Let us look at some of the key

features of federalism :

1 There are two or more levels (or

tiers) of government.

2 Different tiers of government

govern the same citizens, but each tier

has its own JURISDICTION in specific

matters of legislation, taxation and

administration.

3 The jurisdictions of the respective

levels or tiers of government are

specified in the constitution. So the

existence and authority of each tier of

government is constitutionally

guaranteed.

4 The fundamental provisions of

the constitution cannot be unilaterally

changed by one level of government.

Such changes require the consent of

both the levels of government.

5 Courts have the power to interpret

the constitution and the powers of

different levels of government. The

highest court acts as an umpire if

disputes arise between different levels

of government in the exercise of their

respective powers.

6 Sources of revenue for each level

of government are clearly specified to

ensure its financial autonomy.

7 The federal system thus has dual

objectives: to safeguard and promote

unity of the country, while at the same

time accommodate regional diversity.

Therefore, two aspects are crucial for

the institutions and practice of

federalism. Governments at different

levels should agree to some rules of

power sharing. They should also trust

that each would abide by its part of

the agreement. An ideal federal system

has both aspects : mutual trust and

agreement to live together.

DEMOCRACY

democracy is a form of

government in which the rulers

are elected by the people.

China’s famine of 1958-1961 was

the worst recorded famine in world

history. Nearly three crore people

died in this famine. During those

days, India’s economic condition

was not much better than China. Yet

India did not have a famine of the

kind China had. Economists think

that this was a result of different

government policies in the two

countries. The existence of

democracy in India made the Indian

government respond to food scarcity

in a way that the Chinese

government did not. They point out

that no large scale famine has ever

taken place in an independent and

democratic country. If China too had

multi party elections, an opposition

party and a press free to criticise the

government, then so many people

may not have died in the famine.

This example brings out one of the

reason why democracy is considered

the best form of government.

Democracy is better than any other

form of government in responding to

the needs of the people. A nondemocratic

government may and can

respond to the peoples needs, but it

all depends on the wishes of the

people who rule. If the rulers don’t

want to, they don’t have to act

according to the wishes of the people.

A democracy requires that the rulers

have to attend to the needs of the

people. A democratic government

is a better government because it

is a more accountable form of

government.

There is another reason why

democracy should lead to better

decisions than any non-democratic

government. Democracy is based on

consultation and discussion. A

democratic decision always involves

many persons, discussions and

meetings. When a number of people

put their head together, they are

able to point out possible mistakes

in any decision. This takes time. But

there is a big advantage in taking

time over important decisions. This

reduces the chances of rash or

irresponsible decisions. Thus

democracy improves the quality

of decision making.

This is related to the third

argument. Democracy provides a

method to deal with differences

and conflicts. In any society people

are bound to have differences of

opinions and interests. These

differences are particularly sharp in

a country like ours which has an

amazing social diversity. People

belong to different regions, speak

different languages, practise

different religions and have different

castes. They look at the world very

differently and have different

preferences. The preference of one

group can clash with those of other

groups. How do we resolve such a

conflict? The conflict can be solved

by brutal power. Whichever group

is more powerful will dictate its

terms and others will have to accept

that. But that would lead to

resentment and unhappiness.

Different groups may not be able to

live together for long in such a way.

Democracy provides the only

peaceful solution to this problem. In

democracy, no one is a permanent

winner. No one is a permanent loser.

Different groups can live with one

another peacefully. In a diverse

country like India, democracy keeps

our country together.

These three arguments were about

the effects of democracy on the

quality of government and social life.

But the strongest argument for

democracy is a not about what

democracy does to the government.

It is about what democracy does to

the citizens. Even if democracy does

not bring about better decisions and

accountable government, it is still

better than other forms of

government. Democracy enhances

the dignity of citizens. As we

discussed above, democracy is

based on the principle of political

equality, on recognising that the poorest and the least educated has

the same status as the rich and the

educated. People are not subjects of

a ruler, they are the rulers

themselves. Even when they make

mistakes, they are responsible for

their conduct.

Finally, democracy is better than

other forms of government because

it allows us to correct its own

mistakes. As we saw above, there is

no guarantee that mistakes cannot

be made in democracy. No form of

government can guarantee that. The

advantage in a democracy is that

such mistakes cannot be hidden for

long. There is a space for public

discussion on these mistakes. And

there is a room for correction. Either

the rulers have to change their

decisions, or the rulers can be

changed. This cannot happen in a

non-democratic government.

Let us sum it up. Democracy

cannot get us everything and is not

the solution to all problems. But it

is clearly better than any other

alternative that we know. It offers

better chances of a good decision, it

is likely to respect people’s own

wishes and allows different kinds of

people to live together. Even when

it fails to do some of these things, it

allows a way of correcting its

mistakes and offers more dignity to

all citizens. That is why democracy

is considered the best form of

government.

Democratic: controlled by representatives who are elected by the people of a country.