Pow taken upinthefollowingtwochapters. This allowsustodiscussvariousformsofpower-sharingthatwillbe general conclu democracies handledemandsforpower-sharing.Thestoriesyieldsome from BelgiumandSriLanka.Boththesestoriesareabouthow carry thisideaofpower-sharingforward.Westartwithtwostories the designofademocr power amonglegislature,executiveandjudiciaryisveryimportantto rest withanyoneorganofthegovernment.Anintelligentsharing last y With thi Ov erview ear s chapter . Wenotedlasty sion er-s , wer s abouttheneedforpower-s esume thetourofdemocr acy ear thatinademocr . Inthi s andthenexttwochapter 2020-21 haring acy allpowerdoesnot haring indemocr acy thatwestarted s , we acy . Chapter I

1 Power-sharing and Sri Lanka

Belgium is a small country in Europe, and education much later. This led to smaller in area than the state of tensions between the Dutch-speaking Haryana. It has borders with , and French-speaking communities the , and during the 1950s and 1960s. The . It has a population of a tension between the two communities little over one crore, about half the was more acute in . Brussels I have a simple population of Haryana. The ETHNIC presented a special problem: the equation in mind. composition of this small country is Dutch-speaking people constituted a Sharing power = very complex. Of the country’s total majority in the country, but a dividing power = population, 59 per cent lives in the minority in the capital. weakening the and speaks Dutch Let us compare this to the country. Why do we language. Another 40 per cent people situation in another country. Sri start by talking of live in the Wallonia region and speak Lanka is an island nation, just a few this? French. Remaining one per cent of the kilometres off the southern coast of speak German. In the capital Tamil Nadu. It has about two crore city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak people, about the same as in Haryana. French while 20 per cent are Dutch- Like other nations in the South Asia speaking. region, Sri Lanka has a diverse The minority French-speaking population. The major social groups community was relatively rich and are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per cent) powerful. This was resented by the and the Tamil-speakers (18 per cent). Dutch-speaking community who got Among Tamils there are two sub- the benefit of economic development groups. Tamil natives of the country Communities and regions of Belgium

Ethnic: A social division based on

shared culture. People © Wikipedia

olitics belonging to the same ethnic group believe in Brussels-Capital Region their common descent because of similarities Walloon (French-speaking)

atic P of physical type or of Flemish (Dutch-speaking) culture or both. They need not always have German-speaking Look at the maps of Belgium and Sri Lanka. In which the same religion or region, do you find concentration of different communities? nationality.

Democr For more details, visit https://www.belgium.be/en

2 2020-21 They feltthat theconstitutionand sensitive totheirlanguageand culture. led bytheBuddhistSinhala leaderswas that noneofthemajorpolitical parties among theSriLankanTamils. Theyfelt increased thefeelingofalienation coming oneaftertheother,gradually and fosterBuddhism. stipulated thatthestateshallprotect government jobs.Anewconstitution applicants foruniversitypositionsand policies thatfavouredSinhala governments followedpreferential language, thusdisregardingTamil.The recognise Sinhalaastheonlyofficial measures toestablishSinhalasupremacy adopted aseriesof democratically electedgovernment of theirmajority.Asaresult,the dominance overgovernmentbyvirtue Sinhala communitysoughttosecure country in1948.Theleadersofthe Sri Lankaemergedasanindependent Majoritarianism inSriLanka in situationslikethis.InBelgium,the and Sinhala. Christians, whoarebothTamil Muslims. Thereareabout7percent most oftheTamilsareHindusor speaking peopleareBuddhist east ofthecountry.MostSinhala- Tamils areconcentratedinthenorthand As youcanseefromthemap,SriLankan colonial period,arecalled‘IndianTamils’. India asplantationworkersduring The rest,whoseforefatherscamefrom are called‘SriLankanTamils’(13percent). All thesegovernmentmeasures, In 1956,anActwaspassedto Just imaginewhatcouldhappen MAJORITARIAN s , while . countries. look atwhathappenedinboththese will ontheentirecountry.Now,letus bigger majorityandcouldimposeits Sinhala communityenjoyedaneven control overBrussels.InSriLanka,the country; boththesideswouldclaim to averymessypartitionofthe communities further.Thiscouldlead would pushtheconflictamong German-speaking population.This force itswillontheFrenchand advantage ofitsnumericmajorityand Dutch interests. Asaresult,therelations opportunities andignoredtheir them ingettingjobsandother political rights,discriminatedagainst government policiesdeniedthemequal For moredet 2020-21 community couldtake Ethnic Communities ails, visithttp of SriLanka Sri LankanT s://www Indian Sinhalese Muslim T .gov amil amil .lk minority. wishes andneedsofthe by disregardingthe whichever wayitwants, able toruleacountryin community shouldbe belief thatthemajority Majoritarianism: A

