POWER SHARING 

Class X, Civics, Chapter No.1

Belgium and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Ethnic Composition - Sinhala speakers 74%
                                 Tamil speakers 18% (13% Sri Lankan Tamils, rest Indian Tamils)
                                 Sinhala speaking people are Buddhist, Tamils are Hindu or Muslims, about
                                  7% Christians are both Tamil & Sinhala.
Steps taken by Government - • Adopted a series of Majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala
                                                    supremacy.
                                             • Act passed in 1956 to recognise Sinhala as the official language.
                                             • Favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs,
                                             • State favoured policies to protect and foster Buddhism
Outcomes                    • Increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri-Lanka Tamils.                                     • Relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time.
                                    • Tamils have launched parties & struggles, formed political organisations
                                       demanding independent Tamil Eelam.
                                    • The distrust between the two communities turned into widespread conflict,
                                       soon turned into a Civil War.

Belgium 

Ethnic Composition - Dutch speaking population – 59% in the Flemish region.
                                 French speaking – 40% in the Wallonia region. 1% German speaking
                                 In Brussels – 80% Speaking French
                                                     20% Dutch speaking
                                 French community was relatively rich and powerful, in comparison to Dutch
                                 community who got the benefit of economic development and education much later.
Steps taken by Government - • Recognised the existence of regional differences & cultural diversities.
                                              • Amended their constitution four times to allow everyone to live together.
                                              • Equal number of Dutch & French speaking ministers in the central
                                                 government.
                                              • State government given more powers in their regions, are not subordiante
                                                to the Central Government.
                                              • Community government has the power regarding cultural, educational and
                                                language related issues.
Outcomes         -                   • Helped to avoid civil strife between the two major communities and a
                                               possible division of country on linguistic lines.
                                             • Brussels chosen as headquarter of European Union.

Why Power Sharing is desirable ?

    (a) Prudential Reasons : Power sharing reduces the possibility of conflict between social groups, a good way to ensure the stability of political order. Tyranny of majority not only hurts minority, ruins the majority as well, power sharing will bring better outcomes.
    (b) Moral Reasons : Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. People have the right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. Moral reason emphasizes the very act of power sharing as valuable.

    Forms of power sharing :

    (i) Among different organs of the government – power shared among Legislature, Executive & Judiciary, also termed as horizontal distribution of power, is also called a system of checks and balances.
    (ii) Among governments at different levels - also termed as vertical division of power, power shared among central, state & local governments.
    (iii) Among different social groups - among religious & linguistic groups, socially weaker sections and women are represented in the legislatures & administration.
    (iv) Among political parties, pressure groups & movements.