Power Sharing Class 10 CBSE Notes

Power Sharing Class 10

In India, lakhs of students pass out from the CBSE class 10 every year. In 2018, over 16 lakh students registered for the CBSE Class 10 Board exams. We all know the importance of the fundamentals that are taught in class 10 and how they act as stepping stones for our higher education and even the choice of career. Apart from Mathematics and Science, one important subject that we study in CBSE class 10 is social science. It teaches us the functioning of the Government institutions and the political behavior. One important chapter in CBSE class 10 political science is power sharing, which is a very important pillar of democracy. Today, on this page, we’re discussing power sharing Class 10 in detail and some very important aspects attached to it.

What is Power Sharing?

A prudent power sharing between the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary is vital to the design of a democracy. Power sharing allows all communities and social groups a say in the governance. The citizens have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. A legitimate government is one which lets its citizens participate and acquire a stake in the system.

Case-Studies on Power Sharing

To further elaborate on how power-sharing works let’s look at a few examples from around the world. The two case-studies outlined below, from Belgium and Sri Lanka will demonstrate how democracies handle the demands for power sharing.

The Belgium Case-Study

Belgium is a small country in Europe which shares its borders with France, Germany, and the Netherlands. 59% of the population in the Flemish region speaks Dutch, another 40% people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. The remaining 1% of the Belgians speak German. Brussels, which is the capital city of Belgium, is home to 80% people who speak French while 20% speak Dutch. The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. The Dutch-speaking community who got the benefit of the economic development and education much later resented this fact. Hence, the tension between these two communities was very severe in Brussels.

Accommodation in Belgium

In order to bring harmony between the two communities, Belgium took cognizance of the prevailing regional differences and cultural diversities. From 1970 to 1993, the Belgians made modifications in their constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together in the same country.

Some elements of the Belgian Constitution are listed below:

• The Belgian Constitution prescribes an equal number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers in the Central Government.
• Many powers of the Central Government have been given to State Governments of two regions of the country.
• Brussels has a separate Government in which both the communities have equal representation.
• Apart from the Central and State Government, there is also a third kind of Government. It’s called the Community Government.

Thus, we can see that in Belgium, the leaders realized that the unity of the country is possible only by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions.

The Sri Lanka Case-Study

Like many other South-Asian countries, Sri Lanka has a diverse population where the Sinhala speaking population is 74% and the Tamil-speaking is 18%. Among the Tamils, there are two sub-groups, first are the Tamil natives of the country which are called “Sri Lankan Tamils” and the others are the ones whose forefathers came from India as population workers during the colonial period, this group is called ‘Indian Tamils’.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

When Sri Lankan became an independent country in 1948, the leaders of the Sinhala community wanted to secure their dominance over the Government by virtue of their majority. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language, thereby disregarding Tamil. Moreover, a new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism. All these newly implemented back-to-back measures gradually gave rise to the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils. As a result, the relations between the Sinhala and the Tamil communities strained over time. The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles. But their demand for more autonomy to provinces populated by the Tamils was repeatedly denied. The distrust between the two communities turned into a widespread conflict and soon took the shape of a Civil War. The social, cultural, and economic growth of the country suffered a terrible setback because of the civil war.

In a sharp contrast to the Belgium case-study, the Sri Lanka case-study demonstrates that if a majority community wants to impose its dominance over others and refuses to share power, it can undermine the unity and the safety of the country.

The Need for Power Sharing

• Power sharing is desirable because it helps in reducing the possibility of conflicts between social groups. Hence, power-sharing ensures social harmony and peace.
• Power sharing avoids the tyranny of the majority, which can destroy the minority social groups.
• Power sharing is the very spirit of a democratic rule and requires sharing of power with those affected by its exercise as well as those who have to bear its consequences.

Forms of Power Sharing

Power sharing has emerged as a strong substitute to the idea of undivided political power, which believed in giving power to one person or group of a person located in one place. The core principle of power-sharing is that people are the source of all political power. A democracy gives due respect to diverse groups and views prevailing in a society and everyone has a voice in the shaping of public politics. In a democracy, therefore, it is mandatory that the political power should be distributed among as many citizens as possible. Let’s take a look at some of the common forms of power sharing.

Some Common Forms of Power Sharing

• Horizontal Distribution of Power: In this form, the power is shared among different organs of the government, such as the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. This makes it possible for the different organs of the Government placed at the same level to exercise different powers.
• Vertical Division of Power: The sharing of power can also be done at the different levels of the government- a general Government for the entire country and Governments at the provincial or regional level. The division of higher and lower levels of Government is called the vertical division of power.
• Power is also shared among different social groups, such as the religious and linguistic groups. The ‘Community Government’ is a good example of this type of power sharing.
• Various power-sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups, and movements control or influence those in power.

Power Sharing in India

India being a democratic country, the people of India elect their representatives from various political parties. The people’s elected representatives, in turn, elect the Government to make or modify the rules and regulations and to carry out the day to day activities of governance.

So, these were the important notes on power-sharing for Class 10 CBSE.