3 Power-sharing between the Sinhala and Tamil The distrust between the two What’s wrong if communities strained over time. the majority communities turned into widespread community The Sri Lankan Tamils launched conflict. It soon turned into a CIVIL WAR. rules? If Sinhalas parties and struggles for the recognition As a result thousands of people of both don’t rule in Sri of Tamil as an official language, for the communities have been killed. Many Lanka, where regional autonomy and equality of families were forced to leave the country else will they opportunity in securing education and as refugees and many more lost their rule? jobs. But their demand for more livelihoods. You have read (Chapter 1 autonomy to provinces populated by of Economics textbook, Class X) about the Tamils was repeatedly denied. By Sri Lanka’s excellent record of economic 1980s several political organisations development, education and health. But were formed demanding an the civil war has caused a terrible setback independent Tamil Eelam (state) in to the social, cultural and economic life northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. of the country. It ended in 2009. Accommodation in Belgium The Belgian leaders took a different single community can make decisions path. They recognised the existence of unilaterally. regional differences and cultural l Many powers of the central diversities. Between 1970 and 1993, government have been given to state they amended their constitution four governments of the two regions of the times so as to work out an arrangement country. The state governments are not that would enable everyone to live subordinate to the Central Government. together within the same country. The l Brussels has a separate government arrangement they worked out is in which both the communities have different from any other country and equal representation. The French- is very innovative. Here are some of speaking people accepted equal the elements of the Belgian model: Civil war: A violent representation in Brussels because the conflict between l Constitution prescribes that the Dutch-speaking community has opposing groups within number of Dutch and French-speaking accepted equal representation in the a country that becomes ministers shall be equal in the central Central Government. so intense that it appears government. Some special laws require like a war. the support of majority of members from each linguistic group. Thus, no olitics

What kind of a solution is

atic P this? I am glad our © Wikipedia Constitution does not say The photograph here is of a street which minister will come from address in Belgium. You will notice that which community. place names and directions in two languages – French and Dutch. Democr

4 2020-21 l l l came togethertoformtheEuropean lines. WhenmanycountriesofEurope division ofthecountryonlinguistic major communitiesandapossible avoid civicstrifebetweenthetwo worked wellsofar.Theyhelpedto Belgium. Butthesearrangementshave complicated, evenforpeoplelivingin very complicated.Itindeedis and language-relatedissues. power regardingcultural,educational they live.Thisgovernmenthasthe German-speaking –nomatterwhere community –Dutch,Frenchand people belongingtoonelanguage ‘community government’iselectedby third kindofgovernment.This the StateGovernment,thereisa interests ofdifferentcommunities and only byrespectingthefeelings and that theunityofcountry ispossible In Belgium,theleadershave realised question ofpowersharingdifferently. democracies. Yet,theydealtwiththe of BelgiumandSriLanka?Bothare What dowelearnfromthesetwostories students couldpooltheirclippingstogetheranddothefollowing: sharing arr Which oftheseconflictscouldberesolv these arerelatedtopowersharingdisputes? Find outthecauseofeachtheseconflicts.Howman outside India). Classify theseconflictsb You mightfindtheBelgianmodel Apart fromtheCentraland news relatedtoongoingconflictsorw R ead an angements? y newspaperforoneweekandmak y theirlocation(y European ParliamentinBrussels,Belgium headquarters. Union, Brusselswaschosenasits unity ofthecountry. to sharepower,itcanundermine the its dominanceoverothers and refuses if amajoritycommunitywants toforce contrasting example.Itshowsusthat sharing power.SriLankashowsusa mutually acceptablearrangementsfor regions. Sucharealisationresultedin 2020-21 ed b ars. Agroupoffiv our state,India, y workingoutpower e clippingsof y of e think. odd! Letme powerful. Sounds mak sharing ofpower sa So y ying that es usmore ou are

5 Power-sharing The cartoon at the left refers to the problems of running the Germany’s grand coalition government that includes the two major parties of the country, namely the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party. The two parties are historically rivals to each other. They had to form a coalition government because neither of them got clear majority of seats on their own in the 2005 elections. They take divergent positions on several policy matters, but still jointly run the government.

