Class 10 Civics Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers Power Sharing

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CBSE Class 10 Civics Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers Power Sharing Pdf free download are part of Extra Questions for Class 10 Social Science. Here we have given NCERT Extra Questions for Class 10 Social Science SST Civics Chapter 1 Power Sharing. (Power Sharing Class 10 Extra Questions)

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Power Sharing Class 10 Extra Questions Civics Chapter 1

QUESTIONS OF 1 MARK

Answers should not exceed 30 words.

Question 1.
Which are the border states of Belgium ?
Answer:
The border states of Belgium are Netherlands, France and Germany.

Question 2.
What is the meaning of ethnic ?
Answer:

  1. Ethnic means a social division based on shared culture.
  2. People belonging to the same ethnic group believe in their common descent because of similarities of physical type or of culture or both,
  3. They need not always have the same religion or nationality.

Question 3.
Which languages are spoken in Belgium ? What is their percentage ?
Answer:

  1. Dutch language – 59 per cent
  2. French language – 40 per cent
  3. German language – 01 per cent.

Question 4.
What is the percentage of French and Dutch-speaking people in the capital city of Brussels ?
Answer:

  1. French-speaking – 80 per cent
  2. Dutch-speaking – 20 per cent.

Question 5.
State one special problem in Brussels.
Answer:
In Brussels the special problem was that the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in the country but a minority in the capital (Brussels).

Question 6.
Which language is spoken by majority of Sri Lanka ?  [CBSE 2016-17]
Answer:
Sinhala is spoken by 74 per cent people in Sri Lanka.

Question 7.
What is the percentage of Tamil-speaking people ?
Answer:
18 per cent people speak Tamil.

Question 8.
What is majoritarianism ?
Answer:
Majoritarianism is 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.

Question 9.
When was the Act passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language in Sri Lanka ?
Answer:
In 1956.

Question 10.
What was the result of policy of majoritarianism in Sri Lanka ?
Answer:
It increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Question 11.
What was the object of constitutional amendments between 1970 and 1993 in Belgium ?
Answer:
The object was to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.

Question 12.
The community government in Belgium is a good example of which form of power sharing ?
[CBSE 2016-17]
Answer:
Power sharing among governments at different levels.

Question 13.
Which is third unique form of govt, practiced in Belgium ? [CBSE 2016-17]
Or
Apart from the central and the state government, what is the other form of government in Belgium ?
Answer:
Apart from central and the state government there is a third kind of government viz community government elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter where they live.

Question 14.
Which type of powers does the community government of Belgium enjoy ? [CBSE 2016-17]
Answer:
The community government has the power regarding cultural, educational and language related issues.

Question 15.
Which are the two reasons for power sharing and mention one advantage of each ?
Answer:

  1. Prudential reason : It helps to reduce the possibility of conflicts between social groups.
  2. Moral reason : It is good for democracies. It is the very spirit of democracy.

Question 16.
Mention four types of power sharing.
Answer:

  1. Power sharing among different organs of government.
  2. Power sharing among government at different levels.
  3. Power sharing among different social groups.
  4. Power sharing among political parties, pressure groups and movements.

Question 17.
What is horizontal distribution of power ?
Answer:
Under horizontal distribution, power is shared among different organs of government, such as legislature, executive and judiciary.

Question 18.
How power can be shared among governments at different levels ?
Answer:
Under this, there is a general government for the entire country (central government) and governments at the provincial or regional level (state government).

Question 19.
What are the features of sharing power among governments at different levels ? State any one.
Answer:

  1. Under this power sharing, there is division of power between central and state governments.
  2. It is vertical division of power.

Question 20.
Give an example of power sharing among different social groups such as the religious and linguistic groups.
Answer:
Community government in Belgium is a good example of power sharing among different social groups.

Question 21.
Why the system of ‘reserved constituencies’ is adopted in India ?
Answer:
The system of ‘reserved constituencies’ is adopted to give space/representation in the government and administration to diverse social groups who otherwise would feel alienated from the government.

Question 22.
Give an example of power sharing among different political parties in a democracy.
Answer:
Some time different political parties with different ideologies form an alliance. They contest elections jointly and after winning in the elections, these parties form a coalition government. The example is present NDA government.

