Q.1. What factors led to a civil war in Sri Lanka?
Ans. (i) Measures taken in majoritarianism gradually increased the feeling of alienation among Sri Lankan tamils.
(ii) They felt that the constitution and government policies denied them equal political rights, discriminated against them in getting jobs and other opportunities and ignored their interests.
(iii) As a result, the relations between sinhala and tamil communities got strained over time.
(iv) The sri lankan tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of tamil as an official language, regional autonomy and equality of opportunities in getting education and jobs.
(v) By the 1980s, several political organisations were formed demanding an independent tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of sri lanka.
(vi) The distrust between the two communities turned into widespread conflict. It soon turned into a civil war. As a result, thousands of people of both the communities were killed.
Q.2 . Explain with examples the accommodative experience of belgium for peace and harmony.
OR
Describe the elements of belgian model of accommodating diversities.
Ans. The accommodative experience of belgium for peace and harmony:
(i) Constitution prescribes that the numbers of dutch and french speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government.
(ii) Many powers of the central government have been given to state governments of the two regions of the century. the state governments are not subordinate to the central government.
(iii) Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation.
(iv) The french- speaking people accepted equal representation in brussels because the dutch-speaking community has accepted equal representation in the central government .
(v) Apart from the central and the state government , there is a third kind of government. this ‘community government ‘ is elected by people belonging to one language community- dutch , french and german speaking – no matter where they live .
Q.3. How has the idea of power sharing emerged? explain different forms that have common arrangements of power sharing.
Ans . Idea of power sharing emerged:
The idea of power sharing has emerged in opposition to the notions of undivided political power.
Different forms having common arrangements of power sharing:
(i) power is shared among different organs of government such as the legislature, executive and judiciary.
(ii) power can be shared among governments at different level i.e., at national and provincial or regional levels.
(iii) power shared among different social groups such as religious and linguistic groups.
(iv) power sharing arrangements in the way political parties , pressure groups and movements control or influence those in power .
Also read = Power sharing notes
Q.4. Evaluate the power sharing in india.
Ans. power sharing in india is done in different ways each with its own benefits-
- HORIZONTAL DISTRIBUTION OF POWER AND ITS BENEFITS:
Power is shared among different organs of the government , namely the legislature, the judiciary and the executive , placed at the come level different organs exercise.different powers as check the other organ.
- VERTICAL DIVISION OF POWER AND ITS BENEFITS:
India is a federal country that divides its power amongst the national government and the government at local and state level this allows the issues and problems to be cleared easily and effective and the state can function as autonomous body they are not subordinate of the central government.
- POWER SHARING AMONGST DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES AND BENEFITS:
Power is shared among different religious, linguistic and regional groups.there are legal provisions made whereby the weaker section of the society and women are represented in the assemblies and legislature.
- POWER SHARING AMONGST DIFFERENT PARTIES AND BENEFITS:
Due to the system of elections power is shared groups and communities although leads to political instability,their allows different. ideas and views to enjoy representation,due to the above reasons ,the power sharing in india has actual made india more powerful and promoted unity amongst citizens. its has allowed people to participate in the decission making that affects them.
Also read = Political Parties NOTES
Q.5. Evaluate the steps which turned out to be milestones to establish majoritarianism in sri lanks.
Ans. (i) Sri lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. the leaders of the sinhala community sought to secure dominance over the government by virtue of their majority.
(ii) As a result, the democratically elected government adopted majoritarian measures to establish sinhala supremacy.
(iii) In 1956, an act was passed to recognise sinhala, as the only official language, thus disregarding tamil.
(iv) The government followed policies that favoured sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
(v) With a new constitution , buddhism was adopted as a state religion.
Q.6. Compare the situation of belgium and sri lanka considering their location , size and cultural aspects.
Ans. Comparison of belgium and sri lanka:
(i) Belgium is located in europe whereas sri lanka is located in south asia.
(ii) Belgium has a population of little over one crore whereas sri lanka has population of two crores.
(iii) In belgium 59 percent people living in flemish region and speaking dutch language, 40 percent people living in wallonia regions speaking french and remaining I percent belgian people speaks german whereas in sri lanka 74 percent population are sinhalese speakers and 18 percent are tamil speakers .
(iv) In Belgium, french -speaking community are relatively rich and powerful and in sri lanka, sinhalese- speaking people are buddist and powerful.
(v) In Belgium, dutch speaking people are in numeric majority whereas in sri lanka , sinhalese speaking population are in majority.
Q.7. Explain the two main reasons why power sharing is important in a democracy .
Ans The two main reasons are:
(i) Prudential reasons: These lay emphasis on better outcomes of power sharing.
- Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between the social groups.thus, it ensures the stability of political order.
- Its absence results into imposition of will by majority community , which undermines the unity of the nation .
(ii) Moral reasons: These stress on power sharing as a valuable act because:
- It is the very spirit of democracy.
- A democratic rule involves it with those affected by its exercise and who have to live with its effects.
- A legitimate government is the one where citizens acquire a role in the system through participation.
Q.8. ” Power is shared between different social groups.” comment on this statement with the help of an example .
Ans. power may be shared among different social groups, such as the religious and linguistic groups. In some countries , there are constitutional and legal arrangements whereby socially weaker sections and women represent in the legislatures and administration.
There is a system of ‘reserved constituencies’ in our country . this type of arrangement is meant to give space in the government and administration to diverse social groups who otherwise would feel alienated from the government . this method is used to give minority communities a fair share in power.
There is a government called ” community government” in belgium . this goverment is elected by the people , belonging to one language or community – dutch,french and german speaking , no matter where they live . this government has the power regarding to culture, education and language issues.
these arrangements help to avoid civic clashes and animosity between the two major communities and possible division of the country on linguistic lines.