, Cagle Cartoons Inc. For details about the German , visit https://www.bundestag.de/en

oppressive for the minority; it often brings ruin to the majority as well. The Calgary Sun There is a second, deeper reason ab - T why power sharing is good for © democracies. Power sharing is the very Why power sharing is desirable? spirit of democracy. A democratic rule involves sharing power with those Thus, two different sets of reasons can affected by its exercise, and who have be given in favour of power sharing. to live with its effects. People have a Firstly, power sharing is good because right to be consulted on how they are it helps to reduce the possibility of to be governed. A legitimate conflict between social groups. Since government is one where citizens, social conflict often leads to violence through participation, acquire a stake and political instability, power sharing in the system. is a good way to ensure the stability Let us call the first set of reasons of political order. Imposing the will of majority community over others PRUDENTIAL and the second moral. While may look like an attractive option in prudential reasons stress that power the short run, but in the long run it sharing will bring out better outcomes, undermines the unity of the nation. moral reasons emphasise the very act Tyranny of the majority is not just of power sharing as valuable.

Annette studies in a Dutch medium school in the northern region of Belgium. Many French-speaking students in olitics Prudential: Based on her school want the medium of instruction to be French. Selvi prudence, or on careful studies in a school in the northern region of Sri Lanka. All the calculation of gains and students in her school are Tamil-speaking and they want the atic P losses. Prudential decisions medium of instruction to be Tamil. are usually contrasted with decisions based purely on If the parents of Annette and Selvi were to approach moral considerations. respective governments to realise the desire of the child who is more likely to succeed? And why? Democr

6 2020-21 Khalil’s Can youhelppoorVikram inansweringVetal? so willy do notspeakup,yourmobikewillfreeze,and pact: “Ifyouhaveananswerinmindandyet did notforgettoremindVikramoftheirbasic the oldrules?Ordosomethingelse?”V everywhere, asKhalilsuggests?Orstickto W the rulesinLebanon,whatwouldyoudo? Vikram: “Ifyouhadthepowertorewrite quickly andposedhiscustomaryquestionto where theystoppedev The storywasnotfinished,buttheyhadreachedtheTVtower the civilw other democraciesoftheworld?”heasks.Hiselders,whohaveseenbloodshed president, nomatterwhichcommunityhecomesfrom.Whycan’twedothat,likein an election,alloweveryonetocontestandwhoeverwinsmaximumvotesbecomesthe cannot understandwh either hisfather under thepresentsystemtoppositionisoutofhisreach.Hedoesnotpracti Khalil doesnotlikethissystemonebit.Heisapopularmanwithpoliticalambition.But respect thisagreementthoughnowtheMuslimsareinclearmajorit this agreement,theywerenearlyequalinpopulation.Bothsideshavecontinuedto unification withtheneighbouringstateofSyria.WhenChristiansandMuslimscameto Christians agreednottoseekFrenchprotectionandtheMuslims Orthodox ChristiansectandthatoftheSpeakerforShi’aMuslims.Underthispact, be fromtheSunniMuslimcommunit President mustbelongtotheMaronitesectofCatholicChristians.ThePrimeMinister rules forpowersharingamongdifferentcommunities.Aspertheserules,thecountry’s A uncles w together various communitiesthatlivedinLebanoncametoliveitscapital,Beirut.They Muslim. Thisw from differentcommunities.HisfatherwasanOrthodoxChristianandmotheraSunni t theendofthiscivilw ould y dilemma ou! ou adoptthe‘regular , intermingled,y as killedinthatw ar ” , tellhimthatthepresentsystemisbestguar as notsouncommoninthismodern,cosmopolitancit ’ s orhismother “In thecityofBeiruttherelivedamancalledKhalil.Hisparentscame y Lebanoncan’ ery da ar et foughtabittercivilw , Lebanon’ ar . ’ rulesfollowed driving. Thistimethestorywentasfollows: y started tellingVikramastorytokeephimawakewhile . V silence andV As usual,Vikramwasdrivingthemotorbikeunderavowof ’ s religionanddoesnotwishtobeknownb etal wr y s leaderscametogetherandagreedtosomebasic . ThepostofDeput t belik etal apped up 2020-21 etal w e an ar amongthemselv y other‘normal’democr as thepillionrider y PrimeMinisterisfix antee forpeace… y. . Asusual,V es. OneofKhalil’ y . P eople from acy y either . “Justhold ed for etal ” se . He s

