Question

features of federalism in india and australia similarities and difference (need ans fast pls)

Answer 1

Similarities between US and India:

1) Written constitution:

Both US and India have a written constitution based on which the federal political structure has been set up and both federal governments are functioning. Both constitutions have provisions for amending the constitution to meet the growing socio, political and economic needs and demands of their respective countries.

2) Bill of Rights and Fundamental Rights:

The US constitution has ensured the fundamental rights of its citizens like right to equality, freedom, right against exploitation, freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, right to property, and right to constitutional remedies etc through ‘The Bill of Rights’,. They became part and parcel of the US constitution through first ten amendments that were carried out and adopted into the US constitution. The Indian constitution has guaranteed the fundamental rights of the people through articles 14 to 34 in Part III.

3) Supremacy of the Federal or Union Government:

Both countries have federal governments at the centre in which various states have acceded to. In the US as many as 50 states have joined the federal government and in the Indian Union as many as 29 states and 8 Union territories have acceded to. Both in US and India, states which have acceded to the Federal set up have no unilateral power to secede from the Federal Government or the Union Government. While Federal Government or the Union Government as well as the states are empowered to enact laws on a particular subject,(known as concurrent powers),the law enacted by the Federal or Union Government will have overriding effect over the law enacted by the states on the same subject. Thus Federal or Union Government is supreme in the present federal structure.

4) Division of Labor and Separation of Powers:

Adhering to Montesquieu's theory of division of labor and separation of powers, both US and Indian constitutions have three basic divisions with regard to division of labor and power in their federal set up known as executive, legislature and judiciary with clear cut ‘Separation of Powers’ Each division has been entrusted with a separate power. The executive governs the country, the legislature enacts laws and the judiciary administers justice. President of US is the chief executive head of US, whereas the Union cabinet headed by the Prime Minister is the real chief executive body in India. Both the US and India have a bicameral legislature. US legislature has an upper and lower house known as the House of Senate and the House of Representatives respectively and the Indian Parliament has Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as its Lower and Upper house respectively. Both US and India have a well organized judiciary, having the Supreme Court or the Federal Court as the apex court and a number of other courts in various states to administer original and appellate jurisdictions.

5) Powers of Checks and Balances:

Though there exists a clear cut division of labor known as separation of powers into executive, legislature and judiciary in both countries, still there is a threat. to democracy. A strong and dynamic leadership at the helm of powers as the executive and acting with unlimited powers may lead to arbitrariness. After all power corrupts power; absolute power corrupts absolutely; in the result democracy may become a laughing stock and virtually unworkable. Hence, in order to prevent unwieldy growth of any one of these three divisions, a fantastic mechanism known as powers of ‘checks and balances’ has been maintained in both countries. In other words, each division of power is somehow or other checked and controlled by other divisions of power.