Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
In the early decades after Independence, the same party ruled both at the Centre and in most of the States. State Governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units. When the ruling party at the State level was different, the Centre often misused the Constitution to dismiss State Governments controlled by rival parties. All this changed significantly after 1990. Regional political parties rose in many States. Since no single party got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, major national parties had to enter into alliances with regional parties to form a government at the Centre. A major judgement of the Supreme Court also made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss State Governments in an arbitrary manner.
(i) How did single-party dominance affect federal relations in the early decades after Independence? (1 mark)
(ii) What role did regional parties play in strengthening federalism after 1990? (1 mark)
(iii) What does the Supreme Court judgement mentioned above indicate about the role of the judiciary in a federal system? (2 marks)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:17 · grounding rag
Model Answer
(i) In the early decades after Independence, the same party ruled at both the Centre and in most States. State Governments did not exercise their rights as autonomous federal units. The Central Government often misused the Constitution to dismiss State Governments controlled by rival parties, undermining the spirit of federalism.
(ii) After 1990, regional parties rose in many States. Since no single national party got a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, national parties had to form alliances with regional parties. This created a new culture of power-sharing and respect for State autonomy, strengthening federalism.
(iii) The Supreme Court's judgement made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss State Governments in an arbitrary manner. This shows that the judiciary acts as a guardian of the federal structure — it ensures constitutional provisions are followed and prevents the misuse of power by one level of government against another, thereby protecting the autonomy of States.
Source: Democratic Politics — II, Chapter 2, Section: Centre–State Relations
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Explanation
- (i) is 1 mark — one focused point on how single-party rule weakened State autonomy.
- (ii) is 1 mark — focus on coalition politics and alliances as the mechanism; don't elaborate beyond one point.
- (iii) is 2 marks — needs two aspects: what the judgement did (prevented arbitrary dismissal) AND what it shows about the judiciary's role (guardian/protector of federal structure). Examiners look for both.
- All answers must come from the passage; the chapter's "Centre–State relations" section is the direct source.