Grade X

Subject – Social Studies

Topic- Power Sharing

Power sharing is the distribution of power among the organs of the government like legislature, executive and
judiciary. It is an intelligent step to ensure the stability of political order. Power sharing also includes sharing at
different levels like union, state and locals.

With the help of examples of Belgium and Sri Lanka we will see how power sharing is handled by democracies.

BELGIUM
Geographical Position: Small country in Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, France and Germany.

Area and Population: Smaller in area than the Indian state of Haryana. Population a little over one crore, half
of the state of Haryana.

Ethnic Composition: 59% lives in Flemish region – speaks Dutch

40% lives in Wallonia region – speaks French

1% speaks German

Capital:Brussels – 80% speaks French, 20% speaks Dutch

In Brussels the Dutch speaking people are in a minority which is the opposite of the rest of the country, where
they are in a majority.

The minority population of French speaking people was richer than the Dutch speaking people. The majority
community was given benefits much latter. This led to tensions between the two communities in the 1950s
and 1960s. Tension was more acute in the capital city of Brussels.

Sri Lanka
Geographical Position: A small island in Asia, off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.

Area and Population:Same as Haryana’s. About 2 crore people

Ethnic Composition: 74% Sinhalese speaking people

18% Tamil speaking people (13% Native Tamils, 5% Indian Tamils)
7% others (Christians)
Religion: Most Sinhala speaking people are Buddhist
Most Tamils speaking people are Hindu or Muslims.
7 % Christians from both Sinhala and Tamil communities.

Majoritarianism : A belief that only the majority community should rule a country, make laws for everyone
and with total disregard to the wishes and needs of the minority.
Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka became independent in 1948. It immediately adopted measures to
impose Sinhala supremacy.

 It made Sinhalese the official language of the country (by an Act in 1956), and ignored
Tamilcompletely.
 Made a preferential policy to favour Sinhala-speaking people in all government jobs andeducational
institutions.
 It promoted and protected Buddhism.

Result:

 The Tamils felt alienated. No respect or recognition was given to their language, cultureand religion.
 They began a struggle for equality in jobs, entry to the university, recognition oftheir language and
culture.
 The Tamilians were grouped together in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Their demands wereignored,
the conflict became more severe and by the 1980s, the Tamilian demand had changed.They wanted
TAMIL EELAM in the North and East.
 A Civil war broke out which resulted in thousands of dead.
 Sri Lanka’s flourishing economy suffered.

Belgian Model of Power Sharing:

Belgium amended the Constitution to accommodate every ethnic community because of which it did not
suffer civil war.

1. Equal number of Dutch and French speaking minister were appointed in Central Government.
2. State government not made subordinate to central Government.
3. A separate Government for Brussels, equal representation for both the linguistic groups
4. A third government called the Community Government elected by the Dutch, French and German
speaking people in charge of language, cultural and educational issues.

Forms of Power Sharing:

I. Horizontal : Different organs of government

a) Legislature
b) Executive
c) Judiciary
II. Vertical : Among the government at different levels
a) Union or Central Government
b) State Government
c) Local Government
III. Different social group
Religious or Linguistic groups (E.g. Belgium)
IV. Political Parties:
 Lead to competition – it ensure that a power does not remain in one hand.
 Coalition governments are formed if any party fails to get the majority.

 Parties have to perform to remain in power

 V. Pressure Groups: they influence the government and force them to change policies (example farmers,
workers, industrialists).

Why is Power Sharing desirable?

There are two sets of reasons which make power-sharing desirable.

Prudential Moral
Reduce the The spirit of
possiblity of conflicts democracy calls for
between different power sharing
social groups.

People who are

Prevents groups affected by the
from overstepping policies must have a
their rights to hand in shaping
enhance their own those policies
power

No single group can Citizens’

subvert the participation is a
constitution, power must
sharing unites the
nation

When power is not Moral reasons

shared, it oppresses make power sharing
the minority and essential and
even the majority is valuable
ruined

Short Answers:

Q.1. What led to the ethnic tension in Belgium? Why was it more acute in Brussels?
Ans. The ethnic tensions in Belgium erupted because of the economic development between the two linguistic
communities. The French speaking population was rich and powerful while those speaking Dutch were not as
influential. The Dutch speaking people got the benefit of economic development and education much later.
This was the reason for ethic tension between the two communities. The tension was more in
Brussels because the French speaking population was in majority while those speaking Dutch was in minority.

Q.2 What is power sharing?

Ans. Power sharing is an intelligent step to the design of democracy. It is aprocess of distribution of power
among the organs of the government anddifferent levels of the government

Q.3 What is the relationship between democracy and power sharing?

Ans. Power sharing is a process of distribution of power among the different organs and levels of government.
In Democracy political power is distributed among as many citizens as possible

Q.4. Explain the concept of checks and balances

Ans. A system of checks and balances occurs when one organ of the government checks the powers of the other organs.
Judges appointed by the executive can check the functioning of executive or laws made by the legislatures

Q.5. Differentiate between horizontal and vertical power sharing.

HORIZONTAL VERTICAL
Power is shared among different organs of the Power is shared among governments at different
government levels
No one organ has unlimited power The constitution outlines the powers of different
levels of government
There is a system of checks and balances There is general government for the country and
Eg. India, Switzerland provincial or regional governments Eg. Belgium,
Germany, Spain

Q.6 What is a coalition government?

Ans. When two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections and forma government to share power in
a democracy, this kind of government is called a Coalition Government

Q.7. Describe the basic principles of democracy about power sharing.

