Social Science Civics Democratic Politics Chapter 1 Power Sharing - Class 10 PDF Download

Ch power sharing

Notes

Overview

With this chapter, we resume the tour of democracy that we started last year. An intelligent sharing of power among a legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design of a democracy.

We start with two stories from Belgium and Sri Lanka. Both these stories are about how democracies handle demands for power sharing.

Belgium

Geographical Position: Small country in Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, France and Germany.

Area and Population: Smaller in area than the Indian state of Haryana. Population little over one crore, half of the state of Haryana.

Ethnic Composition: 59% live in Flemish region and speak Dutch, 40% live in Wallonia region and speak French, 1% speak German. Brussels-80% speak French, 20% Speak Dutch

Important Point: In Brussels, the Dutch-speaking people are in a minority which is the opposite of the rest of the country, where they are in a majority>The minority population of French-speaking people was richer than the Dutch-speaking people. The majority community were given benefits much later. This led to tension between the two communities in the 1950s and 1960s. Tension was more acute in the capital city of Brussels.

Sri Lanka

Geographical Position: A small island in Asia, off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.

Population: Same as Haryana’s. About two crore people.

Ethnic Composition: 74% Sinhalese-speaking people 18% Tamil-speaking people, 13% are natives of Sri Lanka, known as Sri Lankan Tamils.The rest are called Indian Tamils who are descendants of plantation workers, who came from India during the colonial period

Religion: Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists. Most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims. Christians constitute 7% of the population and they belong to both Sinhala and Tamil communities.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

Meaning of Majoritarianism: A belief that only the majority community should rule a country, make laws for everyone and with total disregard to the wishes and needs of the minority.

Sri Lanka became independent in 1948. The leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over the government by virtue of their majority. It immediately adopted measures to impose Sinhala supremacy.

It made Sinhalese the official language of the country (by an Act in 1956) and ignored Tamil completely.

Made a preferential policy to favour Sinhala-speaking people in all government jobs and educational institutions.

It promoted and protected Buddhism( A new constitution was made)

The Tamils felt alienated. No respect or recognition was given to their language, culture and religion. 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 autonomy to provinces populated 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 the country. The distrust between the two communities turned into widespread conflict.

It soon turned into CIVIL WAR which killed thousands on both sides. The flourishing economy of Sri Lanka has disappeared, and the conflict has given a blow to social, cultural and economic life of Sri Lanka.

Accommodation in Belgium

For accommodating the interests of the minority and the majority, Belgium adopted a unique system of power sharing. They recognized the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities. Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution 4 times. The arrangement is very unique and innovative.

The Belgian Model of Governance Ø

The French and Dutch-speaking ministers are in the central government. Some special laws require the support of majority of members from each linguistic group.Thus, no single community canmake decisions unilaterally.

Many powers of the central government have been given to state governments of the two regions of the country. They are not subordinate to the centre.

• Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities (French and Dutch) have equal representation. In Brussels, where the French were in majority, both communities were given equal representation, as the Dutch had agreed to equal representation at the centre despite them being in majority.
• A third government which is called “community government” is elected by people belonging to one language community— Dutch, French and German-speaking — no matter where they live. The community government has power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues.
• The system is complicated but useful. It has avoided conflicts between the two main communities and a possible division of the country on linguistic lines. It was why the European Union has selected Brussels as its headquarters.

Why is Power Sharing Desirable?

Prudential Reason: -

• Power sharing helps reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups and brings about stability in political order. By avoiding conflicts, political stability and unity of the country can be maintained. Dictatorship of the majority community
• can be oppressive for the minority and can even wreck the majority community as well.

Moral Reason: -

• Power sharing is the very essence of a democracy as participation of citizens is an essential factor. A democratic rule involves sharing powers with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects.
• Every section of community has the right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. Governance should be carried out keeping in mind the larger interests of each section of the community.  So a legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a role in the system.

Forms of Power Sharing

The idea of power sharing has emerged in opposition to the notions of undivided political power. For a long time, it was believed that all power of a government must reside in one person or group of a person located at one place.

One basic principle of power sharing is that people are the source of all political power. 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 politics. Therefore, it follows that in a democracy political power should be distributed among as many citizens as possible.

• In modern sharing democracies, power sharing arrangements can take many forms such as:

Power is shared among different organs of the government:

such as the legislature, executive, and judiciary. Let us call this horizontal distribution of power because it allows different organs of the government placed at the same level to exercise different powers. ln this kind of government 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. e.g. India. Ministers and government officials exercise power but at the same time they are responsible to the Parliament or State; and although the Judges are appointed by the executive, they can check the functioning of executive or laws made by the legislature.

• Power can be shared among governments at different levels –
• a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. The division of higher and lower levels of government is called the vertical division of power, as the central government delegates its powers to the state governments and they in turn delegate it to the smaller governing bodies and institutions.
• In a federal government, there are two main levels of government the Union or the Central Government and the State Government. While  the  Central  Government  looks  after  the  administration  and  law  and  order  of  the  entire
• country as a whole, the State Governments look after the administration and law and order in their own states.Municipal corporations and village panchayats are the local units of administration.

Power may also 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. ‘Community government’ is a good example of this arrangement.
• Representation given to the weaker sections of society and religious minorities in the Government ensure the diversity and unity of the country. In India, the system of reserved constituencies in the assemblies and in the Parliament is an example of power sharing among different social and ethnic groups.
• Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups and movements control or influence those in power. 
• This way the power is shared among different parties that represent different ideologies and social groups. In a democracy, the citizens must have freedom to choose various contenders for power. In contemporary democracies this takes place in the form of competition among different parties. Such competition ensures that power does not remain in one hand.
• When two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections, this kind of power sharing can be direct. If their alliance is elected, they form a coalition government and thus share power.
• In a democracy, we find interest groups of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers and industrial workers. They also have a share in governmental powers, either through participation or bringing influence on the decision-making process.