the Constitutional Amendment of 1992 are:

(a) Now it is mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.

(b) Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for SCs, STs and OBCs.

(c) At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.

(d) An independent institution called State Election Commission has been created in each state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.

(e) The state governments are required to share some flowers and revenue with local government bodies.

(i) 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.

(ii) Provisions of the Constitutional Amendment of 1992 are:

(a) Now it is mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.

(b) Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and the executive heads of these institutions for SCs, STs and OBCs.

(c) At least one-third of all positions are reserved for women.

(d) An independent institution called State Election Commission has been created in each state to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.

(e) The state governments are required to share some flowers and revenue with local government bodies.

Impact of local self government on Indian democracy:

(i) Constitutional status for local government has helped to deepen democracy.

(ii) It has increased women's representation and voice in our democracy.

Difficulties:

(i) Gram sabhas are not held regularly.

(ii) Most state governments have not trans{erred significant powers to local government.

(iii) State governments do not provide adequate resources.

Decentralization...........

In a federal form of government, the central government shares its powers with the various constituent units of the country. For example, in India, power is divided between the government at the Centre and the various State governments.
In a unitary form of government, all the power is exercised by only one government. For example, in Sri Lanka, the national government has all the powers.

A major test for democratic politics in our country after independence was the creation of linguistic States. In 1947, several old states had their boundaries restructured to create new states and these boundaries were drawn based on linguistics preferences. This was done to enable people speaking the same language to reside in one state. This incident is considered a major test because several national leaders feared that this would ultimately lead to a breakdown of democracy in India. But experience has shown that this has led to more unity in the country along with the easier administration.

India does not have any national language and this was done to ensure the protection of the other languages. India does have an official language. As per Article 343 of the Constitution of India, India's official languages shall be Standard Hindi (the dialect known as khadi boli) written in the Devanagari script and English. These are the official languages of India at the Central Government level.

The Panchayati Raj system is a three-tier system with elected bodies at the village, taluk and district levels. 

The civic functions relating to sanitation, cleaning of public roads, minor irrigation, public toilets and lavatories, primary health care, vaccination, the supply of drinking water, constructing public wells, rural electrification, social health, and primary and adult education, etc. are obligatory functions of village panchayats.

After the partition on the basis of religion the then PM Nehru was apprehensive of dividing country further on the basis of language, but there was a high demand for it especially from regional congress communities. 

Dhar commission was set up to consider the situation, he advised that dividing states on linguistic basis would threaten the unity of the nation. 

After Independence, speakers of Telugu asked the Congress to implement its old resolution in favor of linguistic states.in 1952 first state, Andhra Pradesh was formed on linguistic basis.

The Census of India in 1991, found 114 major Languages in India. Of these 22 languages are included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and are therefore called ‘Scheduled Languages’. The following are the Scheduled Languages – Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit,Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telegu and Urdu.

Decentralisation was done in 1992 that created the third tier of democracy to make it more powerful. Local government is set from among the members of the locality. Rural local government is also known as Panchayati Raj institution. Gram Panchayats, when grouped together, are called panchayat Samiti , all the samitis forms Zilla Parishad. 

Hence Gram Panchayats are the smallest government in rural areas.

Rural local government is known as Panchayati Raj.

(i) PRI is rural-based.

(ii) Each village has Gram Panchayat.

(iii) It has Panchs and a Sarpanch.

(iv) He/She is directly elected by the adult population living in the village.

(v) Panchayat works under the Gram Sabha.

(vi) All the voters meet at least twice or thrice in a year.

(vii) Few gram panchayats form Panchayat Samiti or Block or Mandal.

Gram Panchayat is a council consisting of several ward members often called panch and a president or Sarpanch. It is the decision making body for the village.

The Panchayat works under the overall supervision of the gram sabha. All the voters in the village are its members.

Local Government before 1992:

(i) It was directly under the control of the State Government.

(ii) Elections were not held regularly.

