Power Sharing Notes Class 10 for Quick Revision

Class 10 Political Science Chapter 1 Power Sharing explains why the distribution of power is essential for the survival of democracy. These Power Sharing notes for quick revision help students understand key concepts, constitutional principles, and real-life examples such as Belgium and Sri Lanka. This chapter forms the foundation of democratic governance and is highly important for board examination preparation.

Power sharing is essential for sustaining democracy and the Constitution. Power sharing is an important chapter for students preparing for board examinations. Power sharing maintains the equilibrium of power in a country. Power sharing also fosters peace and mutual trust between the government and its citizens.

The ethnic composition of Belgium and Sri Lanka

Majoritarian government in Sri Lanka

Majoritarian Government is a system of government where a majority can rule the country by dominating minorities and establishing supremacy.

1. When Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, the Government established a majoritarian government. The Majoritarian government starts dominating the Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils. In 1956, an act was passed that established Sinhalese dominance in the country.
2. The new amendments in the Constitution were made to secure and foster Buddhism as the national religion of Sri Lanka.
3. Sinhalese communities also enjoyed academic progress in Schools and universities. The Sinhalese students got reserved seats in colleges and universities, and the Tamils were denied.
4. The Conspiring of Sri Lanka enacted changes in the Constitution and formed Sinhalese as the official language under the “Only Sinhala Act” or “Official Language Act”. The government also disregarded Tamil as a language in Sri Lanka.
5. The Sinhalese government also secures Government jobs and services for the Sinhalese community.
6. The dominance of the Sinhalese government in Sri Lanka leads to civil war.

Accommodation in Belgium

The Belgian government amended the Constitution four times from 1979 to 1990 to implement the best possible framework of government. The framework is based on mutual trust and peace among linguistic and ethnic groups in Belgium.

1. The Central government is formed by equal representation of people from both communities to maintain equilibrium.
2. If the Central government wanted to pass special laws and policies, then both communities should agree and support the framework.
3. The separate government was formed in Brussels and aimed to provide equal representation for both language communities.
4. A special government in Belgium, known as the Community Government, is elected by linguistic communities. The community government is responsible for maintaining Belgian culture, tradition, education, and, most importantly, thelanguage.

The various forms of Government in Power Sharing

Vertical Division of Power Sharing

Power sharing can be divided vertically as follows

1. The Central government
2. State/regional/provincial government
3. Local government

The vertical division of power-sharing is also known as the federal division of power. The power sharing exercised by different levels/ tiers of government is called federalism.

The Horizontal power sharing

1. The horizontal division of power-sharing is divided into various organs such as the legislature, executive, and Judiciary.
2. This division of power-sharing checks and balances each other to avoid over-utilization of power.
3. Power sharing also plays an important role in maintaining mutual trust and a peaceful law-making process.
4. Horizontal power sharing also strengthens the working of democracy. The facilitation of accountability, responsibility, and transparency for the smooth functioning of the government.

Power can be shared among different groups

1. The accommodation of the Belgian government transformed into a community government to maintain religious and language equality.
2. Equal political and social representation for women to uplift the women’s community in weaker sections.
3. Power can be shared among parties, Movement groups, Pressure Groups, and social groups, and even in the weaker sections of society.
4. Power sharing should keep changing from one political party system to another. The new political party always tries to provide better outcomes to people than the previous one.
5. The coalition government represents an agreement between two parties to form a government aimed at improving society.