QUESTIONS OF 3/5 MARKS

Answers should he in about 80/100 words.
Question 1.
Describe the geographical and ethnic composition of Belgium.
Answer:
The geographical and ethnic composition of Belgium is given below :
(1) Geographical composition :

  1. Belgium is a small country in Europe. It is smaller in area than the State of Haryana in India.
  2. It has borders with Netherlands, France and Germany.
  3.  Its population is little over one crore. It is half of the population of Haryana state.

(2) Ethnic composition :

  1. 59 per cent of the population lives in the Flemish region. They speak Dutch language.
  2. 40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region. They speak French.
  3. Remaining one per cent speak German.
  4. Brussels is the capital of Belgium. Here, 80 per cent people speak French and 20 per cent speak Dutch.
    Thus, Belgium is a country of diversities based on languages. Dutch-speaking people are in majority in the country, but a minority in the capital city of Brussels.

Question 2.
What was the cause of tension between Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities during 1950s and 1960s ?
Answer:
The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful. On the .pther hand Dutch-speaking community got the benefit of economic development and education much later. This was the cause of tension between two communities during the 1950s and 1960s.

Question 3.
Describe the geographical and ethnic composition of Sri Lanka.
Answer:
The geographical and ethnic composition of Sri Lanka is given below :

Geographical composition :

  1. Sri Lanka is an island nation just a few kilometers off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.
  2. Its population is about 2 crore.

Ethnic composition :

  1. The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per cent) and Tamil-speakers (18 per cent).                              ‘
  2. Tamil-speakers are further divided into two groups – Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils.
  3. Sri Lankan Tamils are the natives of Sri Lanka. The Indian Tamils’ forefathers migrated from India as plantation workers during colonial period.
  4. Sri Lankan Tamils live in the north and east of the country.
  5. Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhist, while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.
  6. There are about 7 per cent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhala.

Question 4.
Explain the three measures taken by Sri Lanka as per the Act passed in 1956. [CBSE 2016-17]
                                                      Or
How was majoritarianism practiced in Sri Lanka ?
                                                     Or

What were the reasons for alienation of Sri Lankan Tamils ? What were its effects ?
                                                     Or
Which policies of the Sri Lankan government have led to the feeling of alienation among Sri Lankan Tamils ?
                                                     Or
Why Sri Lankan Tamils felt alienated ?
Answer:
(1) Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. The Sinhala community was majority community. Their leaders sought to secure dominance over government. Thus the democratically elected government adopted the following majoritarian measures :

  1. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language thus disregarding Tamil.
  2. The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
  3. A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

(2) Effects : The above measures gradually increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils.

  1. They felt that none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture.
  2. They felt that the constitution and government policies denied them equal political rights.
  3. They also felt that they were being discriminated in getting jobs and other opportunities. Thus the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained and a feeling of alienation grew among the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Question 5.
What were the effects of feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils ?
Answer:
The effects of the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils were as mentioned below :

  1. The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an official language.
  2. They demanded regional autonomy.
  3. They also demanded equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs.
  4. Their demand for regional autonomy was repeatedly denied.
  5. By 1980s several political organisations were formed and they demanded an s independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.
  6. The distrust and alienation turned into widespread conflict between the two communities. It soon turned into a civil war.
  7. In the civil war, thousands of people of both the communities were killed. Many
  8. families were forced to leave the country as refugees. Many lost their livelihoods. Thus although Sri Lanka had excellent record of economic development, education and health, but  the civil war has caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the country.

Question 6.
What are some of the basic elements of the Belgium model of power sharing ?
                                                                     Or
Describe the path of accommodation adopted in Belgium. What were its consequences
Answer:
The Belgian leaders recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities. So they adopted a path of accommodation. Its features were as mentioned below :

  1. Between 1970 and 1993, the constitution was amended four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within same country.
  2. The constitution prescribes that the Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the Central Government.
  3. Some special law’s require the support of majority of members from each linguistic group. No single community not even majority community (Dutch-speaking) can make deci­sions unilaterally.
  4. The State Governments are not subordinate to the Central Government. Many powers of the Central Government have been given to State Governments.
  5. There is a separate government in Brussels, the capital of Belgium. Both the commu­nities i.e., French-speaking and Dutch-speaking, have equal representation in the Brussels government. The French-speaking people accepted equal representation in Brussels because the Dutch-speaking community has accepted equal representation in the central government.
  6. A third government which is called “community government” is elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter
    where they live. The community government has power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues.The above model is complicated but it has worked so well that there is no civil strife between the two communities. There is no danger of division of the country on the linguistic basis.

