Subhash Nagar, Ph: +91 87663 38574

CHAPTER-1
POLITICAL SCIENCE
POWER SHARING

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE

1. Which major social group constituted the largest share in population of Sri Lanka?
Sinhala-speaking community

2. Which of the following is an example of horizontal sharing of power?

(a) Power sharing between different states.
(b) Power sharing between different organs of the government.
(c) Power sharing between different levels of the government.
(d) Power sharing between different political parties.
Power sharing between different organs of the government

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

(a) In Belgium, leaders realised that unity of the country is possible only by sharing
power.
(b) In Sri Lanka, the majority community wants to force domination over others.
(c) In Sri Lanka, the demand for more autonomy to provinces populated by Tamils
has been granted.
(d) Division of Belgium along linguistic lines was averted due to power sharing.
In Sri Lanka, the demand for more autonomy to provinces populated by Tamils has been
granted.

4. System of ‘checks and balances’ means:

(a) Horizontal distribution of powers.
(b) Separation of powers.
(c) Put a check on the exercise of unlimited powers of the organs of government by
maintaining a balance of power among various institutions.
(d) Federal division of powers.

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Put a check on the exercise of unlimited powers of the organs of government by maintaining
a balance of power among various institutions’

5. Which language was recognized as the only official language of Sri Lanka in 1956?
Sinhala

6. Define majoritarianism.
Majoritarianism is rule by majority community by disregarding the needs and wishes of the
minority community.

7. What is the language spoken by the people residing in the Wallonia region of
Belgium?
French

8. After independence, Sri Lanka witnessed the supremacy of which community?

Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948 and the democratically elected
government adopted a series of measures to establish Sinhala supremacy.

9. What are ‘Ethnic Groups’?

A social division based on shared culture. People belonging to the same ethnic group believe
in their common descent because of similarities of physical type or of culture or both. They
need not always have the same religion or nationality.

LONG & SHORT ANSWER TYPE

1. How is the ethnic composition of Belgium complex?

Belgium is a small country in Europe, having a population of around one crore. But its ethnic
composition is very complex in the following manner:
 Of the country’s total population, 59 per cent lives in the Flemish region and speaks
Dutch language.
 Another 40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French.
 Remaining one per cent of the Belgians speak German.
 While in the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak French while 20 per cent
are Dutch-speaking. Hence, Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in the
country, but a minority in the capital.

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2. What was the issue faced by Belgium in terms of its ethnic composition?
Belgium, being a small country, had a very complex ethnic composition. Hence:
 The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful.
 This was resented by the 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.
 The tension between the two communities was more acute in Brussels. Dutch-
speaking people constituted a majority in the country, but a minority in the capital.

3. Describe the ethnic composition of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is an island nation, just a few kilometres off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu. It has
a diverse population of about two crore people.
 The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per cent) and the Tamil-
speakers (18 per cent).
 Among Tamils there are two sub-groups. Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri
Lankan Tamils’ (13 per cent). The rest, whose forefathers came from India as
plantation workers during colonial period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’. 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 or Muslims.
 There are about 7 per cent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.

4. Explain the majoritarian policies adopted by the Sri Lankan government.

Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. The democratically elected
government adopted a series of majoritarian methods to establish Sinhala supremacy. These
are as follows:
 In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus
disregarding Tamil.
 The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for
university positions and government jobs.
 A new constitution said that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

5. Explain any three consequences of the majoritarian policies adopted by the Sri Lankan
government.
All the majoritarian measures adopted by the government increased the feeling of alienation
among the Sri Lankan Tamils. They felt that government policies denied them equal political

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rights and discriminated against them by ignoring their interests. As a result, following were
the consequences:
 The Sri Lankan Tamils felt that the government was not sensitive regarding their
language and culture. Hence, they launched parties and struggles for the recognition
of their culture and making Tamil as an official language.
 They demanded for regional autonomy. Several political organisations were formed
demanding independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern part of Sri
Lanka.
 As they were denied equal opportunities by the government, they also demanded for
equal opportunities in education and job security.
 Therefore, the measures adopted by the government to establish Sinhala supremacy
led to distrust between the 2 communities, which turned the widespread conflict into
a civil war. Thousands of people of both the communities were killed and many
families were forced to leave the country as refugees and lost their livelihoods.
 It shows us that if a majority community wants to force its dominance over others
and refuses to share power, it can undermine the unity of the country.

