Power sharing Flashcards
After independence, Sri Lanka witnessed the supremacy of which community?
After independence in 1948, Sri Lanka witnessed the supremacy of Sinhala community.
Do you think that the steps taken by Shri Lankan Government to establish the supremacy
of Sinhalas were justified be long lasting? Give your view point
The steps taken by the Sri Lankan government to establish Sinhalas’ supremacy cannot be
justified as long lasting because of the following reasons.
These steps ignored the interests of a minority community. Even the basic rights were not
given to them.
Discrimination based on religion and language further deprived other communities in Sri
Lanka.
Repeated denial of the demands further developed distrust and ignited the situation that
resulted in a civil war causing terrible setback to Sri Lankan social, cultural and
economic life.
Sharing of powers makes a country more powerful and united’. Justify the statement.
Sharing of power makes a country more powerful and united because of the following
reasons.
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
Describe any three ‘majoritarian measures’ taken by the Sri Lankan Government to
establish Sinhala supremacy
The following are the majoritarian measures adopted by the Sri Lankan government to
establish Sinhala supremacy.
In the year 1956, an act was passed, which established Sinhala as the official language to
be used in Sri Lanka disregarding the minority group of Tamils. The passing of this act
created a feeling of alienation among the minority group, i.e. Sri Lankan Tamils and they
started to feel left-out from the society.
The government then started adopting and formulating government policies that favoured
the Sinhala people in government jobs and for university positions, which made the Sri
Lankan Tamils feel ousted.
The Sri Lankan Government further proclaimed that they shall foster and protect only
Buddhism as their Sate religion and refused to cater to any other religion disregarding the
religion of Sri Lankan Tamils.
Bring out any two sharp contrasts between Belgium and Sri Lankan democracies.
Sri Lanka and Belgium are both democratic countries yet have a very diverse social set-up.
Both the countries have adopted very different approaches when it comes to power sharing.
Belgium produced an ideal example of democratic system. It adopted the policy of
accommodation of social and ethnics divisions. On the other hand, Sri Lanka also
adopted democratic system but followed majoritarian policies.
Under the Belgium model of democracy, power was shared among two ethnic groups. Sri
Lanka favoured the interests of the majority Sinhala community.
In Belgium, both the groups had equal share in working of government but in Sri Lanka
the minority community was isolated.
To maintain political stability and unity, equal representation was provided to both the
groups. Apart from that, community government of both the ethnic groups also existed at
the local level. Sri Lanka, however, had no such arrangement.
Belgium constitution was amended four times before arriving at a final draft to prevent
civil strife. In Sri Lanka, majoritarianism led to civil war for twenty long years.
What is the official religion of Sri Lanka?
Buddhism is the official religion of Sri Lanka
After independence, Sri Lanka witnessed the supremacy of which community?
Sri Lanka witnessed the supremacy of Sinhala community after independence.
Explain the three ways by which Belgium has accommodated the existing regional
differences and cultural diversities.
When the Belgian leaders recognized the existence of regional differences and cultural
diversities, they amended their constitution four times in order to accommodate these
differences.
The following are the ways in which Belgium has accommodated the existing regional
differences and cultural diversities.
Equal number of ministers: The Government of Belgium has equal number of Dutch- and
French-speaking ministers. This has been done to give equal power to the majority and
the minority language speaking groups.
Setting up of Community Government: A third kind of government, named the
community government, is introduced in addition to the Central and the State
Government. This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and lingual
issues. This government comprises members from all the three communities—Dutchspeaking, French-speaking and German-speaking.
Fair share of power: Many powers of the Central government have been given to the state
governments of the two regions of the country. The state governments are not subordinate
to the Central government but are independent.
Equal representation: In the State Government of Brussels—the capital city—both the
French- and Dutch-speaking communities have equal representation.
Sharing of powers makes a country more powerful and united. Do you agree with the
statement? Why?
Yes, I agree with the statement. Power sharing makes a country more united.
Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
It is a good way to ensure the stability of political order as social conflict often leads to
violence and political instability.
Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. The concept of democracy is a system of
government of the people, by the people and for the people, which emphasizes on
distribution of power among people.
It involves sharing powers with those affected by its exercise and who have to live with
its effects, so that the people would be consulted on how they are to be governed.
Highlight the measures adopted by the Belgium Constitution for the prevention of
conflicts in Belgium.
When the Belgian leaders recognized the existence of regional differences and cultural
diversities, they amended their constitution four times in order to accommodate these
differences.
