POWER SHARING

BELGIUM
Belgium is a small European country, having borders with France,
Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. Population is a little over 1cr with
a very complex ethnic composition. 59% people live in the Flemish region
and speak Dutch, 40% live in the Wallonia region and speak French and 1%
of Belgians speak German. In the capital Brussels, 80% people speak French
while 20% speak Dutch. The minority French-community was relatively
rich/powerful. Dutch-community resented this as they got benefit of
economic development/education much later leading to tensions during
the 1950s and 1960s, acutely in Brussels. The Dutch majority could force
its will on the French and German communities, increasing conflict and
leading to a partition; both sides claiming Brussels. The Belgian leaders
recognised the existence of regional and cultural diff. B/w 1970 and 1993,
they amended their constitution 4 times to work out an arrangement for
everyone to live together and avoid civic strife, 1) Constitution says no. of
Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central govt.
Special laws need majority support from each linguistic group, deterring
unilateral decisions.2) Central govt. and state govts. of the 2 regions share
some powers. Brussels has a separate govt with both communities having
equal representation. 3) There is a third kind of Govt called ‘community
govt’, elected by people belonging to one language community, having
power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues. When
many European countries came together to form the European Union,
Brussels was chosen as its headquarters.
 SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka is an island nation, a few kilometres off the southern coast of
Tamil Nadu, with a 2cr population. Sri Lanka has a diverse population,
consisting of Sinhala-speakers (74%) and Tamil-speakers (18%). Tamils
have2 sub-groups-Tamil natives, called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13%) and Indian
Tamils’ whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during
colonial period. Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in the north and east
of the country. Most of the Sinhala speaking people are Buddhists, while
most of the Tamils are Hindus/Muslims. There are about 7% Christians,
who are both Tamil and Sinhala. Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948.
The Sinhala leader sought to secure dominance over govt by their majority.
The democratically elected govt adopted a series of majoritarian measures
to establish Sinhala supremacy. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise
Sinhala as the only official language. The govt followed policies that
favoured Sinhala applicants for positions/jobs. Buddhism was declared
state religion. Tamils didn’t enjoy equal political rights and were
discriminated against. The relations between the Sinhala and Tamil
communities strained over time. The Sri Lankan Tamils launched
parties/struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an official language,
regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in securing education and
jobs. But their demands were denied. By 1980s several political
organisations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (state)
in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. The distrust between the 2
communities turned into widespread conflict and a civil war, resulting in
deaths of thousands of people. Many families were forced to leave the
country as refugees and lost their livelihoods. It affected Sri Lanka’s
economic progress.
 WHY IS POWER SHARING DESIRABLE?
1) Power sharing is good because it helps reduce the possibility of conflict
b/w social groups. Since social conflict often leads to violence and political
instability, power sharing helps ensure the stability of political order.
Imposing the will of majority community over others undermines the unity
of the nation. It brings ruin for both the majority and minority. 2)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 govt is one where citizens, through participation,
acquire a stake in the system. The 1st reason(prudential), stresses that
power sharing leads to better outcomes. The 2nd reason (moral) emphasises
the very act of power sharing as valuable.
 FORMS OF POWER SHARING
In a democracy, people are the source of all political power and rule
themselves through institutions of self-govt. Respect is given to diverse
groups and views. In democracies, power sharing arrangements take many
forms. 1) Power is shared among diff. Govt organs, such as the legislature,
executive and judiciary (horizontal distribution of power). This ensures that
none of the organs can exercise unlimited power. Each organ checks the
others, resulting in a balance of power. Even though govt officials exercise
power, they are responsible to the Parliament or State Assemblies. Judges
are appointed by the executive; they can check its functioning or laws
made by the legislatures. This is called a system of checks and balances. 2)
Power can be shared among govts at different levels (vertical division of
power.) – a general govt for the entire country (federal/central/union
govt.) and provincial/regional govts (state govts). Our constitution lays
down the powers of different levels of govt, called federal division of
power. The same principle can be extended to the municipality and
panchayat. 3) Power may be shared among diff. social groups such as the
religious and linguistic groups. Ex, 'Community government’ in Belgium.
Some countries have constitutional and legal arrangements whereby
socially weaker sections and women are represented in the legislatures
and administration. This is to give space in the govt and administration to
diverse social groups who otherwise would feel alienated from the govt
and to give minority communities a fair share in power. 4) Power sharing
is seen in the way pol 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. This takes the form of
competition among diff parties. Such competition ensures that power does
not remain in one hand. Power is shared among diff pol parties that
represent different ideologies and social groups. This is direct when 2 or
more parties form an alliance. If their alliance is elected, they form a
coalition government and thus share power. Interest groups such as those
of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers have
a share in govt power, either through participation in govt committees or
bringing influence on the decision-making process.