Social Studies SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS(3 Mark)

1. The Belgium leaders recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities through accommodation method.
2. Dutch and French speaking ministers are equal number in the central government.
3. Many powers of the central government had been given to the state governments of the two regions.
4. State governments are not subordinate to the central government.
5. Brussels have a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation.
6. There is a separate ‘community government’ elected by the people belonging to one language community no matter where they live.

Power is shared among different organs of government:-

1. Legislature:-makes laws.
2. Executive:-implements laws.
3. Judiciary:-safeguards laws.

Ouseph's statement is the most logical, and thus, should be agreed on. Every society needs some form of power sharing even if it is small or does not have social divisions. A democratic society is one where its members or citizens through participation acquire a stake in the system. Power sharing not only prevents conflict between various groups in the society but it also generates a sense of belongingness among them to the society. Power sharing helps to maintain a balance of power among various institutions and also keep a check on how it is exercised. Irrespective of the size of a country or the type of a society, people will be more satisfied where they have a say in the functioning and decision making processes of the system.

The population of Belgium is a little over one crore. In January 2016, the population of Belgium was estimated to be 11337654. The ethnic composition of this small country is very complex. bor Of the country's total population,

1. 59 percent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language.
2. Another 40 percent people live in the Son Wallonia region and speak French.
3. Remaining one percent of the Belgians speak German.
4. In the capital city, Brussels, 80 percent people speak French while 20 percent are Dutch-speaking.

In a democracy, the source of power is the people of the nation. Democracy is a form of government in which the government is chosen by People to rule them. Moreover, the decision-making power in Democracy lies in the hands of the people. in this way, people are the only source of power in Democracy.

Both countries are democracies. Both have various ethnic groups living in their respective countries.
Differences:

1. In Belgium, the leaders have realised that the unity of the country is possible only byrespecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions. Such a realisation resulted in mutually acceptable arrangement for sharing the power.
2. Sri Lanka shows us a contrasting example. It shows us that if a majority community wants to force its dominance over others and refuses to share power, it can undermine the unity of the country.

In Belgium, the leaders have realised that the unity of the country is possible only by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions. Such a realisation resulted in mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing power.

1. Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. The leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority.
2. As a result, the democratically elected government adopted majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy.
3. In 1956, an act was passed to recognise Sinhala, as the only official language,thus disregarding Tamil.
4. The government followed policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.

With a new constitution, Buddhism was adopted as a state religion.

1. Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as the official language.
2. They also made efforts for regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs.
3. Several political organisations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

The Belgian leaders, in order to solve the problem of cultural diversities, adopted a compromising path. They amended their Constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together peacefully within the same country. It was declared that no single community can make decisions unilaterally. Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities enjoy equal representation. These measures helped to avoid civic strife between the two communities and a possible division of the country on linguistic lines. Sri Lanka presents a different story. The leaders of the majority community namely the Sinhala adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy. An Act was passed in 1956 which recognised Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil. The government followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs. These measures gradually increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils. Their relations with the Sinhala community got strained over time which finally resulted in civil war. Lessons learnt from Belgium: In Belgium, the leaders realised that unity of the country could be maintained by respecting the feelings and interests of the different communities living in the country. So they worked on the principle of accommodation whereby mutually acceptable arrangement of sharing power were evolved. A possible division of the country on linguistic lines was also avoided. Lessons from Sri Lanka: In a country if a majority community learns to face its dominance over others and refuses to share power it can undermine the unity of the country.

The Belgian leaders recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities. Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.

Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects. People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.

1. There is a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. The government for the entire country is usually called federal government. In India, it is called the central or state government.
2. The governments at provincial or regional level are called by different names in different countries. In India, we call them State Governments.
3. There are governments at local levels too. They are known as the municipality and panchayat.

Our Constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government.

1. Of the country's total population, 59 percent live in the Flemish region and speak Dutch language.
2. Another 40 percent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French.
3. Remaining one percent of the Belgians speak German.
4. In the capital city Brussels, 80 percent people speak French while 20 percent are Dutch speaking.

