POWER SHARING
Q1.Describe the ethnic composition of Belgium.
Ans: The ethnic composition of Belgium is very complex.It is stated in the following points:
1. It has two main languages i.e.Dutch and French. Of the country’s total population,59% lives in Flemish region and speak Dutch language.
2. 40% people of Belgium lives in the Wallonia region and speaks French .Remaining 1% speaks German.
3. In the capital city Brussels ,80% people speak French while 20% are Dutch speaking.
4. The minority French speaking people are more rich and powerful than the Dutch speaking people.
Q2. What is the ethnic composition of Sri Lanka?
Ans: The ethnic composition of Sri Lanka can be described in the following ways:
1. The major groups in Sri Lanka are the Sinhala speakers (74%) and Tamil speakers (18%).
2. Among Tamil there are two sub groups ,Sri Lankan Tamils (13%) who are the Tamil natives of Sri Lanka and Indian Tamils (5%) whose forefather came from India as plantation workers during colonial period.
3. Most of the Sinhala speakers are Buddhists.Most of the Tamils are either Hindus or Muslims.
4. Christians are about 7% who are both Tamils and Sinhalas.
Q3. What were the majoritian measures taken in Sri Lanka to establish Sinhala supremacy?
Ans: Majoritian measures taken in Sri Lanka to establish Sinhala supremacy were:
1. In 1956 ,an Act was passed which recognised Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil language.
2. Preferences were given to Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
3.The State shall promote Buddhism according to the new constitution.
Q4. Highlight the measures adopted by the Belgium government to accommodate regional and cultural diversities.
Ans: The measures adopted by the Belgium government to accommodate regional and cultural diversities are as follows:
1. The Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government.
2. Many powers of the central government have been given to state government of the two regions of the country.
3. Brussels has a separate government in which both communities have equal representation.
4. 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 that is Dutch ,French and German speaking no matter where they live. This government has the power regarding cultural ,educational and language related issues.
Q5. How did Tamil make efforts to gain power in Sri Lanka?
Ans:i) Sri Lankan Tamil launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as the official language.
ii) They also made efforts for regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs.
iii) Several political organisations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (State) in northern and eastern part of Sri Lanka.
Q6. What are the different forms of power sharing in modern democracy ?Give an example of each of these.
Ans: Power shared among different organs of the government:
• In it the power is shared among legislature, executive and judiciary.
• It is also called horizontal distribution of power because all these organs are placed at the same level.
• Such a separation ensures that none of the organs can exercise unlimited power.
• Each organ checks the others which results in the balance of power among various institutions.
• This system is also known as the system of check and balances.
Power shared among different levels of the government:
• There is a government for the entire country, such a government is called federal government.
• Under this constitution clearly lays down the power of each level of government.
• It is also called vertical division of power as power is divided among higher and lower levels of government.
• In India ,we refer to it as the Central or Union government.The Government at the provincial or regional level is called state government in India.
• In India, government is divided at the Central level, state level and local level.
Power shared among different social groups:
• This type of arrangement is made 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 community a fair share in power.
• In India, we have the system of reserved constituencies in the Assemblies and the Parliament of the country.
• Community government in Belgium is a good example.
Power share among political parties, pressure groups and movements.
• In a democracy, power is also shared among different political parties, pressure groups and movements.
• Democracy provides the citizens 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.
• 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, various pressure groups and movements also have a share in governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or having influence on the decision making process either through participation or influencing decision making process.
Q7. What is so special about the 'community government' in Belgium?
Ans:
• Community government is elected by the people belonging to one language community-Dutch, French and German ,no matter where they live.
• This government has the power relating to culture ,language and educational issues.
• This kind of government helped to avoid civic strife between the two major communities
Q8. Explain why power sharing is important in a democracy.
Ans: The two main reasons are:
1.Prudential Reasons:
• These emphasis on better outcomes of power sharing.
• Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict among the social groups. This, it ensures the stability of the political order.
• Imposing the will of majority community over others undermines the unity of the nation.
• Tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive for the minority, it often brings ruins to the majority as well.
• For example, the reservation of constituencies for SC/ST/ minorities in India. In this way ,power sharing tries to reduce the possibility of conflict.
Moral Reasons:
• They stress on power sharing as a valuable act.
• Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.
• Democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise and who have to live with its effects.
• The democratic government is the one where the citizens acquire a role in the system through participation.
• For example,decentralization of powers in India through formation of local ,state and Central Government operating a different levels.
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Q9.Both Belgium and Sri Lanka are democracies but they follow different systems of power sharing. ” Support the statement by giving three points of difference.
Ans: (i) Type of Government: Sri Lanka continues to be, for all practical purpose, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system under which the regional governments were given constitutional powers that were no longer dependent on the central ‘government. Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form of government.
(ii) Religion and Government : To accommodate people belonging to different ethnic groups, Belgium formed a ‘community government’ whereas Sri Lankan government passed a law to protect and promote Buddhism.
(iii) Language and government : In 1956 Sri Lankan government passed an Act to recognize Sinhala as the only official language whereas Belgium government “tried to protect and foster all the languages spoken by the people.
Q10. What is a Civil War? Explain with context to Sri Lanka.
Ans: (i) It is a violent conflict between the opposing groups within a country, for example the Sinhalese and the Tamils.
(ii) Due to the violent conflict between both these ethnic groups, 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.
(iii) The civil war has caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the country.
