Democratic Politics-II

Chapter-1: Power sharing

Belgium and Srilanka:- The ethnic composition
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(both Tamil
and Sinhala) Dutch French
59 speaking 1 German speaking
speaking 40

60
18
(Tamils)

40
74 French
(Sinhala) speaking
20

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Dutch
speaking
SriLanka Belgium Brussels

Sinhala Speakers German Speaking French Speaking

ID
Tamil Speakers French Speaking Dutch Speaking

Dutch Speaking

Majoritarianism in SriLanka
U
YG

Sinhala was recognised

as the only official language
thus disregarding Tamil
were favoured university positions

that the majority community

Majoritariansim is a belief

should be able to rule in

whichever way it wants
disregarding minorities
Sinhala applicants

and govt. jobs

In
1956
An act was
passed to establish
Sinhala supremancy
U
ST

New constitution
stipulated that state
shall protect and
faster Buddhism

Class X - Social Science 40

 Accommodation in Belgium

In Central govt.
• No. of Dutch and French
speaking ministers equal
• Special laws require support
of both communities
Not subordinate to central govt.

to culture, language and education

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powers of the central govt.
have been given to them

Elected by people belonging

to one language community
Deals with issues related
State governments

The community govt.

Between 1970-93
4 constitutional amendments work
out this arrangement to make everyone
live together

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For the capital city Brussels
A separate govt. in which
both the communities have

ID
U equal representation

Why power sharing is desirable

YG

Prudential Reason Moral Reasons

(Based on calculation of gains (based on moral Considerations)
D

and losses)

• Helps to reduce the conflict • It is the very spirit of

U

between different social groups democracy.

• Ensures stability of political • People have a right to be
order consulted on how they are to
ST

be governed

41 Class X - Social Science

 Forms of Power Sharing

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Vertical Division

E3
Power shared among
different social groups

ID
Forms of
Power
Horizontal division
U
Sharing
YG

Power shared among

political parties,
pressure groups and
movements
D
U
ST

Class X - Social Science 42

 1Mark Questions
Q.1 Give an example of power shared among different social groups?
Q.2 Which language is mainly spoken in Flemish region of Belgium?
Q.3 Which community in Belgium is relatively rich and powerful?
Q.4 Which govt. in Belgium deals with issues related to Education and
culture?
Q.5 Which religion is followed by majority of Sinhala speaking people?

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Q.6 How many amendments have been made in the constitution of
Belgium between 1970 and 1993?
Q.7 Which type of government has been adopted in Srilanka to maintain
the dominance of Sinhala community?

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Q.8 Which two main languages are spoken in Belgium?
Q.9 Which major social group constituted the largest share in population
of Srilanka?
Q.10 Name any two countries with which Belgium share borders.

ID
Q.11 Which is the official religion of Srilanka ?
Q.12 What is the main reason for the killing of thousand of Srilanka people
and loss of their livehoods ?
Q.13 Where is the headquarter of Europeon union?
U
Q.14 Which language is spoken by the people of wallonia region of
Belgium?
Q.15 Which language is spoken by 80 of people in Brussels?
YG

ANSWERS
1 The community govt. of Belgium 9 Sinhala
2 Dutch 10 France and Luxem
3 French Speaking 11 Buddism
4 Community govt. 12 Civil war
D

5 Buddhism 13 Brussels
6 Four 14 French
7 Majoritarianism 15 French
U

8 Dutch and French

3/5 marks Questions
ST

Q. 1 Why is power sharing desirable? Explain a three forms of powers

sharing in modern democracies with example.
Q. 2 Why was the minority French speaking community relatively rich
and powerful?
Q. 3 How majoritarianism resulted in social tension in Srilanka?
Q. 4 "Sharing of power makes a country more powerful and united"?
Justify the statement.

43 Class X - Social Science

 Q. 5 Highlight any three measures adopted by the Belgium
government to accomodate regional and cultural diversities.
Q.6 Describe any three demands of the Srilanka Tamils. How did they
struggle for their demands?
Q. 7 Write down the basic principles of power- sharing.

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Q. 8 What do we learn from the two stories of Belgium and Srilanka?
Q.9 How do pressure groups and interest groups share power in
democracy?
Q. 10 What do you mean by system of the 'Checks and balances' in a

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democracy?
Answer of 3/5 Marks Questions :-
1. To reduce the possibility of conflicts between different social groups and

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ensure political stability power sharing is desirable.
Different forms of power sharing are as under.
* Horizontal distribution of power is shared among different organs of
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government such as Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
* Vertical distribution of power.
YG

Power can be shared among governments at different levels such as

central Govt; state Govt. and Local Govt.
* Power may also be shared among different social groups.
Ex. Religious and linguistic groups, community government in
D

Belgium etc.
* Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political
U

parties, pressure groups and movements control or influence those

in power.
ST

2. In Brussels, the capital of Belgium, the French speaking people are in

majority . The power has been into the hands of French people for a
longer period and benefitted them for economic development and
education. The French speaking population was better read, more
qualified and had access to more resources than the native Dutch

Class X - Social Science 44

 60
E3
ID
U
YG
D
U
ST

45 Class X - Social Science

 7. The basic principles of power sharing are :
(i) Government of different political parties i.e.a coalition Government.
(ii) Protection of minority rights.
(iii) Decentralisation of power.
(iv) To avoid conflicts
8. We learnt following things from the example of Belgium and Srilanka:-

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(i) In Belgium the leaders realised that the unity of the country is
possible only by respecting the interests of different communities
and religious.
(ii) Such a realisation resulted in mutually acceptable arrangements
for sharing power. It helped to avoid civic strife between two

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communities and a possible division of the country.
(iii) Srilankan example shows us that if a majority community wants to
force it dominance over others and refused to share power, it can
undermine the unity of the country.

ID
Ans.9 Pressure groups and interest groups share power with the
government indirectly.
(i) Interest groups such as those of traders businessman industrialists
farmers and industrial workers have a direct share in government
U
power through participation in government committees.
(ii) They also bring influence on the decision making process of the
govt.
YG

Ans.10 In democratic countries power is shared among different organs of

the govt. such as legislature executive and judiciary.
i. These organs are placed at the same level to exercise different
powers.
ii. None of the organs can exercise unlimited power. Each organ
D

check the others. This results in a balance of power among various

institutions for example. Even though ministers exercise power
they are responsible to the parliament or state assemblies
U

similarly.
iii. Judges are appointed by the executive they can check the
functioning of executive and legislature. This arrangement is called
ST

system of checks and balances.

Class X - Social Science 46