1. Prudential reason: Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. For example in India, Hindi has not been imposed on the southern states.
2. Moral reason: Power sharing is the very soul of democracy. People have right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. In India, reservation of seats for SCs and STs in state assemblies and parliament is an example of moral reason.

1. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise ‘Sinhala’ as the only official language; thus disregarding Tamil.
2. The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
3. A new constitution specified that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation. The French speaking people accepted equal representation in Brussels because the Dutch speaking community has accepted equal representation in the Central government.

When Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948, the leaders of the Sinhala community tried to dominate over the government by virtue of their majority. In order to establish their supremacy they took some majoritarian measures' which are given below:

1. In 1956, an Act was passed which declared Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil.
2. Preferences were given to Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
3. A new Constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and promote Buddhism.

All these government measures, coming one after the other, gradually strained the relationship between the two communities.

Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. The leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority. As a result, the democratically elected government adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy.

Federal governments: Body of individuals at the federal level that sets and administers public policy, exercises executive and political power through customs, institutions, and laws within a country.

1. The minority French-speaking community in Belgium was relatively rich and powerful. This was resented by the Dutch-speaking community who got the benefit of economic development and education much later.
2. This led to tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities during the 1950s and 1960s.
3. This tension between the two commu nities was more acute in Brussels.
4. It was because the Dutch-speaking people constituted majority in the country, but minority in the capital, i.e. Brussels.

No, the measure taken by the Mayor of Merchtem is not in keeping with the spirit of Belgium’s power sharing arrangements. As 59 per cent of the population in the Flemish region speaks Dutch, the ban on speaking French in the town’s schools would prevent French and Dutch speakers to mingle with each other, and also create feelings of distrust and suspicion. The ban ignores the regional differences and cultural diversities. It is against the spirit of accommodating every linguistic group, and creating a right environment for everyone to live. The ban, rather, makes the ground for a civic strife, and a possible division of the community on linguistic lines.

Concentration of power means power of government resides in one person or group of persons located at one place. Earlier, it was believed that if power to decide is dispersed, it would not be possible to take quick decisions and to enforce them. But these philosophies changed with the emergence of democracy. In a democracy, people rules themselves through institutions of self-governance and different groups are given due respect and equal rights. Everyone has a voice in shaping the public policies, e.g., Belgium and Sri Lanka.

The ‘community government’ is elected by the people belonging to one language community-Dutch, French and German speaking-no matter where they live. This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and language related issues.

Both India and Belgium have a federal form of government where power is shared among governments at different levels called the Federal form of government as in Belgium, or the Central or Union Government as in India.
Power in both the countries is also shared among different social groups, such as religious and linguistic groups. Community Government' in Belgium and 'Reserved Constituencies' in Assemblies in India is a good example.

The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. This was resented by the Dutch-speaking community who got the benefit of economic development and education much later. This led to tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities during the 1950s and 1960s.

French speakers got the benefit of economic development.
They were well-qualified and educated.
Because of their qualifications and education, they were well-settled and thus, rich and powerful.

One basic principle of democracy is that people are the source of all political power.
In a democracy, people rule themselves through institutions of self-governance.
In a democracy, due respect is given to diverse groups and views that exist in a society.
Everyone has a voice in the shaping up of public policies.

There are two different sets of reasons e in favour of power sharing:

1. It is good because it reduces the possibility of conflict between social groups. It ensures stability of political order and strengthens the unity of the nation.
2. It is good and essence for democracies. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects. People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. A legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant and political organisation that was based in northeastern Sri Lanka. Its aim was to secure an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east in response to the state policies of successive Sri Lankan governments towards Tamils.

1. Political parties and pressure groups control to influence those in power.
2. In a democracy citizens must have the freedom to choose among various contenders of power. This takes the form of electoral competition among different political parties. Such elections ensure that power does not remain in one hand and governments do not become dictator.
3. Power is also shared among different political parties when two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections.
4. In a democracy, pressure groups of traders, farmers, workers etc. have a share in governmental power through participation in governmental committees.

