CBSE Class 10 Social Science Power Sharing Important Questions

Que.No.1.  Who formed majority in terms in population in Sri Lanka?   

Ans: Sinhalese Buddhists formed majority.

Que.No.2. Who formed majority in terms of population in Belgium?    

Ans: The Dutch formed majority.

Que.No.3. Who does the word ‘ethnic’ refer to?    

Ans: Ethnic refer to a social division based on shared culture.

Que.No.4. What do you mean by Federal division of power.  

Ans: Power shared at different levels of government.

Que.No.5. In which year Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country.  

Ans: In 1949

Que.No.6. Which community is relatively rich and powerful in Belgium?     

Ans: French minority community.

Que.No.7. Name the different organs of government in the democratic country.      

Ans: Legislative, executive and judiciary are the organs of democracy country.

Que.No.8. Why is power sharing good for democracy?       

Ans: It reduces the possibility of conflict between social group(other relative point)

Que.No.9. Who are Sri Lankan Tamil?                     

Ans: Native of Sri Lanka whose speak Tamil.

Que.No.10. In which country community government exists?      

Ans: Belgium

Que.No.11. Name the languages spoken in Belgium.   

Ans:  People speak Dutch, 40% French and 01% percent people speak German.

Que.No.12. What is the main different between prudential and moral?          

Ans: i) Prudential reason stress that power sharing will bring out better outcome.

        ii)Which moral reason emphasis the very act of power sharing as valuable.

Que.No.13. What is the reason for tension in Belgium?        

Ans:  i)The French are in minority in the country but are quite well off than the Dutch

        ii)The Dutch form 59% the French form 40% and the German about 01%.

       iii)The French community is in majority in the capital, Brussels they are rich and powerful.

 Que.No.14. What do you mean by a ‘good democracy front’ explain.        

Ans: i) People rule through institution of self governance.

        ii)Due respect is given to diverse group and view that exist in society.

        iii)Every has a voice in the shaping share power (other relevant points).

Que.No.15. Describe the way in which power can be shared among different social groups.    

Ans: i)Different linguistic and social group can share power .community govt. in Belgium is an example.

        ii)The constitution provides for the representation of women and weaker section in the legislatures and administration.

       iii)In India scheduled castes and S.T are given reserved constitution in parliament and state legislatures.

Que.No.16. Mention any three provision of the Act which was passed in Sri Lanka in 1956 to establish Sinhala supremacy.     

Ans:  i)Sinhala to be the official language of Sri Lanka.

         ii)Preferential policy of Sinhalese in government educational institution and job.

         iii)To foster Buddhism (any the relevant points.)

Que.No.17. Briefly compare the different way in which the Belgium and Sri Lanka have dealt which the problem of cultural diversity.    

Ans:  i) Both the countries are democracies.

         ii) The leaders of Belgium have followed the path of accommodating cultural and regional difference.

         iii)In Sri Lanka the majority community namely the Sinhalese want to keep all power and prestige to them selves and refuse to share power.

Que.No.18. Describe the tension that existed between Dutch and French speaking people in Belgium.     

Ans: i) The French speaking people who where in a minority were rich and powerful.

        ii) The Dutch speaking people got the benefit of economic development and education much lot this resulted in tensions during the 1950s and 1960s.

       iii) In Brussels, the Dutch speaker were in a majority in the country and majority in the capital.

Que.No.19. What measure where adopted by the Belgium government to accommodate regional and cultural diversities? 

Ans:  i)The Dutch and French speaking minister were in equal number in the central government.

         ii)Special laws required the support of majority of members form each Linguisticgroup.

        iii)Many power of the central government had been given to state government of the two reason of the country.

        iv)Brussels had a separate government where both communities were given equal representation.

        v)Community govt. was introduce.

Que.No.20. Do you agree that power sharing is important for culturally diverse country like India.       

Ans: i) Yes ,because generally large countries like India are bound to be culturally diverse and strong Regional traditions.

         ii)This thing creates great pressure for division of power which can usually be common dated within a unitary system.

         iii)Another factor which encourage the adoption of power sharing.

         iv)It also help to reduce possibility of conflict between social groups and ensure stability of a political system.

         v)Division of power is often an institutional response of social diversity.

Que.No.21. Describe the various forms of power sharing in modern democracies. Give an example of each of these.            

Ans:  i) Horizontal division of power:-Power is shared among different organs of government such as the Legislative , executive and judiciary.

        ii) Vertical division of power:-Power can be shared among government at different levels-central government ,state government, municipal and panchayats.

        iii) Division of power in social groups:-Communities government share the power among different social group such as Belgium.

         iv)Division of power among political , pressure groups and movements:-Interest group such as traders, businessman, Industrialist, Formers, workers etc.

Que.No.22. Give reasons for why power sharing is desirable.            

Ans: i ) Power sharing is good become it reduce the possibility of conflict between social group.

        ii) It is stability order the strengthens the unity of the nation.

        iii) Power sharing good for democracy.

        iv) Power sharing is the essence of democracy.

        v)  Democratic rule involve sharing power with those effected by its exercise and who have to live With its effects. (other any relevant points.)

Que.No.23. What were the advantages enjoyed by the Sinhala community in Sri Lanka? Describe the consequences.                       

Ans:   i) The leaders of the Sinhala community tried to secure the dominance of their community after Independence.

          ii) They adopted a series of majoritarian measure to establish Sinhala supremacy.

         iii) In 1956 an Act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language.

         iv) Special preference in govt. jobs and university positions.

         v)  All those government measure coming one after the other gradually increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lanka Tamil.(any other relevant points.)