7 Power-sharing Forms of power-sharing

The idea of power-sharing has power should be distributed among as emerged in opposition to the notions many citizens as possible. of undivided political power. For a In modern democracies, power long time it was believed that all power sharing arrangements can take many of a government must reside in one forms. Let us look at some of the most person or group of persons located common arrangements that we have at one place. It was felt that if the or will come across. power to decide is dispersed, it would 1 Power is shared among different not be possible to take quick decisions organs of government, such as the and to enforce them. But these legislature, executive and judiciary. Let notions have changed with the us call this horizontal distribution of emergence of democracy. One basic power because it allows different organs principle of democracy is that people of government placed at the same level are the source of all political power. to exercise different powers. Such a In a democracy, people rule separation ensures that none of the themselves through institutions of organs can exercise unlimited power. self-government. In a good democratic Each organ checks the others. This government, due respect is given to results in a balance of power among diverse groups and views that exist in various institutions. Last year, we studied a society. Everyone has a voice in the that in a democracy, even though shaping of public policies. Therefore, ministers and government officials it follows that in a democracy political exercise power, they are responsible to Reigning the Reins the Parliament or State Assemblies. Similarly, although judges are appointed by the executive, they can check the functioning of executive or laws made by the legislatures. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances. 2 Power can be shared among governments at different levels – a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. Such a general government for the entire

olitics country is usually called federal government. In India, we refer to it as the Central or Union Government.

atic P The governments at the provincial or In 2005, some new laws were made in Russia giving more powers to © Olle Johansson - Sweden, Cagle Cartoons Inc., 25 Feb. 2005 its president. During the same time the US president visited Russia. regional level are called by different What, according to this cartoon, is the relationship between democracy names in different countries. In India, and concentration of power? Can you think of some other examples to illustrate the point being made here? Democr

8 2020-21 w g ar T system isnotf to di in theg of po constitution c le lik This iscalledf Belgium, gov par constituencies’ inassembliesandthe y legislatures andadministration.Last w w constitutional andle In somecountriesthereare is ag ‘Comm religious andlinguisticg dif length inthene po gov higher andlo us calldi as them lo e po 3 ear xtended tole ov her e callthemSta her omen ar w v e nopr ar e our w w w f liament of els of er thantheSta er er er , Pow er er v w er ood e er e ar e r er nment. nments ang ent socialg b . W . e studiedthesystemof . T nment v s of y sociall se socialg unity g ov unicipality andpanc s, er ma e man b ement ismeanttogi vision of e shallstud w he sameprinciplecanbe er xample of ut w nment andadministr e r her g T dif . Butinthosecountries y alsobeshar ourcountr ollo y countriesw ov o as r his isw lear y w te Go v e therar xt c e vincial orsta er er r els of pr ov eder te g oups w w f efused inSriLanka. tical di nment’ inBelgium r eak er po w l ed inallcountries ha esented inthe oups y la thisar er g er le ov ent le y thesea v al ar pter er sectionsand al di w er nment, ha er g ys do er nments ho otherwise t the nment, y suc ov r . s in e dif r .T ang ed vision of ang vision her ha vels of

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9 Power-sharing Here are some examples of power sharing. Which of the four types of power sharing do these represent? Who is sharing power with whom? l The Bombay High Court ordered the Maharashtra state government to immediately take action and improve living conditions for the 2,000-odd children at seven children’s homes in Mumbai. l The government of Ontario state in Canada has agreed to a land claim settlement with the aboriginal community. The Minister responsible for Native Affairs announced that the government will work with aboriginal people in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation. l Russia’s two influential political parties, the Union of Right Forces and the Liberal Yabloko Movement, agreed to unite their organisations into a strong right-wing coalition. They propose to have a common list of candidates in the next parliamentary elections. l The finance ministers of various states in Nigeria got together and demanded that the federal government declare its sources of income. They also wanted to know the formula by which the revenue is distributed to various state governments.

