INDIAN SCHOOL AL WADI AL KABIR

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

QUESTION BANK POWER SHARING
CLASS X (2015-16)

Q1. Explain the term Ethnic.

A social division based on shared culture. People belonging to the same ethnic group believe in their
common descent because of similarities of physical type or of culture or both.

Q2.Describe the geographical and ethnic composition of Belgium.

Geographical composition
Belgium is a small European country .
It has borders with Netherlands, France and Germany.
Its population is a little over one crore.
Ethnic composition
In the country 59% of Belgians live in the Flemish region and speak Dutch language
40% of the population lives in the Wallonia region and speak French
1% of the populations speak German
In Brussels 80% of the population speak French while 20% speak Dutch.

Q3.What led to the ethnic tension in Belgium? Why was it more acute in Brussels?

i. The ethnic tensions in Belgium erupted because of the economic development between the two
linguistic communities.
ii. The French speaking population was rich and powerful while those speaking Dutch were not as
influential.
iii. The Dutch speaking people got the benefit of economic development and education much later
iv. This was the reason for ethic tension between the two communities.
v. The tension was more in Brussels because the French speaking population was in majority
while those speaking Dutch was in minority.

Q4.Describe the ethnic composition of Sri Lanka.

Ethnic composition
i. It has a diverse population. The major social groups are the Sinhala speaking (74%) and Tamil
speaking (18%)
ii. Tamil speakers are further divided into two sub groups. Tamil natives of the country are called
Sri Lanka (13%) while the Indian Tamils forefathers migrated from India as plantation
workers during colonial period (6%)
iii. Sri Lankan Tamils live in the north and east of the country.
iv. Most of the Sinhala speaking people are Buddhist
v. Most of the Tamils Hindus or Muslims.
vi. Christians constitute 7% of both Sinhala and Tamil.
Q5. What do you mean by Majoritarianism?

Majoritarianism is a belief that the majority community should be able to rule the country in which
ever way it wants, by disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority.

Q6.Describe the Act of 1956 in Sri Lanka.

Or
Describe the majoritarian measures taken by the Sinhala leaders to establish Sinhala supremacy
in Sri Lanka?

i. The Act of Majoritarianism was passed in 1956 Which recognize Sinhala as the only official
language by the disregarding Tamil.
ii. The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university
positions or government jobs.
iii. A new constitution stipulated that the state would protect and foster Buddhism.

Q7.What was the consequences of the majoritarian policies of the Sinhala leaders?
Pgno.4

Q8. What were the demands of the Tamil leaders?

The Sri Lankan Tamils launched political parties .Their demands were:
i. The recognition of Tamil as a official language.
ii. Regional autonomy in the Tamil dominated area.
iii. Equal opportunity in securing education and jobs.

Q9.”What arrangements that Belgians leaders worked out is different from any other country
and is innovative.” Explain.
OR

Q10.Why did the Belgian leaders amend the constitution four times?
Refer – Page . 4

Q11.What is a civil war?

A violent conflict between opposing groups within a country t becomes so intense that it appears like a
war.

Q12.Why power sharing is desirable?

There are two reasons in favor of power sharing
Prudential:
i it helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
ii It ensures political stability.

Moral Reasons:
i. These emphasize that the power sharing is the very spirit of Democracy
ii. It involves sharing of power with those affected by it’s exercise.
iii. People have the right to be consulted on how they have to be Governed.
Q12. What are the different forms of power sharing?

Power shared among the different Organs of government:

 Power is shared among the organs of governments such as legislature, executive and judiciary.
This is called horizontal distribution of power as it allows different organs placed at the same
level.
 Such a separation ensures that none of the organs get unlimited power.
 Each organ checks others. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.

Power shared among different levels of governments:

 In this system a general government for the entire country in India it refer as Central
government. The government at the provincial levels called as State government.
 The constitution clearly lays down the power of different levels of governments.
 This called federal division of governments.
Power shared among various social groups:
 Power can also be shared among various religious and linguistic groups.
 In India there are constitutional and legal arrangements for the socially weaker sections and
women in the legislatures and administrations.
 This method is used to give the minority a fair share in power.
Power shared among political parties ,pressure groups and movements:
 In democracies the citizen have the freedom to choose among various contenders that create
competition among various political parties.
 Such competition led to alliance between various parties or coalition governments.
 Different interest groups such as of those traders,workers ,doctors also have a share in
governmental power.

Q13. What do you mean by a community government?

Community government is elected by the 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.

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