Solution

CLASS 10TH POWER SHARING BOARDPREP(SUBJ)

Class 10 - Social Science
1. When power is shared among different organs of the government, such as
the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary is called horizontal share of power.
2. The clause of the Act of 1956 introduced by the Sri Lankan Government
made the Tamil people alienated in the country. According to the Act,
Sinhalese was declared the only national language of Sri Lanka.
3. Horizontal distribution of power sharing arrangement is called checks and
balances.Under this, each organ checks the other organ.
4. It refers to a social division based on shared culture.
5. Brussels was chosen as its headquarters when the European Union was
formed.
6. In Belgium there is a special government called Community Government to
look after the cultural, educational and language related issues. It is used to
give minority communities a fair share in power.
7. The power sharing among the different organs of government with their
specific jurisdiction is called separation of power.
8. Sinhalese Buddhist formed majority
9. Belgium Sri Lanka
They adopted a policy of power They adopted a policy of
Sharing. Majoritarism.
They gave equal powers to all They gave preferences to the
communities no matter whether the majority Sinhala group alone,
majority or minority. disregarding the minority.
10. Prudential reason stresses that power sharing as an act will bring out better
outcomes. It reduces the possibility of conflict between social groups.
11. In Srilanka, the Sinhala community constituted the largest share in the
population.
12. Power is shared at different levels of government in the vertical form of
power sharing.
13. Power shared at different levels of government
14. Walloon is the historical language of Southern Belgium.
15. Buddhism was adopted by Srilanka as its official religion.
16. 74% people speak Sinhala in Sri Lanka.
17. Power sharing is essential for democracy as it accommodates diversities of a
nation it accommodates diversities of a nation. It helps to reduce the
possibility of conflict between social groups.
18. i. Sinhala was declared as the only official language.
ii. Government follows preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants
for university and government jobs.
19. Indian Tamils belong to Sri Lanka,whose forefathers came from India as
plantation workers during colonial period and are called Indian Tamils.
20. Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Origin Tamils
21. In a modern democracy, power-sharing arrangement can take many forms.
It can be horizontal or vertical.
Horizontal Division of Power Vertical Division of Power Sharing
 Sharing
A. Horizontal Division of power, in A. In vertical division of Power Sharing
which power is shared among power is shared among the different
different organs of the government levels of the government like Union
like legislature, Executive and Government, state government and
Judiciary. Lower levels.
B. Different organs of the B. Different levels of the government
government exercise power. exercise the power of the government.
C. It specifies the concept of check C. No specification of the system of
and balance. checks and balance.
22. Majoritarianism is a concept which signifies a belief that the majority
community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it wants. In
this type of rule they disregard the wishes and needs of the minority.
A. Majoritarianism is a political philosophy which asserts that a majority of
the population has the right to take the decisions affecting the society.
B. It means submission of the majority group for all the decisions affecting
their lives.
C. It often results in preferential policies being followed, favoring the
majority group in university positions and government jobs and other
opportunities and interests, thus denying the minority equal rights and
opportunities.
23. The main elements of the Belgium model of power-sharing include:
i. Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking
ministers shall be equal in the Central Government. Some special laws
require the support of the majority of members from each linguistic
group. Thus, no single community can make decisions unilaterally.
ii. Many powers of the Central Government have been given to State
Governments of the two regions of the country.
iii. The Belgium model introduced a new concept of the third kind of
government, i,e. the communist government. This government is elected
by the people belonging to one language community.
24. A. In Majoritarianism the voice of the minority group will not be given due
preference.
B. The majority group makes preferential policies favoring their majority.
C. Majority denies the minority group in equal representation in the
governance and equal political rights.
D. This results in the tyranny of the majority which breeds the feeling of
alienation among the minority group.
E. For Example in Sri Lanka Due Dignity is not given by the Majority Sinhala
Group to the minority Tamils.
25. A. In vertical division of Power Sharing power is shared among the different
levels of the government like Union Government, state government and
Lower levels.
B. Different levels of the government exercise the power of the government.
C. No specification of the system of checks and balance.
D. It ensures the concept of deepening of democracy.
E. Central Government, State Government and Panchayat Raj are the
example of the Vertical division of Power Sharing.
26. The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful.
So the Dutch-speaking community, who got the benefit of economic
development and education much later showed the resentment between the
Dutch-speaking and the French-speaking communities during the 1950s
and the 1960s. The conflict between the two communities was more severe
in Brussels because the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in the
country, but a minority in the capital.
