Page 1
Power-sharing
1
Chapter I
Power-sharing
Overview
With this chapter, we resume the tour of democracy that we started last
year. We noted last year that in a democracy all power does not rest
with any one organ of the government. An intelligent sharing of power
among legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design
of a democracy. In this and the next two chapters, we carry this idea of
power-sharing forward. We start with two stories from Belgium and Sri
Lanka. Both these stories are about how democracies handle demands for
power-sharing. The stories yield some general conclusions about the need
for power-sharing in democracy. This allows us to discuss various forms
of power-sharing that will be taken up in the following two chapters.
Chapter 1.indd 1 08-04-2022 12:29:05
2024-25
Page 2
Power-sharing
1
Chapter I
Power-sharing
Overview
With this chapter, we resume the tour of democracy that we started last
year. We noted last year that in a democracy all power does not rest
with any one organ of the government. An intelligent sharing of power
among legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design
of a democracy. In this and the next two chapters, we carry this idea of
power-sharing forward. We start with two stories from Belgium and Sri
Lanka. Both these stories are about how democracies handle demands for
power-sharing. The stories yield some general conclusions about the need
for power-sharing in democracy. This allows us to discuss various forms
of power-sharing that will be taken up in the following two chapters.
Chapter 1.indd 1 08-04-2022 12:29:05
2024-25
2
Democratic Politics
Belgium and Sri Lanka
I have a simple
equation in mind.
Sharing power =
dividing power =
weakening the
country. Why do we
start by talking of
this?
Ethnic: 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.
Belgium is a small country in Europe,
smaller in area than the state of
Haryana. It has borders with France,
the Netherlands, Germany and
Luxembourg. It has a population of
a little over one crore, about half the
population of Haryana. The ethnic
composition of this small country is
very complex. 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. In the
capital city Brussels, 80 per cent
people speak French while 20 per
cent are Dutch-speaking.
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. Brussels presented a
special problem: the Dutch-speaking
people constituted a majority in
the country, but a minority in the
capital.
Let us compare this to the
situation in another country. Sri
Lanka is an island nation, just a few
kilometres off the southern coast
of Tamil Nadu. It has about two
crore people, about the same as in
Haryana. Like other nations in the
South Asia region, Sri Lanka has a
diverse population. 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
Communities
and
regions of
Belgium
Walloon (French-speaking)
Flemish (Dutch-speaking)
German-speaking
Brussels-Capital Region
Look at the maps of Belgium and Sri Lanka. In
which region, do you find concentration of different
communities?
© Wikipedia
For more details, visit https://www.belgium.be/en
Chapter 1.indd 2 08-04-2022 12:29:07
2024-25
Page 3
Power-sharing
1
Chapter I
Power-sharing
Overview
With this chapter, we resume the tour of democracy that we started last
year. We noted last year that in a democracy all power does not rest
with any one organ of the government. An intelligent sharing of power
among legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design
of a democracy. In this and the next two chapters, we carry this idea of
power-sharing forward. We start with two stories from Belgium and Sri
Lanka. Both these stories are about how democracies handle demands for
power-sharing. The stories yield some general conclusions about the need
for power-sharing in democracy. This allows us to discuss various forms
of power-sharing that will be taken up in the following two chapters.
Chapter 1.indd 1 08-04-2022 12:29:05
2024-25
2
Democratic Politics
Belgium and Sri Lanka
I have a simple
equation in mind.
Sharing power =
dividing power =
weakening the
country. Why do we
start by talking of
this?
Ethnic: 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.
Belgium is a small country in Europe,
smaller in area than the state of
Haryana. It has borders with France,
the Netherlands, Germany and
Luxembourg. It has a population of
a little over one crore, about half the
population of Haryana. The ethnic
composition of this small country is
very complex. 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. In the
capital city Brussels, 80 per cent
people speak French while 20 per
cent are Dutch-speaking.
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. Brussels presented a
special problem: the Dutch-speaking
people constituted a majority in
the country, but a minority in the
capital.