(iii) Elections were controlled by the State Governments.

Local Government after 1992:

(i) Local Governments have got some powers of their own.

(ii) Elections are held regularly.

(iii) An independent state election commission is responsible to conduct the elections.

For a long time, the Central Government misused the constitutional power to dismiss State Governments that were controlled by the rival parties. But the rise of regional political parties in many states has changed the Centre-State relations. All this changed significantly after 1990.
This was 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 enter into an alliance with many parties including several regional parties to form a government at the centre. It led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of State Governments. This trend was supported by the Constitution and made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss any State Government in an arbitrary manner.

Holding Together Federation:

(i) Large country decides to divide its power between states and the centre.

(ii) Central government tends to be more powerful.

(iii) Federating units have unequal power.

(iv) India, Spain, Belgium.

Coming Together Federation:

(i) Independent states coming together on their own to form a bigger unit.

(ii) All the states have equal power and are strong.

(iii) By pooling sovereignty and retaining identify, they increase their security.

(iv) U.S.A, Switzerland, Australia.

The three-fold distribution of legislative Powers:

(i) Union list: Union lists consist of 97 subjects. It includes subjects of national importance such as the defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communication and currency.

(ii) State list: State list consists of 66 subjects. It contains subjects of state and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation.

(iii) Concurrent list: Concurrent list consist of 47 subjects It includes subjects of common interest to both such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession.

Main Features of Federalism:

(i) There are two or more levels of government. India has three levels

(ii) Each level of government has its own jurisdiction in matters of legislation, taxation and administration even though they govern the same citizens.

(iii) Power and functions of each tier of government is specified and guaranteed by Constitution.

(iv) The Supreme Court has been given power to settle disputes between different levels of governments.

(v) Fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be altered by any one level of government. It applies to India also.

(vi) Sources of revenue between different levels is specified by the Constitution.

(vii) There is mutual trust and agreement between the government at different levels.

Main Features of Federalism:

(i) There are two or more levels of government. India has three levels

(ii) Each level of government has its own jurisdiction in matters of legislation, taxation and administration even though they govern the same citizens.

(iii) Power and functions of each tier of government is specified and guaranteed by Constitution.

(iv) The Supreme Court has been given power to settle disputes between different levels of governments.

(v) Fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be altered by any one level of government. It applies to India also.

(vi) Sources of revenue between different levels is specified by the Constitution.

(vii) There is mutual trust and agreement between the government at different levels.

The three-fold distribution of legislative Powers:

(i) Union list: Union lists consist of 97 subjects. It includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communication and currency.

(ii) State list: State list consists of 66 subjects. It contains subjects of state and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation.

(iii) Concurrent list: Concurrent list consist of 47 subjects It includes subjects of common interest to both such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession.

Significance of Decentralization:

(i) It helps in the settlement of a large number of problems and issues at the local level.

(ii) It provides a platform for the direct participation of people in decision-making.

(iii) In another way, decentralization in the form of 'local self government' is the best way to realise principles of Democracy.

Advantages of Decentralization:

(i) Sharing of power between centre and states and local government reduces conflict.

(ii) Large number of problems and issues can be best settled at local level. People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.

(iii) People have better knowledge of their own problems.

(iv) They know better on where to spend money and how to manage things efficiently.

(v) People at the local level will participate directly in decision making.

Advantages of Decentralization:

(i) Sharing of power between centre and states and local government reduces conflict.

(ii) Large number of problems and issues can be best settled at local level. People have better knowledge of problems in their localities.

(iii) People have better knowledge of their own problems.

(iv) They know better on where to spend money and how to manage things efficiently.

(v) People at the local level will participate directly in decision making.

Significance of Decentralization:

(i) It helps in the settlement of a large number of problems and issues at the local level.

(ii) It provides a platform for the direct participation of people in decision-making.

(iii) In another way, decentralization in the form of 'local self government' is the best way to realise principles of Democracy.