27. A. The Dutch form 59%, the French form 40% and the German about 1%
comprises the population of Belgium.
B. The French community is in majority in the capital of Belgium, Brussels.
C. They are rich and powerful and this is not liked by the Dutch.
D. The Dutch speaking community got the benefit of economic development
and education much later showed the resentment.
E. This led to conflict between French and Dutch speaking people.
28. The economic inequality between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking
was the basic cause of tension:
a. The issues of majoritarianism and financial preference led to the tensions
between the Dutch and French-speaking communities in Belgium during
the 1950s and 1960s.
b. At the capital city of Brussels, the French-speaking community who was
in minority was relatively rich and powerful whereas the Dutch-speaking
community who was in majority was poor.
c. This was resented the Dutch-speaking community which led to the
tension between the two communities of Brussels.
d. The tension between the two communities was more acute in Brussels.
Brussels presented a special problem i.e the Dutch-speaking people
constituted a majority in the country, but a minority in the capital.
29. Sri Lankan Tamils felt alienated because of the following reasons:
a. The government adopted a majoritarian measure to establish Sinhala
Supremacy. The Act passed in 1956, introduced by Sinhalese Government
to recognise Sinhala as the only official language made the Sri Lankan
Tamils feel alienated.
b. The governments followed preferential politics that favoured Sinhala
applicants for university positions and government jobs.
c. A new Constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster
Buddhism.
d. They felt that none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist
Sinhalese was sensitive to their language and culture. They also felt that
the constitution and government policies denied them equal political
rights.
e. Thus, they realized that the government had discriminated against them
in getting jobs and other opportunities by ignoring their interests. As a
result, the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained
overtime and it soon turned into a Civil War.
30. A. Power sharing is the basic spirit of democracy. A Democratic rule involves
giving voice and representation to all the people who would be affected
by the policies and the rule made.
B. A Democratic government is legitimate government which is chosen by
the people so they have the right to be consulted on how they are to be
 governed.
C. A legitimate government is one where people, through participation,
acquire a stake in the system.
D. The moral reason emphasis the intrinsic worth of power sharing.
31. After the Independence (1948), the leaders of the Sinhala community of Sri
Lanka sought to secure dominance over the government by virtue of their
majority. So they took some Majoritarian measures to establish their
dominance. These are
i. In 1956, an Act was passed which recognised Sinhala as the only official
language, thus disregarding Tamil language.
ii. Preferences were given to Sinhala applicants for university positions and
government jobs, etc.
iii. State shall promote and foster Buddhism according to new Constitution.
iv. Sri Lankan Tamil felt that none of the major political parties led by
Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture. It
increased the feeling of alienation among the Srilankan Tamils.
v. The Srilankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of
Tamil as an official language.
All these measures strained the relationship between the two
communities.
32. To accommodate diverse regional and cultural country, Belgian Government
adopted the following measures:
i. Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking
ministers shall be equal in the Central Government.
ii. Many powers of the Central Government have been given to State
Governments of the two regions of the country.
iii. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, has a separate government in which both
the communities have equal representations.
iv. Apart from the Central and State Governments, there is a third kind of
government. This community government is elected by the people
belonging to one language community-Dutch, French and German-
speaking- no matter where they live. This government has the power
regarding cultural, educational and language related issues.
33. A. In vertical division of Power Sharing power is shared among the different
levels of the government like Union Government, state government and
Lower levels.
B. Different levels of the government exercise the power of the government.
C. No specification of the system of checks and balance.
D. It ensures the concept of deepening of democracy.
E. Central Government, State Government and Panchayat Raj are the
example of the Vertical division of Power Sharing
F. In vertical division of powers, constitution clearly lays down the powers of
different levels of government.
G. There is no such concept of checks and balances in the vertical Division
because powers are clearly given by the constitution from the higher level
to the lower level.
H. Vertical division of powers promotes the concept of deepening of
democracy.
34.
 A. Power Sharing unites a country as every group gets the representation in
the government.
B. It ensures that every group’s interests would be taken care of and
everybody, irrespective of his community would be provided with equal
political rights and opportunities.
C. It discards discrimination based on caste or creed. It also infuses a spirit
of belongingness and trust among the citizens who feel that they have a
stake in the system.
D. It therefore reduces political tensions and helps in the smooth functioning
and stability of the system.
35. A. Area wise Belgium is a small country in Europe. It is smaller in area than
that of Haryana in India.
B. It has borders with Netherlands, France and Germany.
C. Regarding population it has a population over one crore, about half of the
population of Haryana.
