Power Sharing Class 10 Question Answers

Q1.Describe three demands of Sri Lankan Tamils. How di d they struggle for their independence?
Ans:A. Recognition of Tamil as an official language.
 B. Regional autonomy
 C. Equal opportunity in securing jobs and education.
D. They formed several political organizations, but when the government tried to suppress their activities by force, this led to demand for Tamil Elam(separate state for tamils)



Q2.What is the reason for tension in Belgium?
Ans.A.The Dutch form 59%, the French form 40% and the Ger man about 1% comprises the population of Belgium.
B. The French community is in majority in the capital of Belgium, Brussels.
 C. They are rich and powerful and this is not liked by the Dutch.
D. The Dutch speaking community got the benefit of eco nomic development and education much later showed the resentment.
 E. This led to conflict between French and Dutch speaking people.

Q3. What do you mean by good democratic front? Explain
Ans.A. People rule through the representatives elected by them self.
 B. Due respect is given to different groups and views that exist in the country.
 C. Everyone has right to vote and value of each vote i s equal.
D. Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies and as many people as possible should share power.

Q4.Mention any three provisions of the Act which passe d in Sri Lan ka in 1956 to establish Sinhala Supremacy
Ans. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil. The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs. A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

Q5. Explain the power sharing arrangement among the dif ferent organs of the government.
Ans. A. In a democracy power is shared among the different organs of the government such as Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. This is al so called as the horizontal distribution of power sharing. B. Legislature is lawmaking body, Executive is law imp lementing body and Judiciary is dispute solving body of the Government.
 C. Because it also allows different organs of governme nt placed at the same level to exercise different power.
 D. Under this kind of power sharing arrangements, no o rgan of the government can exercise unlimited powers.
 E. Each organ has its own power and checks the powers of other. F. This results in the in a balance of power among various institutions.

Q6. Explain the power sharing arrangement among the dif ferent social groups.

Ans: A. In a democracy, especially in multiethnic society, power is also shared among social groups such as the religious and linguistic groups.
B. Community government in Belgium is a good example o f this arrangement.
 C. In some countries, there are constitutional and leg al arrangements whereby socially weaker sections and women are represented in the le gislatures and administration.
D. In India to provide share in power to backward and other classes, a system of reserved constituencies in assemblies and the parli ament is followed.
 E. This type arrangement is meant to give proper share in the government and administration to diverse social groups who otherwi se would feel alienated from the Government.

Q7.Give reason for which power sharing is desirable?
Ans.Power sharing is desirable because it reduces the possibility of conflict and it ensures the stability of political order and it also strengthens the unity of the country Q8.What is power sharing? Anss;A. Power sharing is a strategy wherein all the major s egments of the society are provided with a permanent share of power in governa nce of the country.
 B. It is a means for sharing practices and established rule and roles to facilitate broad based decision-making, controlling and leading.
C. It is potential tool for solving disputes on the so ciety.
 Q9.What is Majoritarianism?
 Ans:. Majoritarianism is a political philosophy which ass erts that a majority of the population has the right to take the decisions affe cting the society.
 B. It means submission of the majority group for all t he decisions affecting their lives.
C. It often results in preferential policies being fol lowed, favoring the majority group in university positions and government jobs and oth er opportunities and interests, thus denying the minority equal rights and opportun ities  

