Test: Power-sharing - 2 - UPSC

Belgium is a small county in Europe.Belgium has the borders with France, Germany, Netherlands and Luxembourg.The ethnic composition of this small county is very complex.Total population of the country is 59% people live in Flemish region and speak Dutch language while another 40% people live in WA region and speak German

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. But their demand for more autonomy to provinces populated by the Tamils was repeatedly denied. By 1980s several political organizations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Elam (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. 

In the belgium model of power sharing
1-The state governments are not subordinate to the central which means they are not answerable to them.
2-Many powers of the central are given to the states.
3-The Dutch and the French enjoy a majority over each other in the whoe nation and the capital respectively . Thus Both the communities have equal number of representatives in the central as well as the Brussels's government.
4-There is a third government known as the community government which is elected by people belonging to one language , irrespective of where they live. This government has the power on cultural matters.

A coalition government is formed when two or more political parties join forces in order to create a majority. It's done in a bid to win an election under circumstances when the individual parties don't have nearly enough support to be elected by themselves, or following a "hung" election where there is no clear winner. Other situations where a coalition may be formed is in times of war, economic crisis, or some other crisis where it's more important to work together than to follow normal political procedure. 
Obviously, a coalition party has to compromise on certain issues, work together under circumstances where they normally wouldn't, and this can cause problems. Some nay-sayers believe that such governments have a tendency to be fractious and prone to disharmony, because the individual parties hold differing beliefs and normally disagree on particular issues. At times, it's been known for polar opposite parties to come together as a coalition, and some argue that this is suboptimal and tends to add inertia to the political process.

The European Parliament has three places of work – Brussels (Belgium), the city of Luxembourg and Strasbourg (France). Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices (the "General Secretariat"). Meetings of the whole Parliament ("plenary sessions") take place in Strasbourg and in Brussels.

The Sinhala community is still the largest majority by far, and constitute 74.9% of the population. The Sri Lankan Tamils are the second largest and now number 11.2%, with the third largest community being the Sri Lankan Moors who make up 9.3% of the population according to the 2012 census.

Indian Government is a three-tier system.
1. Union Government
2. State Government
3. Local Government

Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority andvarious constituent units of the country. Usually, a federation has two levels of government.

Correct Answer :- D

China is not a federal country. There is a communist party in China. Federal is relating to a system of government in which several states form a unity but remain independent in internal affairs.

Holding together federation is nothing but the division of powers between the states of the country and central government of that country. All the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong vis-à-vis the federal government in coming together federation.

The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists 22 languages, which have been referred to as scheduled languages and given recognition, status and official encouragement

Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948.

The rising era of Coalition government and regional politics has given rise to inter-relation between center and state governments.  The word 'coalition' means a collective type that decides to work collectively jointly in an alliance to achieve a shared goal between two or more individuals, factions, governments, political parties, military forces, etc. Tolerance and in case of no single party rule makes it easier.

The federal system of government has two or more tiers. In India, we have the Central and State governments. Some states in the country are very large geographically and are more diverse than in many countries. The population of many states is also more than that of many small countries like Uttar Pradesh has more population than Russia. Also, there are so many dialects, the diverse composition within states that power needs to be decentralized further. The large and diverse states make good governance difficult to achieve. Thus, we have the third tier of government, local self-government.

The capital of Brussels,80% people speak French while 20% people speak Dutch. In capital French were in majority and Dutch were in minority and whereas in the total population Dutch were in majority and French were in minority. The minority French people were rich and powerful.

Belgium leaders amended constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.

Power sharing ensures that all people have stake in government.
Power sharing ensures maximum participation. It upholds the concept of people’s rule. It always brings better outcomes in democracy. It ensures the political stability in democracy.
Power sharing accommodates diverse groups. It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.

The major social groups of Sri Lanka are Sinhalese (major ruling community) and Sri Lankan Tamils (majority group in Northern territories of Sri Lanka).

After Independence, Sinhalese followed several majoritarian measures to establish Sinhalese supremacy.

Sinhala was recognized as the official language of Sri Lanka in 1956.

Now both Sinhala and Tamil are the official language of Sri Lanka.

The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful in Belgium.

French speakers got the benefit of economic development.
. They were well-qualified and educated.
. Because of their qualifications and education, they were well-settled and thus, rich and powerful.

In 1956, the Official Language Act No. 33 declared Sinhala as the only official language, replacing English which had been imposed under British colonial rule.