D. It has a very complex ethnic composition comprising various language
speaking communities than India which is a secular and integrated
country.
36. When people participate in the planning and implementation of
developmental schemes, they would naturally exercise greater control over
these schemes. This would eliminate the corrupt middlemen.
37. Power may be shared among different social groups, such as the religious
and linguistic groups. In some countries there are constitutional and legal
arrangements whereby socially weaker sections and women are represented
in the legislatures and administration.
There is a system of ‘reserved constituencies’ in our country This type of
arrangement in meant to give space in the government and administration
to diverse social groups who otherwise would feel alienated from the
government. This method is used to give minority communities a fair share
in power.
There is a government called "community government" in Belgium. This
government is elected by the people, belonging to one language or
community - Dutch, French and German speaking, no matter where they
live. This government has the power relating to culture, education and
language issues.
These arrangements help to avoid a civic strife between the two major
communities and possible division of the country on linguistic lines.
38. A. Horizontal Division of power, in which power is shared among different
organs of the government like legislature, Executive and Judiciary.
B. Different organs of the government exercise the power.
C. It specifies the concept of check and balance.
D. It ensures the concept of the expansion of the democracy.
E. Examples: Legislature, Executive and Judiciary are the organs
Government of India
39. The distrust between Tamil speaking and the Sinhalese over the
majoritarianism issue resulted in a wider conflict which soon turned into a
civil war.
The following were the results of the civil war:
a. Thousands of people of Sinhala and Tamil communities were killed.
 b. Many families were forced to leave the country and many more lost their
livelihood.
c. Sri Lanka, in general, suffered from an economic crisis.
d. Civil war has caused a terrible setback to the social-cultural and economic
life of the country.
40. Power sharing keeps up with the 'spirit' of Democracy as:
i. Power sharing ensures that all people have a stake in government.
ii. Power sharing ensures maximum participation and upholds the concept of
people's rule. It always brings better outcomes in democracy. It ensures
political stability in democracy.
iii. Power sharing accommodates diverse groups and helps to reduce the
possibility of conflict between social groups.
iv. A democratic government is chosen by the people. So, they have the
right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. A legitimate
government is one where groups, through participation, acquire a stake
in the system.
41. Following were the three demands of Sri Lankan Tamils:
a. Recognition of Tamil language: Tamil language to be recognized as an
official language and Tamil should be given equal status with that of the
Sinhala language and should be added as an official language.
b. Regional autonomy: Their religion should be equally respected with that
of Buddhism and they should be given equal political rights.
c. Equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs: There
should be no discrimination between the Sri Lankan Tamils and Sinhala
residents of Sri Lanka in government jobs and university posts.
In order to protest for their demand, they started a political struggle in the
way of conflict with the government.
a. By 1980s several political organisations were formed demanding an
independent Tamil Eelam (State) in northern and eastern parts of Sri
Lanka.
b. The distrust between the two communities turned into a wider conflict
which soon turned into a civil war.
c. As a result, thousands of people of both communities were killed, causing
a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the country.
42. In Belgium, the minority French-speaking community was more rich and
powerful than the majority Dutch-speaking community. This was resented
by the Dutch speaking community who got the benefit of economic
development and education much later. This led to tensions between the
two communities between the 1950s and 1960s. This tension was unique
and more acute in Brussels, where the Dutch speaking community was a
minority.
The Belgian leaders realised this problem and took some significant
measures to solve this as follows
i. Number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the
Central Government.
ii. Many powers of the Central Government are given to State Governments.
iii. Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have
equal representation.
 iv. Community Government is elected by people belonging to one language
community which deals with cultural, educational and language related
issues. In Sri Lanka, major social groups are the Sinhala speakers (74
percent) and the Tamil speakers (18 percent). In Sri Lanka, the
democratically elected government adopted a series of Majoritarian
measures to ' establish Sinhala supremacy.
The government took the following measures
i. In 1956 an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official
language, thus disregarding Tamil.
ii. A Preferential policy that favoured Sinhala applicants for university
position and government jobs.
iii. The state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
All these measures increased the feeling of alienation among Sri
Lankan Tamils. The Belgian solution helped in avoiding civic strife
whereas the Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka led to the Civil War.
