CBSE Class 10 Social Science Power Sharing Assignment Set A

INTRODUCTION
Power sharing among the three organs of state viz., Legislature, Executive and Judiciary is very important for the proper functioning of the democracy. The idea of power sharing has emerged as opposition to the notion of undivided political power. In a democracy, everyone has a voice in shaping of public policies.To understand how democracies handle demands for power sharing, here we are discussing the forms of power sharing in Belgium and Sri Lanka.

13.1 BELGIUM AND SRI LANKA

(a) Ethnic composition of Belgium :
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 this small country is very complex. Of the country’s total population, 59 percent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language. Another 40 percent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. Remaining 1 percent of the Belgians speak German. In the capital city Brussels, 80 percent people speak French while 20 percent are Dutch speaking.
Problems – The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. This was resented by Dutch-speaking community who got the benefit of economic development and
education much later. This led to tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities during the 1950s and 1960s. Brussels presented a special problem: The Dutchspeaking people constituted a majority in the country, but a minority in the capital.

(b) Ethnic composition of Sri Lanka :
Sri Lanka is an island nation. It has about 2 crore people, Sri Lanka has a diverse population. The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 percent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 percent). Among Tamils there are two subgroups. Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 percent). The rest, 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 percent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.

13.2 MAJORITARIANISM IN SRI LANKA

Majoritarianism is a political philosophy which asserts that a majority of the population (majority by language, religion or any other identifying factor) has the right to take the decisions affecting the society. It means submission of the minority group to the majority group for all the decisions affecting their lives. It often results in preferential policies being followed, favouring the majority group in university positions and government jobs and other opportunities and interests, thus denying the minority equal rights and opportunities.

(a) Majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy :
In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil. The government followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs. A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

(b) Outcomes/Problems that emerged :
Majoritarianism has 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. The relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time.
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. By 1980s several political organisation were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. The distrust between the two communities turned into widespread conflict. It soon turned into a civil war (A civil war is a violent conflict between various groups in a country itself often due to undermining of a particular group’s interests or sentiments by the other group.). The civil war has caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the country.

13.3 ACCOMMODATION IN BELGIUM

The Belgian leaders recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities.
Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country. Some of the elements of the Belgian model are–
(i) Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government.
(ii) Many powers of the central government have been given to state government of the two regions of the country. The state governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.
(iii) Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation.
(iv) Apart from the Central and the State Government, there is a third kind of government. This ‘community government’ (A community government is one in which different social groups are given the power to handle the affairs related to their communities. They are expected to work jointly for the benefit of the common masses without undermining any one community.)’ 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.
These arrangements have worked well so far. They helped to avoid civic strife between the two major communities and a possible division of the country on linguistic lines. When many countries of Europe came together to form the European Union, Brussels was chosen as its headquarters.

13.4 IS POWER SHARING DESIRABLE ?

In deeply divided societies (divided on ethnic, cultural, religion grounds) equal representation of all the principal groups is called for. Every social group needs a share in the governance to ensure that their interests would be taken care of. Power sharing is desirable on two grounds:

(a) Prudential Reason :
Power sharing is good because it helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. Power sharing is a good way to ensure the stability of political order. Imposing the will of majority community over others many look like an attractive option in the short run, but in the long run it undermines the unity of the nation. Tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive for the minority: it often brings ruin to the majority as well. Prudential reasons stress that power sharing will bring out better outcomes.

(b) Moral Reasons :
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. Moral reasons emphasises the very act of power sharing as valuable. 

13.5 POWER SHARING

Power sharing is a strategy wherein all the major segments of the society are provided with a permanent share of power in the governance of the country. It is a means for sharing practices and established rules and rules to facilitate broad-based decision-making, controlling and leading.

(a) Sharing of power : Must in democracy :
One basic principle of democracy is that people are the source of all political power. In a democracy, people rule themselves through institutions of self–governance. In a good democratic government, due respect is given to diverse groups and views that exist in a society. Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies. Therefore, it follows that in a democracy political power should be
distributed among as many citizens as possible.

