ASSIGNMENT

CLASS X

CHP: POWER SHARING

Q1. Mention the ethnic composition of Belgium.

A1. Introduction:

• Belgium is a small country in Europe.

• It has borders with Netherlands, France and Germany.

• It has a population of a little over one crore.

The Ethnic Composition of the Whole Country:

• Of the country’s total population, 59 percent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language.

• Another 40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French.

• Remaining 1 per cent of the Belgians speak German.

The Ethnic Composition of the Capital City:

• In the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak French.

• While 20 per cent are Dutch-speaking.

Conclusion:

• The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. This led to tensions
between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities.

• Brussels presented a special problem: the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in the
country, but a minority in the capital.
 BELGIUM
-59%: DUTCH

-40%: FRENCH
BRUSSELS
(CAPITAL)
-1%: GERMAN
-80%: FRENCH

20%: DUTCH

CONCEPT MAPPING OF ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF BELGIUM

Q2. Mention the ethnic composition of Sri Lanka.

A2. Introduction:

• Sri Lanka is an island nation, just a few kilometres off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.

• It has about 2 crore people.

The Ethnic Composition:

• The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 percent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 percent).

• Among Tamils there are two sub-groups.

• Tamil natives of the country re called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 percent).

• The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during colonial period, are called
‘Indian Tamils’.

• Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhist, while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.

• There are about 7 per cent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.
 SRILANKA

-ISLAND NATION

-POPULATION: 2 CRORES

SINHALA SPEAKERS (74%) TAMIL SPEAKERS

INDIAN T. SRILANKAN TAMILS (13%)

CONCEPT MAPPING OF ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF SRILANKA

Q3. Throw light on the ‘Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka’.

A3. Introduction:

• The democratically elected government adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish

Sinhala supremacy.

The Majoritarian measures:

• In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding
Tamil.

• The government favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.

• A new constitution mentioned that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

• All these government measures, coming one after the other, gradually increased the feeling of
alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils.

• They felt that the constitution and government policies denied them equal political rights,
discriminated against them in getting jobs and other opportunities and ignored their interests.

Consequences:

• As a result, the Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as
an official language, for regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in securing education and
jobs.

• But their demand for more autonomy to provinces populated by the Tamils was repeatedly denied.
 • By 1980s several political organizations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam
(state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

Conclusion: The Civil War

• It soon turned into a civil war . As a result thousands of people of both the communities have been
killed. Many families were forced to leave the country as refugees and many more lost their
livelihoods.

Q4. ‘The Belgian leaders took a different path.’ Throw light on accommodation in Belgium.

A4. Introduction

• Belgium amended its constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable
everyone to live together within the same country.

Equal Representation in Central Government

• 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. Thus, no
single community can make decisions unilaterally.

Giving of Powers to State Government

• Many powers of the central government have been given to state governments of the two regions
of the country.

• The state governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.

Separate Government in Capital

• Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation.

• The French-speaking people accepted equal representation in Brussels because the Dutch-speaking
community has accepted equal representation in the Central Government.

Community Government

• Apart from the Central and the State Government, there is a third kind of government. This
‘community government’ is elected by 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.

Q5. What do we learn from these two stories of Belgium and Sri Lanka?

A5. Introduction
Both the countries are democracies. Yet, they dealt with the question of power sharing differently.

Belgium:

• In Belgium, the leaders have realized that the unity of the country is possible only by respecting
the feelings and interests of different communities and regions. Such a realisation resulted in
mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing power.

Sri Lanka:

• Sri Lanka shows us a contrasting example. It shows that if a majority community wants to force its
dominance over others and refuses to share power, it can damage the unity of the country.

Q6.Why is power sharing desirable?

A6. Introduction:

• There are two different sets of reasons why power sharing is desirable.

• Moral reasons explains why power sharing is valuable.

• Prudential reasons stress that power sharing will bring out better outcomes.

Prudential Reason:

• Power sharing is good because it helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.

• Since social conflict often leads to violence and political instability, power sharing is a good way to
ensure the stability of political order.

Moral Reason:

• Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those
affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects.

• People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. A legitimate government is one
where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system.

Q7. ‘In modern democracies, power sharing arrangements can take many forms.’ Explain the various forms
of power sharing.

A7. Horizontal Distribution of Power

• Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and
judiciary.

• This is called 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.

• In a democracy, even though ministers and government officials exercise power, they are
responsible to the Parliament or State Assemblies.

• Similarly, although judges are appointed by the executive, they can check the functioning of
executive or laws made by the legislatures. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.

Vertical Distribution of Power

• 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.

• The same principle can be extended to levels of government lower than the State government, such
as the municipality and panchayat.

Among various Social Groups

• Power may also be shared among different social groups, such as the religious and linguistic groups.

• ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a good example of this arrangement.

• In some countries there are constitutional and legal arrangements whereby socially weaker sections
and women are represented in the legislatures and administration.

• The system of ‘reserved constituencies’ in assemblies and the parliament in India is meant to give
space in the government and administration to diverse social groups who otherwise would feel
alienated from the government.

Political Parties, Pressure Groups And Movements

• 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.