43. a. The sharing of powers among political parties, pressure groups and
movements ensures the influence in decision-making process as
democracy implies people's choice among various contenders.
b. Democracy provides citizens with a choice to choose their rulers. This
choice is provided by the various political parties, who contest elections to
win them. Such competition ensures that power does not remain in one
hand.
c. In the long run, power is shared among different political parties that
represent different ideologies and social groups. Sometimes, this kind of
sharing can be direct, when two or more parties form an alliance to
contest elections. If their alliance is elected, they form a coalition
government and thus, share power.
d. At the same time, pressure group and movements influence power-
sharing through dharna, rallies, protest, strike etc.
e. In another way by becoming the member of a committee or a part of the
planning commission power can be shared for advocating better policies.
44. A. It is an Island nation south of India. Tamil natives are called Sri Lankan
tamils and formed 13% population.
B. The Indian Tamils whose forefathers had come from India as planatation
workers formed 5% population.
C. The Sinhala Buddhist, who was 74% of the population, formed the
majority government after independence in 1948.
D. Tamils are either Hindus or Muslims, 7% of the people are Christian who
are both Tamil and Sinhala.
E. Sinhalese enjoy majority and can impose their will on the entire country.
45. Power sharing is desirable for various concrete reasons. Two sets of reasons
have been listed out which favour power-sharing in two different manners
like: Prudential reason and Moral reason.
Prudential Reason:
a. According to prudential reason, power-sharing accommodates social
diversity hence, helps in reducing the possibility of conflict between social
groups.
b. It is a good way to ensure the stability of political order as social conflict
often leads to violence and political instability.
 c. Besides, power sharing is also desirable to the promotion of national unity
and integrity.
Moral Reason:
a. Moral reason is a very deeper reason for power sharing.
b. Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. The concept of democracy
is a system of government of the people, by the people and for the
people, which emphasizes on the distribution of power among people.
c. According to moral reason, power sharing is desirable to produce an
accountable, responsible and legitimate government.
d. It implies maximum popular participation through decentralisation of
powers so that people would be consulted on how they are to be
governed.
e. It involves sharing powers with those affected by its exercise and who
have to live its effects so that the people would be consulted on how they
are to be governed.
f. In this way, both the sets of reasons signify the importance of power
sharing in the forms of community government, reserved constituencies
and decentralisation of powers.
46. Power Sharing in Different Organs of Government: Power is shared
among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive
and judiciary. Let us call this horizontal distribution of power because it
allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise
different powers. Such a separation ensures that none of the organs can
exercise unlimited power. Each organ checks the others. This results in a
balance of power among various institutions. For example, ministers and
government officials exercise power, they are responsible to the Parliament
or State Assemblies. Similarly, judges can check the functioning of
executive or laws made by the legislatures. This arrangement is called a
system of checks and balances.
Power Sharing at Different Levels: Power can be shared among
governments at different levels – a general government for the entire
country and governments at the provincial or regional level. Such a general
government for the entire country is usually called federal government. In
India, we refer to it as the Central or Union Government. The governments
at the provincial or regional level are called by different names in different
countries. In India, we call them State Governments. State Governments
and Central Government have their distinct areas to exercise power. This is
called federal division of power.
Power Sharing Among Social Groups: Power may also be shared among
different social groups, such as the religious and linguistic groups. Indian
constitution has provision for reservation of different communities like
minorities, OBCs, SC & ST and women. This is done to ensure their
adequate representation in the Government machinery.
Power Sharing Among Various Pressure Groups: Power sharing
arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups
and movements control or influence those in power. In a democracy, the
citizens must have freedom to choose among various contenders for power.
In contemporary democracies this takes the form of competition among
different parties. Such competition ensures that power does not remain in
 one hand. In the long run power is shared among different political parties
that represent different ideologies and social groups. Sometimes this kind of
sharing can be direct, when two or more parties form an alliance to contest
elections. If their alliance is elected, they form a coalition government and
thus share power. In a democracy, we find interest groups such as those of
traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers. They
also will have a share in governmental power, either through participation in
governmental committees or bringing influence on the decision making
process.
This is how power is shared among different levels
47. A. We realize that the two countries, Sri Lanka and Belgium, are similar in
respect of linguistic and ethnic diversity, yet both of them followed
opposite policies to resolve the differences.
B. The Majoritarianism measures as followed in Sri Lanka created feeling of
alienation among the Tamils leading to tensions in the region. It led to
civil war waged by the Tamils who fight to create an independent state
named Tamil Elam in the North and east of the Island. It is estimated that
the war has claimed the lives of more than 68000 people since 1983 and
it has caused significant harms to the population and the economy of the
country.