Ans. In democracy, people are the source of political power
 They elect their representatives through direct or indirect election .Those who win and secure majority in
the legislature form government at various levels i.e national, state or local
 In democracy due respect is given to all social groups including minorities.
 In India, minorities enjoy educational and cultural rights
 Reservations have been made for SCs/STs in Parliament and State assemblies. Democracy power is shared
at various levels and among various social groups

Q.8. What are the different forms of power sharing in modern democracies?
Among different organs of government
Among governments at different levels
Among different social groups
Among different political parties, pressure groups and movements

Long answers-

Q.1 Describe the geographical & ethnic composition of Belgium.

Ans. Geographical composition: Belgium is a small European country.
1. It has borders with Netherlands, France and Germany.
2. Its population is a little over one crore.
3. Ethnic composition: 59% of Belgians live in the Flemish region and speak Dutch language.
4. 40% of the population lives in the Wallonia region and speak French.

5. 1% of the population speak German.

6. Brussels is the capital of Belgium. 80% of the population speak French while 20% speak Dutch.
7. Belgium is a country of diversities based on languages. Dutch speaking people were in majority in the
country but in minority in the capital city of Brussels.

Q.2 Describe the geographical and ethnic composition of Sri Lanka.

Ans. Sri Lanka is an Island nation south of India in the Indian Ocean.
 Ethnic composition: Its population is about 2 crores
 It has a diverse population. The major social groups are the Sinhala speaking (74%) and Tamil speaking
(18%)
 Tamil speakers are further divided into two sub groups – Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils
 Sri Lankan Tamils are natives of Sri Lanka while the Indian Tamils’ forefathers migrated from India as
plantation workers during colonial period
 Sri Lankan Tamils live in the north and east of the country
 There are different religions in Sri Lanka, namely, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.
 Most of the Sinhala speaking people are Buddhist
 Most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims
 Christians constitute 7% and are both Tamil and Sinhala

Q.3 What is majoritarianism? Describe the majoritarian measures taken by the leaders of the Sinhala
community to establish their supremacy. What were its results?
Ans. Majoritarianism is a belief that the majority community should be able to rule the country in which ever
way it wants, by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority
 In 1956, an Act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language
 The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university
positions or government jobs
 A new constitution stipulated that the state would protect and foster Buddhism
 The measures increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
 The relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities became worse
 The Sri Lankan Tamils felt that none of the major political parties of the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were
sensitive to their language and culture
 They felt that they were being denied equal political rights and were discriminated in government jobs
and other opportunities
 The Sri Lankan Tamils started struggle for recognition of Tamil as official language, regional autonomy,
equality of opportunity in education and jobs
 By 1980s, demand for an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka
was put forward by some political organizations
 War started and thousands of people were killed. Many people were forced to leave the country.
Many lost their livelihoods
 It caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the country

Q.4 Explain the concept of 'community government in Belgium'.

 The community government is elected by people belonging to one language community no matter
where they live
 The government has the power regarding cultural, educational and language related issues

Q.5 How is the composition of capital city of Brussels different from Belgium as a country?
 Belgium: Dutch speaking 59%, French speaking 40%, German speaking 1%.
 Brussels: French speaking 80% and Dutch speaking 20%.

 Dutch speaking people are in majority in the country but they are in minority in Brussels.
 French speaking people are in minority in the country but are in majority in the capital city of Brussels.
Q.6. What do we learn from the two stories of Belgium and Sri Lanka?
Ans. In Belgium the leaders respected the feelings and interests of all communities and were successful in maintaining
the unity of the country.
 The leaders recognized the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities
 They took various steps such as amendments to the constitution in order to work out an arrangement that
would enable everyone to livetogether within the same country
 The arrangements such as equal number of ministers from Dutch and French speaking people has worked
successfully
 The majority community in Sri Lanka tries to force its dominance over other communities
 It has brought the country nearer to a civil war and the unity of the country is threatened
 This shows that the path of accommodation is better than that of majoritarianism and power sharing must be
followed

Q.7. Why is power sharing desirable?

Ans. There are two types of reasons in favor of power sharing
Prudential: Power sharing is good because it helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups
Social conflict often leads to violence and instability but power sharing is a good way to ensure political stability
While majoritarianism leads to division or civil war as has happened in Sri Lanka power sharing leads to unity as
has happened in Belgium
Tyranny of the majority is harmful for the minority as well as for the majority because it brings widespread
conflict or a civil war in which people of both the communities suffer

Moral : These emphasize that the power sharing is valuable because it is good for democracies
It is the basis of democracy
It is the very spirit of democracy
In a democracy people who are affected by the policies of the government should have a right to be consulted in
the governance of thecountryQ.14Trace the existence of the term democracy
It was believed that all power of a government must rest in one person or a group of persons located at one
place
It was presumed that if the power to decide is dispersed, it would not be possible to take quick decisions

Q. 8. How does democracy accommodate different social groups?

Ans. Democracy can accommodate different social groups by sharing power among these social groups (such as religious
and linguistic groups) e.g. 'Community government' in Belgium.
 In some countries there are constitutional and legal arrangements whereby socially weaker sections and women
are represented in the legislature and administration e.g. the system of 'reserved constituencies' in assemblies and
parliament of our country.
 Such arrangements are meant to give space in the government and administration to diverse social groups who
otherwise would feel alienated from the government. This gives minority communities a fair share in power.