Let us compare this to the
situation in another country. Sri
Lanka is an island nation, just a few
kilometres off the southern coast
of Tamil Nadu. It has about two
crore people, about the same as in
Haryana. Like other nations in the
South Asia region, Sri Lanka has a
diverse population. 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
Communities
and
regions of
Belgium
Walloon (French-speaking)
Flemish (Dutch-speaking)
German-speaking
Brussels-Capital Region
Look at the maps of Belgium and Sri Lanka. In
which region, do you find concentration of different
communities?
© Wikipedia
For more details, visit https://www.belgium.be/en
Chapter 1.indd 2 08-04-2022 12:29:07
2024-25
Power-sharing
3
Ethnic Communities
of Sri Lanka
Sinhalese
Sri Lankan Tamil
Indian Tamil
Muslim
For more details, visit https://www.gov.lk
Tamils’ (13 per cent). The rest,
whose forefathers came from India as
plantation workers during colonial
period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’.
As you can see from the map, 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.
Just imagine what could happen
in situations like this. In Belgium,
the Dutch community could take
advantage of its numeric majority
and force its will on the French and
German-speaking population. This
would push the conflict among
communities further. This could
lead to a very messy partition of the
country; both the sides would claim
control over Brussels. In Sri Lanka,
the Sinhala community enjoyed
an even bigger majority and could
impose its will on the entire country.
Now, let us look at what happened
in both these countries.
Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka emerged as an independent
country in 1948. The leaders of
the Sinhala community sought to
secure dominance over government
by virtue of their majority. As a
result, the democratically elected
government adopted a series of
majoritarian measures to establish
Sinhala supremacy.
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 stipulated that
the state shall protect and foster
Buddhism.
All these government measures,
coming one after the other, gradually
increased the feeling of alienation
among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
They felt that none of the major
political parties led by the Buddhist
Sinhala leaders was sensitive to their
language and culture. 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. As a
Majoritarianism: 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.
Chapter 1.indd 3 08-04-2022 12:29:08
2024-25
Page 4
Power-sharing
1
Chapter I
Power-sharing
Overview
With this chapter, we resume the tour of democracy that we started last
year. We noted last year that in a democracy all power does not rest
with any one organ of the government. An intelligent sharing of power
among legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design
of a democracy. In this and the next two chapters, we carry this idea of
power-sharing forward. We start with two stories from Belgium and Sri
Lanka. Both these stories are about how democracies handle demands for
power-sharing. The stories yield some general conclusions about the need
for power-sharing in democracy. This allows us to discuss various forms
of power-sharing that will be taken up in the following two chapters.
Chapter 1.indd 1 08-04-2022 12:29:05
2024-25
2
Democratic Politics
Belgium and Sri Lanka
I have a simple
equation in mind.
Sharing power =
dividing power =
weakening the
country. Why do we
start by talking of
this?
Ethnic: 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.
Belgium is a small country in Europe,
smaller in area than the state of
Haryana. It has borders with France,
the Netherlands, Germany and
Luxembourg. It has a population of
a little over one crore, about half the
population of Haryana. The ethnic
composition of this small country is
very complex. 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. In the
capital city Brussels, 80 per cent
people speak French while 20 per
cent are Dutch-speaking.
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. Brussels presented a
special problem: the Dutch-speaking
people constituted a majority in
the country, but a minority in the
capital.
Let us compare this to the
situation in another country. Sri
Lanka is an island nation, just a few
kilometres off the southern coast
of Tamil Nadu. It has about two
crore people, about the same as in
Haryana. Like other nations in the
South Asia region, Sri Lanka has a
diverse population. 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
Communities
and
regions of
Belgium
Walloon (French-speaking)
Flemish (Dutch-speaking)
German-speaking
Brussels-Capital Region
Look at the maps of Belgium and Sri Lanka. In
which region, do you find concentration of different
communities?
© Wikipedia
For more details, visit https://www.belgium.be/en
Chapter 1.indd 2 08-04-2022 12:29:07
2024-25
Power-sharing
3
Ethnic Communities
of Sri Lanka
Sinhalese
Sri Lankan Tamil
Indian Tamil
Muslim
For more details, visit https://www.gov.lk
Tamils’ (13 per cent). The rest,
whose forefathers came from India as
plantation workers during colonial
period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’.