Democracy is a system of government where citizens are allowed to participate in the proposal and creation of laws. Throughout history, different places have had different forms of democracy.
Two of the most common forms of democratic government are direct democracy and representative democracy. In a direct democracy, citizens are directly involved with creating laws, and in a representative democracy, citizens elect representatives who create laws on their behalf.

A coalition government in a parliamentary system is a government in which multiple political parties cooperate, reducing the dominance of any one party within that "coalition". The usual reason for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament.

It means a belief that the majority community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it wants, by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority, e.g., Sri Lanka opted for majoritarianism, in which majority Sinhalas rule the country.

Check and balance is the essential process of the horizontal division of power in which Different organ of the government check each other and if there is any disturbance then Is solved by each other.

Majoritarianism is a belief that the majority community should rule the country in its own way by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority. Power in the hands of a majority community will make the other community feel marginalised, deprived and discriminated. As a result, the struggle against such inequalities can take the path of complicit and defiance of state power.

Many powers of the Central government have been given to State government of the two regions of the country. The State governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.

The constitution prescribed that the number of Dutch and French speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government. Thus, no single community can make decisions unilaterally.

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 powers of a government must reside in one person or group of persons located at one place. It was felt that if the power to decide is dispersed, it would not be possible to take quick decisions and to enforce them. But these notions have changed with the emergence of democracy.

Sri Lanka is an island nation having about two crore people. In January 2016, the population of Sri Lanka was estimated to be 2077049. The major social groups in the country are the Sinhala-speakers whose percentage is 74 and the Tamilspeakers who constitute 18% of the population. Among Tamils there are two sub-groups. Tamil natives of the country are Sri Lankan Tamils (13%). The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during colonial period, are called 'Indian Tamils'. Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists, while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims. There are about 7% Christians, who are both Tamils and Sinhalas.

Each organ checks the other. This results in a balance of power among various institutions. In it, ministers are responsible to parliament or state assemblies and judges are appointed by executive but can check the functioning of executive or laws made by legislatures.

In Belgium, the Dutch community could have taken advantage of its numeric majority and force its will on the Flemists and German-speaking population. This would have pushed the conflict among all these communities further. This could lead to a very messy partition of the country, both the sides would claim control over Brussels. In Sri Lanka, the Sinhala community enjoyed an even bigger majority and could impose its will on the entire country.

1. Community government is elected by people belonging to one language community-Dutch, French and German speaking, no matter where they live.
2. This government has the power relating to culture, education and language issues.
3. This kind of government helped to avoid civic strife between the two major communities.

Reserved Constituencies are the constituencies in which people only belonging to the schedule tribes and schedule castes which can contest election.
In India, there are certain numbers of university positions and political positions are organized for specified groups of people including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women and etc.
The reserved constituencies are in both parliamentary elections and assembly elections. In case of elections in the municipality and also the elections of the other Local Bodies, and then the constituencies are called as Wards.

Belgium is a small country in Europe, smaller in area than the state of Haryana. It has borders with Netherlands, France and Germany. It has a population of a little over one crore, about half the population of Haryana. The ETHNIC composition of this small country is very complex. Of the country’s total population, 59 per cent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language. Another 40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. Remaining 1 per cent of the Belgians speak German.
In the capital city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak French while 20 per cent are Dutch-speaking.

1. Earlier it was believed that all power of government should reside in one person or group of persons located at one place. It was believed that if power to decide is dispersed, it would not be possible to take quick decisions and to enforce them.
2. But these philosophies changed with the emergence of democracy. In a democracy, people rule themselves through institutions of self-governance and different groups are given due respect and equal rights. Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies.

Causes of conflict in Belgium:

1. The minority French speaking community was relatively rich and powerful.
2. This was resented by the Dutch speaking community, who got the benefits of economic development and education much later.
3. This led to tension between the Dutch and French speaking communities.

Advantage enjoyed by the Sinhala community in Sri Lanka:

• The government had made Sinhala as the official language of Srilanka.
• The Sinhala speakers now got more support in getting government jobs and other reservations.
• The government decided to protect and foster Buddhism religion only as it was the religion of the Sinhalas.
• Due to this the minority Tamil speakers felt alienated and began protesting.
• This led to the Civil War in the country which resulted in massive loss to life and property.