Table of contents | |
Power Sharing | |
Forms of Power Sharing | |
Story of Belgium | |
Story of Sri Lanka | |
Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka | |
Accommodation in Belgium | |
Frequently Asked Questions |
There are two ways of running a government.
- One is a tyranny – In this, the power is concentrated in the hands of a leader or a king.
- On the other hand, the other one is a democracy. In this, the power is delegated at different levels.
The lesson illustrates, with the examples of Belgium and Sri Lanka, how power-sharing is handled by democracies and we learn how necessary it is to share power in a democracy wisely.
In a modern democracy, power-sharing arrangements can take many forms.
(i) Geographical Position: Small country in Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, France and Germany.
Map of Belgium
(ii) Area and Population: Smaller in area than the Indian state of Haryana. The population is a little over one crore, half of the state of Haryana.
(iii) Ethnic Composition: 59% live in Flemish region - speak Dutch, 40% live in Wallonia region - speak French, and 1% -speak German
(iv) Capital: Brussels; 80% speak French, 20% Speak Dutch.
(v) Important Point:
Cheering crowds greet British troops entering Brussels, 4 September 1944
(vi) Accommodation in Belgium: Belgium constitution was amended four times, between 1970 and 1993, so as to assist all communities to live together within the same country, with the result that it did not suffer from a civil war, demands for autonomy or partition of the country.
(i) Geographical Position: A small island in Asia, off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.
Ethnic communities of Sri Lanka
(ii) Population: Same as Haryana’s. About two crore people.
(iii) 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 Tamils who are descendants of plantation workers, who came from India during the colonial period.
(iv) 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.
Example:
A. Major social groups are the Sinhala- speaking (74%) and Tamil-speaking (18%)
B. Among the Tamils, there are two sub-groups, Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils.
C. There are about 7% Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.
D. Most of the Sinhala-speaking are Hindus or Muslims and most of the Tamil-speaking are Buddhists.
Which of the above statements are correct?
From 1970 to 1993, the constitution of Belgian was amended four times. The idea was to work out an arrangement that would make everyone to live together. Key elements of the Belgian model are:
Hence, it was a fairly better alternative than the majoritarian policy of Sri Lanka.
Q.1: What is vertical division of power?
Ans: When power is shared among governments at different levels, i.e., the Union or the Central Government, the State Government and the Municipality and Panchayat at the lower level. This division of power involving higher and lower levels of government is called the vertical division of power.
Q.2: Define the term ‘Ethnic’.
Ans: Ethnic means a social division based on shared culture and common descent. People belonging to an ethnic group need not have the same religion or nationality.
Q.3: Define majoritarianism. (2013)
Ans: Majoritarianism is rule by majority community by disregarding the needs and wishes of the minority community.
64 videos|445 docs|87 tests
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1. What is power sharing? |
2. What are the forms of power sharing? |
3. What is the story of Belgium in terms of power sharing? |
4. What is majoritarianism in Sri Lanka? |
5. How did accommodation work in Belgium? |
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