As you can see from the map, 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.
Just imagine what could happen
in situations like this. In Belgium,
the Dutch community could take
advantage of its numeric majority
and force its will on the French and
German-speaking population. This
would push the conflict among
communities further. This could
lead to a very messy partition of the
country; both the sides would claim
control over Brussels. In Sri Lanka,
the Sinhala community enjoyed
an even bigger majority and could
impose its will on the entire country.
Now, let us look at what happened
in both these countries.
Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka emerged as an independent
country in 1948. The leaders of
the Sinhala community sought to
secure dominance over government
by virtue of their majority. As a
result, the democratically elected
government adopted a series of
majoritarian measures to establish
Sinhala supremacy.
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 stipulated that
the state shall protect and foster
Buddhism.
All these government measures,
coming one after the other, gradually
increased the feeling of alienation
among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
They felt that none of the major
political parties led by the Buddhist
Sinhala leaders was sensitive to their
language and culture. 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. As a
Majoritarianism: 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.
Chapter 1.indd 3 08-04-2022 12:29:08
2024-25
4
Democratic Politics
What kind of a solution
is this? I am glad our
Constitution does not say
which minister will come from
which community.
The Belgian leaders took a different
path. They 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.
The arrangement they worked out is
different from any other country and is
very innovative. Here are some of the
elements of the Belgian model:
? Constitution prescribes that the
number of Dutch and French-speaking
ministers shall be equal in the central
government. Some special laws require
What’s wrong
if the majority
community rules?
If Sinhalas don’t
rule in Sri Lanka,
where else will
they rule?
the support of majority of members
from each linguistic group. Thus, no
single community can make decisions
unilaterally.
? 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 Brussels because
the Dutch-speaking community has
accepted equal representation in the
Accommodation in Belgium
Civil war: A violent
conflict between
opposing groups
within a country that
becomes so intense
that it appears like a
war.
result, 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. But their demand for more
auton omy to provi n ces popul ated by the
Tamils was repeatedly denied. By 1980s,
several political organisations 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 . As a result 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. It ended in 2009.
The photograph here is of a street
address in Belgium. You will notice
that place names and directions in two
languages – French and Dutch.
© Wikipedia
Chapter 1.indd 4 19/03/2024 10:38:13
2024-25
Page 5
Power-sharing
1
Chapter I
Power-sharing
Overview
With this chapter, we resume the tour of democracy that we started last
year. We noted last year that in a democracy all power does not rest
with any one organ of the government. An intelligent sharing of power
among legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design
of a democracy. In this and the next two chapters, we carry this idea of
power-sharing forward. We start with two stories from Belgium and Sri
Lanka. Both these stories are about how democracies handle demands for
power-sharing. The stories yield some general conclusions about the need
for power-sharing in democracy. This allows us to discuss various forms
of power-sharing that will be taken up in the following two chapters.
Chapter 1.indd 1 08-04-2022 12:29:05
2024-25
2
Democratic Politics
Belgium and Sri Lanka
I have a simple
equation in mind.
Sharing power =
dividing power =
weakening the
country. Why do we
start by talking of
this?
Ethnic: 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.
Belgium is a small country in Europe,
smaller in area than the state of
Haryana. It has borders with France,
the Netherlands, Germany and
Luxembourg. It has a population of
a little over one crore, about half the
population of Haryana. The ethnic
composition of this small country is
very complex. 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. In the
capital city Brussels, 80 per cent
people speak French while 20 per
cent are Dutch-speaking.
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. Brussels presented a
special problem: the Dutch-speaking
people constituted a majority in
the country, but a minority in the
capital.
Let us compare this to the
situation in another country. Sri
Lanka is an island nation, just a few
kilometres off the southern coast
of Tamil Nadu. It has about two
crore people, about the same as in
Haryana. Like other nations in the
South Asia region, Sri Lanka has a
diverse population. 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
Communities
and
regions of
Belgium
Walloon (French-speaking)
Flemish (Dutch-speaking)
German-speaking
Brussels-Capital Region
Look at the maps of Belgium and Sri Lanka. In
which region, do you find concentration of different
communities?