1. What are the different forms of power sharing in modern democracies? Give an example of each of these. 2. State one prudential reason and one moral reason for power sharing with an example from the Indian context. 3. After reading this chapter, three students drew different conclusions. Which of these do you agree with and why? Give your reasons in about 50 words. Thomman - Power sharing is necessary only in societies

ercises which have religious, linguistic or ethnic divisions. Mathayi – Power sharing is suitable only for big countries that have regional divisions. Ouseph – Every society needs some form of power sharing

olitics even if it is small or does not have social divisions. Ex 4. The Mayor of Merchtem, a town near Brussels in Belgium, has defended a ban on speaking French in the town’s schools. He atic P said that the ban would help all non-Dutch speakers integrate in this Flemish town. Do you think that this measure is in keeping with the spirit of Belgium’s power sharing arrangements? Give your reasons in about 50 words. Democr

10 2020-21 7. 6. 5. (a) A,B Which ofthestatementsgiv D. C. B. A. arr Consider thefollowingstatementsaboutpowersharing and selecttheanswerusingcodesgiv power sharing.Identif prudential reasonsforpowersharingofferedinthis. D C. B. A. Different argumentsareusuallyputforthinfavourofandagainst Read thefollowingpassageandpickoutanyoneof G. F. E. . (a) (d) (c) (b) angements inBelgiumandSriLanka. The tr The T In SriLanka,thepoliciesofgo In Belgium,theDutch-speakingmajorit linguistic lines. feder opportunity ineducationandjobs. power sharingtoprotecttheirculture,language and equalit dominance oftheSinhala-speakingmajorit their dominationontheminorit dela decreases thepossibilit reduces conflictamongdifferentcommunities democracy.” Panchayati Rajwillstrengthenthefoundationsofour schemes. Thiswouldeliminatethecorruptmiddlemen.Thus, they wouldnaturallyexercisegreatercontroloverthese the planningandimplementationofdevelopmentalschemes, increase administrativeefficiency.Whenpeopleparticipatein power toPanchayatsisalsoawayreducecorruptionand belongs inademocracy–thehandsofpeople.Giving democracy. Itrestorespowertotheonlyplacewhere of ourConstitution.PanchayatiRajestablishestrue the dreamofMahatmaGandhiandhopesmakers “We needtogivemorepowerthepanchayatsrealise undermines theunit promotes people’ increases instabilit accommodates div , CandD(b)A,B D (c)Cand(d)B ys decisionmakingprocess al oneprev amils inSriLankademandedafeder ansformation ofBelgiumfromunitarygo B A D B B A A C C ented apossibledivisionofthecountryon s participationingo y thosewhichareinfa y anddivisiv ersities y ofacountry F D E D y ofarbitr en abo G G F v eness y French-speakingcommunit e arecorrect? ariness v ernment soughttoensurethe v 2020-21 ernment en below?P y peopletriedtoimpose v al arr our ofpowersharing y. v angement of ernment toa ower sharing: , CandD y. y of Exercises

11 Power-sharing 8. Match List I (forms of power sharing) with List II (forms of government) and select the correct answer using the codes given below in the lists:

List I List II

1. Power shared among different organs of government A. Community government 2. Power shared among governments at different levels B. Separation of powers 3. Power shared by different social groups C. Coalition government 4. Power shared by two or more political parties D. Federal government

1 2 3 4 (a) DAB C (b) B C DA (c) BDA C (d) C DAB

9. Consider the following two statements on power sharing and select the answer using the codes given below: A. Power sharing is good for democracy. B. It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. Which of these statements are true and false?

(a) A is true but B is false (b) Both A and B are true (c) Both A and B are false (d) A is false but B is true ercises olitics Ex atic P Democr

12 2020-21