(b) Forms of Power Sharing :

In modern democracies, power sharing arrangements can take many forms.
(i) Power is shared among different organs of government such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. Is also termed as 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. This results in a balance of power among various institutions. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.
(ii) 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. The governments at the provincial or regional level are called by different names in different countries. The constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government. This is called federal division of power. The same principle can be extended to levels of government lower than the State government, such as the municipality and panchayat, can also be termed as vertical division of power.
(iii) Power can be shared among different social groups, such as the religious and linguistic groups. In some countries there are constitutional and legal arrangements whereby socially weaker sections and women are represented in the legislatures and administration. This type of arrangement is meant 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 communities a fair share in power.
(iv) Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups and movements control or influence those in power. It 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. Interest groups also have a share in governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or bringing influence on the decision making process .

Answer : 1. (B), 2. (E), 3. (D), 4. (C), 5. (A)

Fill In The Blank 

True/False  

Assertion And Reason  

Question : Complete the table with correct information with regard to ethnic composition of Belgium :

Answer :

Short Questions for Class 10 Social Science Power Sharing 

Question :  Explain the ethnic problem of Srilanka. 
Answer :
1) In Silence there are two communities' sinhala and Tamil 
2) Among Tamils the Tamil natives who are called, Srilankan Tamils and the Indian Tamils whose forefathers come from India as plantation workers during the colonial period. 
3) Most of the Sinhalas are Buddhist and Tamils are Hindus or Muslims. So in Srilanka the problem was who is going to hold power and enjoy the economic benefits

Question : How can power be shared among governments at different levels? Explain.
Answer :  Vertical division of power : Vertical division of power means sharing of power among governments at different levels.
In India, there are three levels of the government :
(i) For the entire country : Central Government/Union Government.
(ii) At the provincial level : State Governments.
(iii) At the local level (i.e., rural and urban) : Local self governments like panchayats and municipal councils.

Long Questions for Class 10 Social Science Power Sharing

Question :  What is majoritariamisum? How it has led to alienation of majority community in Sri Lanka?
Answer :  The dominance of majority community to rule the country in whichever way it wants totally disregarding the wishes and needs of minority community is known as majoritarianism
1) In srilanka mainly there are two communities- Sinhala and Tamils the leaders of the sinhala community sought to secure dominance over the govt by virtue of their majority. Sinhala has been recognized as the official language of the country by disregarding
2) Government followed a preferential policy favouring sinhalased in university portions and govt jobs.
3) The govt encouraged and protected Budhism The distrust has turned into a civil war that has caused a set back to social cultural and economic life of Srilanka.

Question : Describe the power sharing arrangement made by Belgium.
Answer :  The main elements of the Belgium model of power-sharing includes :
(i) 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.
(ii) Many powers of the Central Government have been given to State Governments. The State Governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.
(iii) Brussels had 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.

Question : “Social division take place when some social difference overlap with other social differences.” Support the statement.
Answer :  Social division takes place when some social difference overlaps with other differences.
(a) The difference between the Blacks and Whites becomes a social division in the US because the Blacks tend to be poor, homeless and discriminated against.
(b) In our country Dalits tend to be poor and landless. They often face discrimination and injustice. Situations of this kind produce social divisions.
(c) Considering the cases of Northern Ireland and the Netherlands. Both are predominantly Christian but divided between Catholics and Protestants. In Northern Ireland, class and religion overlap with each other. The Catholics in Northern Ireland are also more likely to be poor, and often have a history of discrimination. Whereas in the Netherlands, class and religion tend to cut across each other. Catholics and Protestants are about equally likely to be poor or rich. The result is that Catholics and Protestants have had conflicts in Northern Ireland, while they do not do so in the Netherlands. Overlapping social differences create possibilities of deep social divisions and tensions.

Question : Give reasons why power sharing is desirable?
Answer :  Power sharing is desirable in democracy because :
(i) Prudential reasons :
(a) It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. Since social conflict often leads to violence and political instability.
(b) It is a good way to ensure the stability of political order.
(c) Imposing the will of over others may look like an attractive option in the short run, but in the long run it undermines the unity of the nation.
(ii) Moral reasons :
(a) 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 effect.
(b) People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.
(c) A legitimate government is one where citizens through participation, acquire a stake in the system.  

Extra Questions-

Question : 1 Why is power sharing good for democracies?

Question : 2 Why power sharing is Desirables.

Question : 3 Explain different forms of power sharing in modern democracies

Question : 4 Explain the drawbacks of majoritarianism.

Question : 5 It is possible to change the power sharing arrangement? If so How?