© Wikipedia
For more details, visit https://www.belgium.be/en
Chapter 1.indd 2 08-04-2022 12:29:07
2024-25
Power-sharing
3
Ethnic Communities
of Sri Lanka
Sinhalese
Sri Lankan Tamil
Indian Tamil
Muslim
For more details, visit https://www.gov.lk
Tamils’ (13 per cent). The rest,
whose forefathers came from India as
plantation workers during colonial
period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’.
As you can see from the map, 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.
Just imagine what could happen
in situations like this. In Belgium,
the Dutch community could take
advantage of its numeric majority
and force its will on the French and
German-speaking population. This
would push the conflict among
communities further. This could
lead to a very messy partition of the
country; both the sides would claim
control over Brussels. In Sri Lanka,
the Sinhala community enjoyed
an even bigger majority and could
impose its will on the entire country.
Now, let us look at what happened
in both these countries.
Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka emerged as an independent
country in 1948. The leaders of
the Sinhala community sought to
secure dominance over government
by virtue of their majority. As a
result, the democratically elected
government adopted a series of
majoritarian measures to establish
Sinhala supremacy.
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 stipulated that
the state shall protect and foster
Buddhism.
All these government measures,
coming one after the other, gradually
increased the feeling of alienation
among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
They felt that none of the major
political parties led by the Buddhist
Sinhala leaders was sensitive to their
language and culture. 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. As a
Majoritarianism: 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.
Chapter 1.indd 3 08-04-2022 12:29:08
2024-25
4
Democratic Politics
What kind of a solution
is this? I am glad our
Constitution does not say
which minister will come from
which community.
The Belgian leaders took a different
path. They 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.
The arrangement they worked out is
different from any other country and is
very innovative. Here are some of the
elements of the Belgian model:
? Constitution prescribes that the
number of Dutch and French-speaking
ministers shall be equal in the central
government. Some special laws require
What’s wrong
if the majority
community rules?
If Sinhalas don’t
rule in Sri Lanka,
where else will
they rule?
the support of majority of members
from each linguistic group. Thus, no
single community can make decisions
unilaterally.
? 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 Brussels because
the Dutch-speaking community has
accepted equal representation in the
Accommodation in Belgium
Civil war: A violent
conflict between
opposing groups
within a country that
becomes so intense
that it appears like a
war.
result, 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. But their demand for more
auton omy to provi n ces popul ated by the
Tamils was repeatedly denied. By 1980s,
several political organisations 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 . As a result 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. It ended in 2009.
The photograph here is of a street
address in Belgium. You will notice
that place names and directions in two
languages – French and Dutch.
© Wikipedia
Chapter 1.indd 4 19/03/2024 10:38:13
2024-25
Power-sharing
5
So you are
saying that
sharing of power
makes us more
powerful. Sounds
odd! Let me
think.
What do we learn from these two
stories of Belgium and Sri Lanka?
Both are democracies. Yet, they
dealt with the question of power
sharing differently. In Belgium,
the leaders have realised that the
unity of the country is possible
only by respecting the feelings and
interests of different communities
and regions. Such a realisation
resulted in mutually acceptable
arrangements for sharing power.
Sri Lanka shows us a contrasting
example. 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.
Read any newspaper for one week and make clippings of
news related to ongoing conflicts or wars. A group of five
students could pool their clippings together and do the following:
? Classify these conflicts by their location (your state, India,
outside India).
? Find out the cause of each of these conflicts. How many of these
are related to power sharing disputes?
? Which of these conflicts could be resolved by working out power
sharing arrangements?
European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium
accepted equal representation in the
Central Government.
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 – Dutch, French and
German-speaking – no matter where
they live. This government has the
power regarding cultural, educational
and language-related issues.
You might find the Belgian model
very complicated. It indeed is very
complicated, even for people living
in Belgium. But 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.
Chapter 1.indd 5 08-04-2022 12:29:11
2024-25
Read More