Power Sharing | Most Important Questions | Class 10 Civics Chapter 1 Important Questions.

Power Sharing | Most Important Questions | Class 10 Chapter 1  Power Sharing Important Questions

Power Sharing | Class 10 Civics Chapter 1 Notes

Multiple Choice Questions

1) In Belgium, out of the total population, 59 per cent live in the Flemish region and speak _______ language.

a) Dutch

b) French

c) English
d) German

Answer: Option (a)


2) In Belgium, there were tensions between the Dutch-speaking and ______-speaking communities during the 1950s and 1960s.

a) German
b) French
c) English
d) Russian

Answer: Option (b)



3) In the island nation of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Tamil population is concentrated in the _______ and _____ of the country.

a) South and West
b) South and East
c) North and Central
d) North and East

Answer: Option (d)

4) _______ is elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter where they live. This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues.

a) District Government
b) State Government
c) Community Government

d) Central Government

Answer: Option (c)


5. The term Eelam stands for -

(a) government
(b) state
(c) country
(d) political party

Answer: (b) state



6. A belief that the majority community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it wants, by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority is:

(a) Liberalism
(b) Socialism
(c) Majoritarianism
(d) Secularism

Answer - Option (C)




7. Which one of the following statements about power-sharing arrangements is correct?

(a) Power sharing is necessary only in societies which have religious, linguistic or ethnic divisions.

(b) Power sharing is suitable only for big countries that have regional divisions.

(c) Every society needs some form of power sharing even if it is small or does not have social divisions.

(d) Power-sharing is not necessary at all.

Answer: (c) Every society needs some form of power sharing even if it is small or does not have social divisions.

Question & Answers

Question 8.
What is vertical division of power?
Answer:
When power is shared among governments at different levels, i.e., the Union or the Central Government, the State Government and the Municipality and Panchayat at the lower level. This division of power involving higher and lower levels of government is called the vertical division of power.



Question 9.
How far do you agree with the statement that power sharing is
keeping with the spirit of democracy? 
Answer:
Power sharing is desirable in democracy because it helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. Conflict between social groups leads to violence and political instability. Power sharing is a good way to ensure the stability of political order . Imposing the will of majority community over others, in the long run may undermine the unity of the nation. Tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive for the minority, it often brings ruin to the majority as well.





Question 10.
List Impacts of Majoritarian Measures In Srilanka.

Answer :
● Majoritarianism has increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils. 

● 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. 

● The relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained overtime.



Question 11.
Compare the Power Sharing arrangements in belgium and Sri Lanka .

Answer -

Belgium Power Sharing arrangement	Srilankan Power Sharing arrangement
(i) Leaders realized that for the unity of the country it is important to respect the feelings and interest of different communities.
(ii) The Belgiun model of power sharing , enable the communities to llive together with peace.	(ii) In Sri Lanka, the dominance of one community over the other has led to Civil War.
(iii) In Belgium, community government was elected by people belonging one religion, French , German or Dutch . They have cultural , education and linguistic powers.	(iii) In 1956, the government passed an Act to recognize Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil.

Question 12.
Explan the ethnic Composition of Belgium and Srilanka.

Answer :

Ethnic composition of Belgium -
59 percent lives in the Flemish region and speaks Dutch language. Another 40 percent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. Remaining 1 percent of the Belgians speak German.


Ethnic composition of Srilanka -
Sri lanka is an island nation. It has about 2 crore people, Sri lanka has a diverse population. The major social groups are the Sinhala – speakers (74 percent) and the Tamil- speakers (18 percent).



Question 13.
"Different Majoritarian measures were adopted to establish Sinhala Supremacy " . Explain.

Answer : 
After Independence, following Majoritarian measures were adopted to establish Sinhalasupremacy :

• In 1956 ,An Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as an only official language , disregarding Tamil.

•The Government followed some policies which favoured Sinhala applicants for job and University Position .

• A New constitution was stipulated that state shall foster Buddhism.



Question 14 .
State one Prudential and One Moral Reason for Why Power Sharing is Desirable.

Answer :

Prudential reason - It reduces the possibility of conflict among social groups .

Moral Reason - It is very spirit of democracy and it shares power between citizens .


Question 15 .
State the elements of Belgium Model .

Answer :

• Unlike Sri Lanka, the Belgium Government amended their constitution in such a way that it would enable everyone to live together within the same country.

• As per the constitution number of the French and Dutch speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government (compromise by the Dutch speaking people as they were in majority) .

• A separate government was formed for the capital city of Brussels and there was equal representation of French and the Dutch speaking people (French compromised as they were in majority) .

• State government of the different region were given equal power and equal division of power was maintained between the central and the state government.

• A separate community government is formed for every community which is elected by people belonging to one language community .

• The community government was formed to promote the cultural, educational and language related issues.



Question 16.
Explain the forms of Power Sharing .

Answer :


Followings are the different form of power Sharing in modern democracies :

• Horizontal distribution of power – Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary. This type arrangements ensure that none of the organs exercise unlimited power .
Example: India

• Power can be shared among different levels of governments – a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. Example: India (Union Government and State Governments)

• Community government – Power may also be shared among different social groups, such as religious and linguistic groups. Example: Belgium

• Power can be shared among political parties, pressure groups and movements – Such competition ensures that power does not remain in one hand. In the long run, power is shared among different political parties that represent different ideologies and social groups.