Power Sharing Class 10 Notes – this chapter talks about the idea of power-sharing.

Power Sharing Class 10 Notes

What is Power Sharing?

In simple terms, power-sharing means sharing of power between different tiers of Government.

Belgium –

1. A small country in Europe.
2. Borders with – France, Germany, Netherlands and Luxembourg.
3. Total population – 59% lives in Flemish region and speak Dutch, 40% live in Wallonia region and speak French and 1% German speaking people
4. The capital city – Brussels
5. In Brussels 80% of the people speak French and 20% Dutch speaking people.
6. The minority French speaking was rich and powerful.
7. Dutch community got economic development and education much later.

The problem of Brussels –

1. Dutch speaking was majority in the country but minority in the capital
2. French speaking was minority in the country but majority in the capital.

Accommodation in Belgium –

1. Leaders took a different path
2. They recognized existence of regional differences and cultural diversity
3. The constitution was amended four time between 1970 and 1993 to make a system that would enable everyone to live together with peace.

Elements of Belgium model –

• According to The Constitution of Belgium the number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers will be equal to the central/union government
• Most of the powers of the central government are given by the national government of the two regions of the country
• Brussels has a separate government in wherein each the communities have equal representation
• There was another type of government called – community government

Community government –

• People from the same language community are selected
• The community type of government has the power in regard to cultural, educational and language related issue.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka –

• Sri Lanka independent in – 1949
• Due to Sinhala community who sought to secure dominance over the government the government adopted a policy called majoritarianism.
• In 1956 act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the official language
• According to the new constitution the state shall protect and foster Buddhism
• These measures gradually increased the sense of division among the Tamil Sri Lankan Tamil
• They felt the policies and the constitution denied them their political rights, discrimination in jobs, opportunities.
• The relations strained over the time
• Sri Lankan Tamils introduced parties and struggled for the Tamil to be recognized as the official language
• By 1980’s several organizations were formed demanding an independent Tamil state
• It soon became a civil war
• As a result, many people lost their life’s, thousands were forced to leave the country

Why power sharing is desirable –

1. Prudential reason – power sharing is good because it helps reduce the chances of conflicts between groups in a community. Since strife leads to violence and destruction, it is a good way to ensure stability.
2. Moral reason – power sharing is the spirit of democracy itself. democracy involves the sharing of power with those involved in its implementation and who must live with its consequences

Forms of power sharing –

• Power shared amid different organs of the government – such as legislature, executive and judiciary. The horizontal type of distribution because it allows various organs of the government placed or working at same level to exercise different operational powers
• E.g., Government officials and ministers exercise powers, they are responsible to the parliament.
• Judges are appointed by executives; they can check the functioning of executives or laws made by the legislatures.
• This agreement is called a system of ‘check and balance’.

• Power can be shared among government at different levels – such as government for the entire country usually called federal government. In India, it is also called the central or union government.
• This is called the federal division of power.
• It is further lower down than the state government to municipality and panchayats

• Power may also be shared between different social groups – such as religious and linguistic groups.
• A good example of it is Belgium’s community government.
• In some countries there are constitutional and legal provisions where women and     vulnerable groups are represented in the legislature and in the administration.

• Power sharing arrangements can be seen in the way, political parties, pressure groups and movements – in a democracy the citizen must have the freedom to choose among various contenders. This happens in a competitive manner and ensures that power does not stay in one hand. In long run, power is shared amid different parties that depict different ideologies.

Definition –

Majoritarianism – the belief that the majority community of the population should be able to govern the country in whatever way they use it.

we hope that the Power Sharing Class 10 Notes, class 10 civics chapter 1 notes will help you in understanding the concepts easily.

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