The local or grass-roots level of a democratic set-up is called the local self-government. 

Advantages of local self-government: 

1. Participation of the people in the management of their own affairs is more direct, clear and significant. 

2. Supervision of people of the representative is direct and constant. 

3. The local self-government solves the problems of rural people at the grass-root level. This strengthens democracy. 

The disadvantage of local self-government: 

1. Sometimes local self-government is criticized on the ground that it incites regionalism. The local leaders get so much entangled in the solution of their own problem that hardly they are able to see things beyond their nose and join the national mainstream. 

2. Leaders at the local level fail to appreciate the state or national problems.

Yes, it helps in the settlement of a large number of problems and issues at the local level.

(i) It provides a platform for the direct participation of people in decision making.

(ii) In another way, decentralization in the form of 'Local Self government' is the best way to realise principles of Democracy.

Federalism is a form of governance which revolves around power sharing between a general government at the centre (federal' government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial or other sub-unit governments) in a single political system. To illustrate this one can, use the example of India and its federal structure.

The Indian Union has a federal government. It originally was two- tier system with a Central Government and the State Governments. Later a third -tier was added for rural areas and is known as ‘Panchayati Raj’. These different tiers have separate jurisdiction as mandated by the Indian Constitution. To ensure financial autonomy the sources of revenue for both the central government and state governments are clearly specified in the constitution, which indicates their main sources of income. Following are some of the Articles listed in the Indian Constitution to promote financial autonomy.

1. Article 282 accords financial autonomy in spending financial resources available to the states for public purpose. Article 293 allows States to borrow without limit without consent from the Union government.

2. The President of India constitutes a Finance Commission every five years to recommend devolution of Union revenues to State governments.

3. Under Article 360, the President can proclaim a financial emergency when the financial stability or credit of the nation or of any part of its territory is threatened.

Thus from the above discussion, it is evident that the financial autonomy of a government under a federal system is entitled through the Constitution followed by the Government.

Rural local government is popularly known as the Panchayati Raj System in India. It was introduced by a constitutional amendment in 1992, although it is based upon the traditional panchayat system of South Asia. It was established to practice a more decentralised form of governance.
The structure of Panchayati Raj varies from state to state. Some states have three-tier structure (Gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat Samiti at block level and Zilla Parishad at district level), whereas some have two-tier structure (Gram Panchayat at village level and Panchayat Samiti at block level). A few states have only single-tier structure at the village level. 

Two main achievements of the Panchayati Raj System are as follows –

(a) Panchayats can best carry out the development programmes, such as mending roads, terrace, and embank the fields, building bunds, digging drains, provide fresh drinking water, etc. They are best constituted to organize voluntary labour for social upliftment and economic amelioration. Since they are directly involving the local people, resource distribution for the various development works is more appropriate and involves less risk.

(b) Panchayati Raj system ensures effective coordination between Government programmes and those of voluntary agencies. It acts as a potential school for political training of the masses and can also serve as schools of social service, health care, popular education and social progress.

Despite the various benefits of the Panchayati Raj System, it still suffers from various problems two of which have been stated below.

(a) The local Government bodies like village panchayats, municipalities and municipal corporations are under the direct control of state Governments. The official hierarchy failed to inspire confidence among the village people. Bureaucrats were unwilling to transfer power to elected representatives. They did not release funds in time. The Panchayati Raj system often is not functioning owing to the lack of political will, lack of proper evaluation and feedback, and indifference to corrective measures.

(b) The competitive elections have politicized the environment of all villages. It is alleged that panchayat elections have given birth to caste politics (casteism), communal politics (communalism) and groupism and factionalism in the villages. It is also alleged that due to panchayat elections, a ‘cold war’ atmosphere prevails among various sections of the village people.

It is hoped that the Panchayati Raj System will be able to harness and develop the better characteristics of the average villagers in spite of their illiteracy and restricted range of experience. It is also expected that this system will bring new aspiration and fresh stimulus to national self-respect.