Important Questions NCERT Class 10 Social Science Chapter 1 Power Sharing

Question. Which type of powers does community Government of Belgium enjoy? 

Ans. The government has power regarding culture, education and issues related to language.

Question. How is the ethnic composition of Belgium very complex? Explain.

Ans. (i) Of the country's total population, 59 percent live in the Flemish region and speak Dutch language.

(ii) Another 40 percent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French.

(iii) Remaining one percent of the Belgians speak German.

(iv) In the capital city Brussels, 80 percent people speak French while 20 percent are Dutch speaking.

Question. Compare the different ways in which the Belgians and the Sri Lankans have dealt with the problem of cultural diversity.

Ans. The Belgian leaders recognised the existence of regional and cultural diversities.

(i) They amended their Constitution four times so as to work out an innovative arrangement that would enable everyone to live together in peace and harmony, i.e., there was sharing of power between the Dutch and the French both in the Central Government, State Government and Communities Government. They followed a policy of accommodation.

This helped to avoid civic strife and division of the country on linguistic lines.

(ii) On the other hand, the Sinhalese who were in majority in Sri Lanka as compared to the Tamils followed a policy of majoritatrianism and adopted a series of measures to establish Sinhala supremacy by passing an Act of 1956.

These measures alienated the Tamils leading to civic strife between the two communities.

Question. “Social divisions affect politics.” Examine the statement.

Ans. Social divisions indeed affect politics. Various groups raise demands and during elections vote as per their interests. Social divisions affect voting in most countries. People from one community tend to prefer some party more than others. In many countries there are parties that focus only on one community, which however, cannot be said to be healthy.

Political expression of social diversity depends on three factors, which are as follows:

(a) How people perceive their identities. If people see their identity in singular or exclusive term, it becomes difficult to accommodate social diversity. A majority of Belgians now feel that they are as much Belgian as they are Dutch or German- speaking. This helps them to stay together. This is how most people in our country see their identity: they think of themselves as Indian as well as belonging to a state or a language group.

(b) How political leaders raise the demands of any community. It is easier to accommodate demands that are within the constitutional framework and are not at the cost of another community. In Sri Lanka, the demand for ‘only Sinhala’ was at the cost of the interest and identity of the Tamil community.

(c) How the government reacts to the demands of a community. If the government accommodates the demand of a particular community in a justified way, it makes the politics much better.

As seen in the case of Belgium. Whereas it did not happen in Sri Lanka, if the rulers are willing to share power and accommodate the reasonable demands of minority community, social divisions become less hazardous for the country. However, when the demands are suppressed the end result is very bad.

Question. Why is power sharing necessary in democracy? Explain.

Ans. The first reason is power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.

Power sharing is a good way to ensure the stability of political order as social conflict often leads to violence and political instability.

Imposing the will of the majority community over others may 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 only oppressive for the minority but it also brings ruin to the majority.

Another important reason is that the very spirit of democracy is power sharing. 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.

Question. Describe horizontal and vertical power sharing in modern democracies.

Ans. 

Question. How is the idea of power sharing emerged? Explain different forms that have common arrangements of power sharing.

Ans. The idea of power sharing has emerged contrary to the notions of undivided political power. Earlier it was believed that all powers of a government must reside in one person or group located at one place. It was felt that if the power to decide was dispersed, it would not be possible to take quick decisions and to enforce them. But these notions have changed with the emergence of democracy.

We have learnt that power sharing actually empowers individuals and communities. The two important reasons for sharing power are as follows:

1. Prudential reason : Power sharing is good because it helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. We know that social conflict often leads to violence and political instability. Thus power sharing can ensure the stability of political order. Imposing the will of majority community over others undermines the unity of the nation.

2.Moral reason : Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. It must involve sharing of 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. This can only be achieved when the citizens have a stake in the system.

For example in India people elect their representative through direct franchise. After that, people’s representatives elect the government to make or amend rules & regulations and to carry out day to day functioning of governance. In India we have a central government, a state government and a local government (panchayat or municipalities)

Forms of Power Sharing :

1. Horizontal Power sharing : Power is shared among different arms of the government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. This ensures that none of the arms of the government has unlimited power. Each organ acts as a check for the others. This leads to a balance of power among various institutions.

For example, though ministers and government officials exercise power, they are responsible to the Parliament or State Assemblies. Similarly, although judges are appointed by the executive, they can check the functioning of executive or laws made by the legislatures. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.

2. Vertical Power sharing : Power sharing among governments at different levels –

A government for the entire country is called ‘Central or Union or Federal government’. The government in a particular state is called ‘State government’ in India. In such cases the constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government.

This is what was done in Belgium but not done in Sri Lanka. This is called federal division of power.

3. Empowering Social groups : Power may also be shared among different social groups such as the religious and linguistic groups. ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a good example of this arrangement. I System of ‘reserved constituencies’ in assemblies and the parliament of our country is an example of empowering minority community.

4. Political parties and Pressure groups : Power sharing is also seen in the way political parties, pressure groups and social movements control or influence those in power. In a democracy acquiring power can take the form of competition among different parties. 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. This kind of sharing can be direct as in a coalition government when two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections.

In a democracy, we find interest groups such as those of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers. They also will have a share in governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or bringing influence on the decision-making process.