C. The accommodation policies followed in Belgium have worked well so far.
They are complicated but nevertheless, have been able to prevent any
outbreak of civil war. The policies helped the leaders of the country in
creating an enabling environment for everyone to live together with unity
without disturbing the social fabric of the country. The policies of the
government gave equal representation to the different sections of the
society.
D. Therefore it is clear that to be able to hold the country together, it is
indispensable to recognize and regard the culture and other identifying
differences of various groups and create mutually acceptable policies for
sharing power.
In Sri Lanka, the majority Sinhala speakers wanted to dominate the
minority Tamil speakers. They recognized Sinhala as the only official
language in the nation. Many policies favoured Sinhala speakers for getting
government jobs and many advantages over tamil speakers. All these
government measures increased the alienated feeling among the Sri Lankan
Tamils. As the government denied them equal rights, the relations between
Tamils and Sinhalas worsened. The demands of Tamils for equal rights and
opportunities were repeatedly denied by the government. Many political
leaders then started to demand for a independent area. Tamil Elam, for the
Tamils. The tension between the two communities soon turned into a civil
war and many people from both communities lost their lives. Here, Sri
Lanka refuses to share power, and it eventually led to a disaster to the
country. They wanted the majority community to dominate over the
minority community.
The Belgian leaders took another path. They recognized every community
and gave them equal rights.
In Belgium the Dutch speaking community constituted a majority in the
country and a minority in the capital. The minority French speaking
 community was very rich and held powers in the government. Later, when
the Dutch became educated, they felt a need to hold equal power in the
government. This created tension between the two communities. Belgian
government adopted a clever policy to accommodate both the communities
in the country without any problems. The number of Dutch speaking people
and French speaking people were equal in the central government, so that
no group can take the decision unilaterally. They followed a federal system
of government, ie, the state was not the sub ordinate of the central
government. Brussels had a separate government. The French speaking
community accepted equal representation because the dutch accepted it in
the central government. The type of power sharing has led to a more stable
and harmonious type of government in Belgium, unlike in Sri Lanka .
48. A. Equal no of Ministers for both the groups: The Belgium constitution
prescribes that the number of Dutch and French speaking ministers shall
be equal in the central government. Some special laws require the
support of majority of members from each linguistic group.
B. More powers to the state government: Under the proper power sharing
arrangement many powers of the central government were given to state
government for the two regions of the country. The state governments
were not subordinate to the central government.
C. Equal representation at state and the central level: A separate
government has been set up at Brussels in which both the communities
have equal representation.
D. Formation of community government: A third kind of government was
made that is community government. This community government is
elected by the people belonging to one language community. Dutch,
French and German speaking people have their own community
government.
49. Belgium is a small country in Western Europe with complex ethnic
composition. Of the country’s total population, 59 percent speak Dutch
language. Another 40 percent speak French. Remaining 1 percent speak
German. The tension between the two communities arose because the
Dutch got the benefits of economic development much later than the
French.
Sri Lanka is an island nation in the Indian Ocean where the major social
groups are Sinhala speakers (74 percent) and the Tamil speakers (18
percent). The following three points of differences support the fact
i. The Belgium Constitution provides that the number of Dutch and French-
speaking ministers shall be equal in the Central Government. Many
powers of the Central government had been given to state governments
of the two regions of the country. Brussels had a separate government in
which both communities had equal representation. There was a separate
community government elected by people belonging to one language
community. Contrary to it, leaders of the Sinhala community in Sri Lanka
sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority
and refused to share power with the Tamils.
ii. In Belgium, the leaders have realised that the unity of the country is
possible only by respecting the feelings of others. So they followed
Accommodation. Thus, many powers of the Central Government of
 Belgium have been given to the State Government. But in Sri Lanka, the
democratically elected government adopted a series of Majoritarian
measures to establish Sinhala supremacy. Their policy has undermined
the unity of Sri Lanka.
iii. In Belgium, there is no discrimination between religions. But in Sri Lanka,
a new Constitution declares that the state shall protect and foster
Buddhism.
50. The Ethnic composition of Belgium is very complex. Of the country’s total
population, 59 per cent lives in the Flemish region and speak Dutch
language.
Another 40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. 1
per cent of the Belgians speak German. To rule this regionally and culturally,
diverse country is not very easy.
Thus, the government has taken some measures
i. Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking
ministers shall be equal in the Central Government.
ii. Many power of the Central Government have been given to State
Governments, erf' die two regions of the ' country.
iii. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, has a separate government in which both
the communities have equal representations.