6. Why do we find the Belgian model of power sharing very complicated? How has it
helped to prevent conflict and division of the country on linguistic lines?
OR
How is Belgium’s power sharing path different from any other country?
OR
How did Belgium’s power sharing model help to accommodate cultural and ethnic
differences in the country?
Belgian leaders took a different path and recognized the existence of regional differences and
cultural diversities.
 Between 1970s and 1993, they amended their constitution four times to enable an
arrangement that would accommodate all the ethnic diversities.
 The constitution says that the number of Dutch speaking and French speaking
ministers shall be equal in the Central Government.
 Some special laws require the support of majority members from each linguistic
group so that no single community can make decisions on their own.
 Many powers of the Central Government have been given to State Governments of the
two regions of the country. The State Governments are not subordinate to the Central
Government.
 Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal
representation. The French speaking people accepted equal representation in

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Brussels because the Dutch-speaking community has accepted equal representation

in the Central Government.
 Community government was also 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 measures to avoid civic strife between the two major communities in Belgium
and a possible division of the country on linguistic lines.

7. ‘Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.’ Justify the statement.

OR
Why is power sharing desirable?
 A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who
have to live with its effects. Power sharing ensures that people have the right to be
consulted on how they are to be governed, and have equal participation in the
government.
 In a democracy, each individual has a say in governance through their elected
representatives. This is the essence of power sharing that grants equal rights to the
citizens.
 Power sharing ensures that respect for diversity and desire for living together
becomes a shared ideal amongst different communities in a country.
 Prudential reasons state that power sharing can reduce social conflicts and contribute
in political stability, which would bring out better outcomes.
 Power sharing is a valuable and important part of democra
 nizzcy as it has benefits in the long-run.

8. What is majoritarianism? Is it wrong if a majority community in a country rules? Give

reasons to justify your answer.
A belief that the majority community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it
wants, by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority is majoritarianism. Yes, it is
wrong if a majority community in a country rules due to the below reasons:
 The very idea of power-sharing has emerged in opposition to the notions of undivided
political power.
 A positive attitude towards diversity and willingness to accommodate it, is good for
democracy.
 Power in the hands of one community will make the other community feel
marginalised, deprived and discriminated.

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 The struggle against such inequalities sometimes takes the path of conflict and
defiance of State power as in Sri Lanka.

9. ‘In modern democracies, power sharing arrangements can take many forms.’ Explain.
Power sharing arrangements can take many forms in democracies, some of them are as
follows:
 Horizontal Power Sharing Arrangement: Power is shared among different organs
of government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. This is called 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.
 Vertical Power Sharing Arrangement: 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/central/union government. The governments at the provincial
or regional level are called by different names in different countries. Eg. State
governments in India. The same principle can be extended to levels of government
lower than the State government, such as the municipality and panchayat system.
 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. 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.
 Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties,
pressure groups and movements control or influence those in power. In
contemporary democracies, elections 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. 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, there are interest groups, such as those of traders, businessmen,
industrialists, farmers and industrial workers. They also will have a share in

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governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or

bringing influence on the decision-making process.

10. What do you mean by ‘system of checks and balances’?

 The horizontal distribution of power ensures that power is shared among different
organs of government – the legislature, executive and judiciary.
 It allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise different
powers.
 Such separation ensures that none of the organ can exercise unlimited powers.
 Each organ keeps a check on the others. This results in a balance of power among various
institutions. This arrangement is called as the ‘system of checks and balances.’

11. What is a Civil War? Explain with context to Sri Lanka.

 It is a violent conflict between the opposing groups within a country, for example the
Sinhalese and the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
 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.
 The civil war has caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the
country.

12. “Both Belgium and Sri Lanka are democracies but they follow different systems of
power sharing.” Support the statement by giving three points of difference.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 The Belgium solution helped in avoiding civic strife whereas the majoritarianism in
Sri Lanka led to the civil war.

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13. What is the relationship between democracy and power sharing?

‘Democracy’ means giving every citizen the right and power to make the decisions through
their elected representatives. ‘Power sharing’ is dividing power among various social
groups to give them equal representation in the governance. Power sharing is the essence of
democracy where every individual, irrespective of cultural and language differences feel
involved in the political system.

14. Explain the principle of federal division of power.

 Under the federal division of power the power is divided among different levels of
government; for example in India the power is shared among the three levels of
governments, i.e., Union government, the state governments and the local governments.
This type of system is known as vertical division of power.
 Under this the Constitution clearly lays down the power of each level of government.

15. How is a federal government better than a unitary government? Explain with
examples of Belgium and Sri Lanka.
 Federalism is a system of government under which power is divided between a central
authority and its various constituent units. Whereas in a unitary government all the
powers are in the hands of a central authority.
 The Belgium leaders tried to solve the ethnic problem by respecting the feelings and
interests of different communities and regions by establishing a federal government,
whereas the Sri Lankan government tried to solve the problem through imposing
majoritarianism.
 The Belgium solution helped in avoiding the civic strife, whereas the majoritarianism in
Sri Lanka led to the civil war.

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