The following are the ways in which Belgium has accommodated the existing regional
differences and cultural diversities.
Equal number of ministers: The Government of Belgium has equal number of Dutch- and
French-speaking ministers. This has been done to give equal power to the majority and
the minority language speaking groups.
Setting up of Community Government: A third kind of government, named the
community government, is introduced in addition to the Central and the State
Government. This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and lingual
issues. This government comprises members from all the three communities—Dutchspeaking, French-speaking and German-speaking.
Fair share of power: Many powers of the Central government have been given to the state
governments of the two regions of the country. The state governments are not subordinate
to the Central government but are independent.
Equal representation: In the State Government of Brussels—the capital city—both the
French- and Dutch-speaking communities have equal representation.
Describe any three provisions of the act which was passed in Sri Lanka in 1956 to
establish Sinhala supremacy.
The following are the majoritarian measures adopted by the Sri Lankan government to
establish Sinhala supremacy.
In the year 1956, an act was passed, which established Sinhala as the official language to
be used in Sri Lanka disregarding the minority group of Tamils. The passing of this act
created a feeling of alienation among the minority group, i.e. Sri Lankan Tamils and they
started to feel left-out from the society.
The government then started adopting and formulating government policies that favoured
the Sinhala people in government jobs and for university positions, which made the Sri
Lankan Tamils feel ousted.
The Sri Lankan Government further proclaimed that they shall foster and protect only
Buddhism as their Sate religion and refused to cater to any other religion disregarding the
religion of Sri Lankan Tamils.
How have Belgium and Sri Lanka dealt with the Ques of power sharing differently?
Sri Lanka and Belgium are both democratic countries yet have a very diverse social set-up.
Both the countries have adopted very different approaches when it comes to power sharing.
Belgium produced an ideal example of democratic system. It adopted the policy of
accommodation of social and ethnics divisions. On the other hand, Sri Lanka also
adopted democratic system but followed majoritarian policies.
Under the Belgium model of democracy, power was shared among two ethnic groups. Sri
Lanka favoured the interests of the majority Sinhala community.
In Belgium, both the groups had equal share in working of government but in Sri Lanka
the minority community was isolated.
To maintain political stability and unity, equal representation was provided to both the
groups. Apart from that, community government of both the ethnic groups also existed at
the local level. Sri Lanka, however, had no such arrangement.
Belgium constitution was amended four times before arriving at a final draft to prevent
civil strife. In Sri Lanka, majoritarianism led to civil war for twenty long years.
Explain two reasons as to why power sharing is desirable
There are many reason as to why power sharing is important in a democracy. The followingare the two main sets in which the reasons can be broadly divided.
Prudential reason:
Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social
groups.
It is a good way to ensure the stability of political order as social conflict often leads to
violence and political stability.
Moral Reason:
Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. The concept of democracy is a system of
government of the people, by the people and for the people, which emphasizes on
distribution of power among people.
It involves sharing powers with those affected by its exercise and who have to live its
effects, so that the people would be consulted on how they are to be governed.
Explain how Belgium was able to solve her ethnic problems.
When the Belgian leaders recognized the existence of regional differences and cultural
diversities, they amended their constitution four times in order to accommodate these
differences.
The following are the ways in which Belgium has accommodated the existing regional
differences and cultural diversities.
Equal number of ministers: The Government of Belgium has equal number of Dutch- and
French-speaking ministers. This has been done to give equal power to the majority and
the minority language speaking groups.
Setting up of Community Government: A third kind of government, named the
community government, is introduced in addition to the Central and the State
Government. This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and lingual
issues. This government comprises members from all the three communities—Dutchspeaking, French-speaking and German-speaking.
Fair share of power: Many powers of the Central government have been given to the state
governments of the two regions of the country. The state governments are not subordinate
to the Central government but are independent.
Equal representation: In the State Government of Brussels—the capital city—both the
French- and Dutch-speaking communities have equal representation.
Explain how power is shared among between different organs of government.
In democracy, power is shared among different organs of government, i.e. legislature,
executive and judiciary through the horizontal distribution of power. It is so because it allowsdifferent organs of government to be placed at the same level to exercise different powers. In
horizontal division, different organs exercise their power based on the concept of separation of
powers such as legislature makes laws, executive enforces these laws and judiciary interprets
these laws. This results in balance of power among different organs of government. No organ
can exercise unlimited power as each organ checks the other. Hence, in horizontal division the
concept of checks and balance is followed.
The power is shared between different organs of the government in horizontal form of power
sharing.