Q10.What’s wrong with a Majoritarianism?
Ans:A. In Majoritarianism the voice of the minority group will not be given due preference.
 B. The majority group makes preferential policies favo ring their majority.
C. Majority denies the minority group in equal represe ntation in the governance and equal political rights. D. This results in the tyranny of the majority which b reeds the feeling of alienation among the minority group
Q11.Explain the power sharing arrangement among the dif ferent levels of the government. Ans:A. Under this people choose separate government at sep arate levels for example a general government for the entire country and gover nments at the provincial, sub- national or regional level.
 B. Such a general government for the entire country is usually called a federal government.
C. In India we refer to it as the union government. Th e governments at the provincial or regional level are called by different names in dif ferent countries.
D. In India these are known as state governments. This system is not followed in all the countries of the world.
 E. The division of power is more important under such type of Governments. A government at different levels enjoys different pow ers which are given to them by the constitution.
 F. The divisions of power involving higher and lowe r levels of government are called vertical division of power.
 Q12.Does a country get more power by actually dispersin g the power?
Ans:A. Power Sharing unites a country as every group gets the representation in the government.
B. It ensures that every group’s interests would be ta ken care of and everybody, irrespective of his community would be provided wit h equal political rights and opportunities.
C. It discards discrimination based on caste or creed. It also infuses a spirit of belongingness and trust among the citizens who feel that they have a stake in the system.
 D. It therefore reduces political tensions and helps i n the smooth functioning and stability of the system.
 Q13.What are advantages enjoyed by the Sinhala Communit y in Sri Lanka? Describe the consequences.
Ans:A. The leaders of the Sinhala community tried to ensur e the dominance of their community over the other communities of Sri Lanka a fter independence.
 B. The adopted a series of majoritarian measures to es tablish Sinhala supremacy.
C. In 1956, an act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language.
 D. Sinhala people were given special preference in gov ernment jobs and university admissions.
 E. Buddhism was declared the national religion.
F. Consequences: All these government measures incr eased the feeling of alienation among the other Communities. They felt that their l anguage and culture were not given due importance. They also felt that the const itution and the policies of the government denied them to give equal political powe rs. As a result their relations with the Sinhala community worsened.  
Q14.What measures were adopted by the Belgium governmen t to accommodate regional and cultural diversities?
Ans:A. In 1970-193, the constitution of Belgium was amende d for times to accommodate linguistic, cultural and regional differences.
 B. The Dutch and French speaking ministers were equal number in the central government.
C. Special laws required the support of majority of me mbers from each linguistic group.
D. Many powers of the central government had been give n to state governments of the two regions of the country.
E. Brussels had a separate government where both commu nities were given equal representation. F. Community government of each section was also in troduced.
Q15.Describe the population composition of Sri Lanka an d the reasons for the formation of Majoritarian government in 1948. 
 Ans:A. It is an Island nation south of India. Tamil native s are called Sri Lankan tamils and formed 13% population.
 B. The Indian Tamils whose forefathers had come from I ndia as planatation workers formed 5% population. C. The Sinhala Buddhist, who was 74% of the population , formed the majority government after independence in 1948. D. Tamils are either Hindus or Muslims, 7% of the peop le are Christian who are both Tamil and Sinhala. E. Sinhalese enjoy majority and can impose their will on the entire country. Q16.Write Down the features of Vertical division of pow er sharing. Ans:A. In vertical division of Power Sharing power is shar ed among the different levels of the government like Union Government, state governm ent and Lower levels. B. Different levels of the government exercise the pow er of the government. C. No specification of the system of checks and balanc e. D. It ensures the concept of deepening of democracy. E. Central Government, State Government and Panchayat Raj are the example of the Vertical division of Power Sharing  
Q17.What are the outcomes and the lessons we learnt fro m the style of governance in Sri Lanka and Belgium?
Ans:A. We realize that the two countries, Sri Lanka and Be lgium, are similar in respect of linguistic and ethnic diversity, yet both of them f ollowed opposite policies to resolve the differences.
B. The Majoritarianism measures as followed in Sri Lan ka created feeling of alienation among the Tamils leading to tensions in the region. It led to civil war waged by the Tamils who fight to create an independent state nam ed Tamil Elam in the North and east of the Island. It is estimated that the war ha s claimed the lives of more than 68000 people since 1983 and it has caused significa nt harms to the population and the economy of the country.
C. The accommodation policies followed in Belgium hav e worked well so far. They are complicated but nevertheless, have been able to pre vent any outbreak of civil war. The policies helped the leaders of the country in c reating an enabling environment for everyone to live together with unity without di sturbing the social fabric of the country. The policies of the government gave equal representation to the different sections of the society.
 D. Therefore it is clear that to be able to hold the c ountry together, it is indispensable to recognize and regard the culture and other identify ing differences of various groups and create mutually acceptable policies for sharing power

Q18.Differentiate between Horizontal division of power sharing and Vertical division of power sharing? Ans:
Q19.Write down the features of Horizontal division of p ower sharing.
Ans:A. Horizontal Division of power, in which power is sha red among different organs of the government like legislature, Executive and Judi ciary.
 B. Different organs of the government exercise the pow er.
C. It specifies the concept of check and balance.
D. It ensures the concept of the expansion of the demo cracy.
 E. Examples: Legislature, Executive and Judiciary are the organs Government of India

 Q20.Write Down the features of Vertical division of pow er sharing.
Ans:A. In vertical division of Power Sharing power is shar ed among the different levels of the government like Union Government, state governm ent and Lower levels.
 B. Different levels of the government exercise the pow er of the government.
 C. No specification of the system of checks and balanc e
D. It ensures the concept of deepening of democracy.
E. Central Government, State Government and Panchayat Raj are the example of the Vertical division of Power Sharing.