Power Sharing Class 10 Notes: Understanding the Concepts

Looking for class 10 notes on Class 10 Political Science Chapter 1 Power Sharing? Look no further! This guide covers all the important concepts and definitions you need to know. Power sharing is an important concept in political science, and it's a topic that's often covered in class 10.

Subject	Social Science (Political Science)
Class	10
Board	CBSE
Chapter No.	1
Chapter Name	Power Sharing
Type	Notes
Session	2024-25
Weightage	2 marks

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

- Winston Churchill

Power Sharing Class 10 Notes

Belgium

• A small country in Europe.
• Neighbors: France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg.
• 59% population lives in the Flemish region and speaks the Dutch language.
• 40% population lives in the Wallonia region and speaks French.
• 1% population speaks German.
• Capital City: Brussels
  • 80% of people speak French
  • 20% of people speak Dutch.
• The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful.

Sri Lanka

• Island nation
• Has a diverse population.
• Major social groups:
  • 74% Sinhala speakers
  • 18% Tamil speakers
    • 13% Sri Lankan Tamils
    • 5% Indian Tamils
• Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in the north and east of the country.
• Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists.
• Most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948.
• The democratically elected government adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy:
  • The government adopted majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language thus disregarding Tamil.
  • The government followed preferential politics that favored Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
  • A new Constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
• Demands of the Tamils:
  • Recognition of Tamil as an official language.
  • Equal opportunities for Tamils in government jobs and educational institutions.
  • Provincial autonomy for Tamil-dominated provinces.

Accommodation in Belgium

Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution four times

Some of the elements of the Belgium model are:

• The number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government.
• Some special laws required the support of the majority of members from each linguistic group.
• The state governments are not subordinate to the central government.
• Brussels has a separate government in which both communities have equal representation.
• Apart from the central and state government, there is a third kind of government called ‘community government’. Community government is elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French, and German-speaking.

Brussels was chosen as the headquarters of the European Union.

Belgium Vs Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka and Belgium are both democratic countries yet have very diverse social setups. Both countries have adopted very different approaches when it comes to power-sharing.

• Belgium adopted the policy of accommodation of social and ethnic divisions. On the other hand, Sri Lanka also adopted a democratic system but followed majoritarian policies.
• Under the Belgium model of democracy, power was shared among two ethnic groups. Sri Lanka favored the interests of the majority Sinhala community.
• In Belgium, both groups had an equal share in the working of government but in Sri Lanka, the minority community was isolated.
• To maintain political stability and unity, equal representation was provided to both groups. Apart from that, the community government of both ethnic groups also existed at the local level. Sri Lanka, however, had no such arrangement.
• Belgium's 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.

Why power sharing is desirable?

Power Sharing: When the power does not rest with any one organ of the state rather it is shared among different levels/organs of the government it is called power sharing.

Power sharing is desirable in democracy because:

i. Prudential reasons:

• It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
• Reducing conflict between social groups ensures the stability of political order.
• It promotes the unity of the nation.

ii. Moral reasons:

• 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 effect.
• People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.
• Power sharing helps in producing a legitimate government where citizens through participation acquire a  stake in the system.

Forms of Power Sharing

The major forms of power sharing in modern democracies are:

• Power sharing among the different organs of government. (Horizontal power sharing).
• Power sharing among governments at different levels.
• Power sharing among different social groups.
• Power sharing among political parties, pressure groups, and movements.
• In a democracy, we find interest groups such as businessmen, farmers, and industrial workers.

Advantages of horizontal power-sharing

The advantages of horizontal power-sharing are:

• The power is shared among different organs of government equally.
• Horizontal power-sharing places all the organs of the government i.e., legislature, executive, and judiciary at the same level.
• Under this kind of power-sharing no organ can exercise unlimited powers.
• That is why this system is also known as the system of checks and balances.
• Example: in India, though the ministers and government officials exercise power, they are responsible to the parliament or state legislatures. Similarly, although the judges are appointed by the executive they can check the functioning of the executive or laws made by the legislatures.

Horizontal Vs Vertical division of powers

Horizontal Division of Power	Vertical Division of Power
Horizontal Division of Power is a power-sharing arrangement in which power is shared among different organs of government such as the executive, legislative, and judiciary.	In the vertical division of power, power is shared among governments at different levels like union, state, and local levels of government i.e., it involves higher and lower levels of government.
In the horizontal division of power, different organs of government exercise different powers.	In the vertical division of power, the constitution clearly lays down the power of different levels of government.
Horizontal distribution specifies the concept of checks and balances in order to check the exercise of unlimited powers of the organs.	There is no concept of checks and balances because powers are clearly given by the constitution from the higher level to the lower level.

Keywords

Ethnic: Division based on shared culture.

Civil war: Conflict between opposing groups.

Prudential: Calculation of gains and losses.

Majoritarian: A belief that let the majority community rule a country.

MUST Read: Power Sharing Class 10 Important Questions and Answers to get an idea of the type of questions that can be asked from this chapter.

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