Power Sharing Class 10 Extra Questions Civics Social Studies (S.St) Important Questions Answer Included
Very Short Answer Questions (VSAQs):Answer
Buddhism is the state religion of Sri Lanka.
2. Which measure adopted by the democratically elected government to establish Sinhala supremacy?
Answer
Majoritarian measure was adopted by the democratically elected government to establish Sinhala supremacy.
3. What is meant by ‘vertical division of power’?
Answer
The division of powers between higher and lower levels of government is called vertical division of power.
4. Which community was rich in Belgium?
Answer
The minority French-speaking community was rich in Belgium.
5. Which system of power sharing called, ‘Checks and Balances’?
Answer
Horizontal distribution of power sharing is called system of ‘Checks and Balances’.
6. Who elects the community government in Belgium?
Answer
The ‘community government’ is elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter where they live.
Short Answer Questions (SAQs):
1. Power sharing is the true spirit of democracy. Justify this statement.
Answer
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 effects.
• People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed. A legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system.
• It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
2. Describe any three forms of power sharing in modern democracies.
Answer
Three forms of power sharing with examples:
• Power is shared among different organs of government, such as the legislature, executive and judiciary.
• Power can be shared among governments at different levels – a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level.
• Power may also be shared among different social groups such as the religious and linguistic groups. ‘Community government’ in Belgium is a good example of this arrangement.
3. ‘Both Belgium and Sri Lanka are democracies but they follow different systems of power sharing’. Support the statement by giving three points of difference.
Answer
• In Belgium, communities have equal share in the government while in Sri Lanka leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority.
• In Belgium, there is provision of special government called ‘Community government’ to look after cultural, educational and language-related issues while In Sri Lanka, none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders was sensitive to language and culture of Tamils.
• In Belgium, there is no discrimination between various religions while In Sri Lanka, Buddhism is the official religion of the country.
4. Write one prudential and one moral reason for power sharing.
Answer
• Prudential reason for power sharing: Power sharing reduces social conflicts among social groups with different interests and aspirations. Social conflicts lead to violence and instability. Power sharing ensures the stability of political order.
• Moral reason for power sharing: Power sharing is the very spirit and essence of democracy. Democracy involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects. People have the right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.
Long Answer Questions (LAQs):
1. What is majoritarianism? How has it increased the feelings of alienation among Sri Lankan Tamils? Explain with examples.
Answer
‘Majoritarianism’ refers to the policy of domination over minority, just by the virtue of being in majority.
In Sri Lanka, it has led to the feelings of alienation among the Tamils. They feel that none of the major political parties, led by Buddhist Sinhala leaders are sensitive to their language and culture. According to them, the Constitution and the government policies have denied them equal political rights and discriminated against them in getting jobs and other opportunities and ignored their interests.
This alienation among the Tamils is due to the following reasons:
• In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamil.
• The government framed policies favouring Sinhala people for government jobs.
• The new Constitution specified that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.