Question 7.
How the composition of the capital city of Brussels is different from Belgium as a country ?
Answer:
In Belgium, the composition of different communities is as given below :

  1. Dutch-speaking — 59 per cent
  2. French-speaking — 40 per cent
  3. German-speaking — 01 per cent

On the other hand, the composition of Brussels is as follows :

  1. French-speaking — 80 per cent                                                       .
  2. Dutch-speaking — 20 per cent

Thus, Dutch-speaking people are in majority in the country but they are in minority in the capital city of Brussels. On the other hand, French-speaking people are in minority in the country but they are in majority in the capital citymf Brussels. This composition of different communities has led to the acceptance of principle of accommodation in Belgium by them.

Question 8.
What do you learn from the principles followed in Belgium and Sri Lanka i.e., majoritarianism in Sri Lanka and accommodation in Belgium ?
Answer:
We learn the following lessons from the principles of majoritarianism and accommo­dation followed in Sri Lanka and Belgium :

  1. In Belgium, the leaders respected the feelings and interests of all communities and were successful in maintaining the unity of the country. They recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities. They took various steps such as amendments to the constitution in order to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country. The arrangements such as equal number of ministers of Dutch and French-speaking people in Brussels and central govt, have worked successfully.
  2. On the other hand in Sri Lanka, the Sinhala community tried to secure dominance over government and adopted a series of majoritarian measure. The result was alienation of Sri Lankan Tamils and civil war.
    Thus it proves that the policy and path of accommodation is better than the path of major itarianism.

Question 9.
Describe basic principles of democracy about power sharing. [CBSE 2016-17]
Or
Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.  [CBSE 2016-17]
Or
Why is power sharing desirable ?    [CBSE 2016-17]
Answer:
See Textbook Question 2.

Question 10.
What are the different forms of power sharing in modem democracies ? Explain any two.[CBSE 2016-17]
Answer:
Different forms of power sharing are given below :

(1) Power sharing among different organs of government :

  1. The power is shared by three organs of government i.e., legislature, executive and judiciary.
  2. Generally, legislature enacts laws, executive executes the laws, makes policies and takes decisions,
  3. Judiciary interprets the law and protects the rights of the people,
  4. It is called horizontal distribution of power’because it allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise different powers,
  5. Such a separation ensures that none of the organs can exercise unlimited power.
  6. Each organ checks the others and a balance of power is maintained.
    For example in India, executive i.e., Council of Ministers is responsible to Lok Sabha. The Council of Ministers must enjoy the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha. If they loose confidence of the Lok Sabha, they have to resign. Similarly judges are appointed by the executive, but they check the function of executive or laws made by the legislatures.

(2) Power sharing among governments at different levels :

  1. There are governments at the National, State and Local levels.
  2. Powers are divided among these governments. For example in India, there is a division of powers between Center and the States. There are three lists i.e., Union list, State list and Concurrent list. The residuary powers which have not been included in the three lists are with the Central Government,
  3. Some powers have been given to local governments under the Panchayati Raj system,
  4. Such a system is followed in countries where there federal form of government as in the USA and Belgium,
  5. Such division of powers involving higher and lower levels of government is called vertical division of power.
  6. However, in countries where there is unitary form of government as in the Great Britain, there is no division of powers. All the powers are vested in the central or national government.

(3) Power sharing among different social groups :

  1. Sometimes religious and linguistic groups too share power as is the case in Belgium where there is a “community government” which is elected by people belonging to one language community no matter where they live.
  2. Such government enjoys power regarding cultural, educational and language related issues,
  3. In India, seats are reserved for SCs and STs in assemblies and parliament. Such a system is adopted to give minority communities a fair share in power so that they are not alienated from the government as has happened in Sri Lanka.

(4) Power sharing among political parties, pressure groups and movements :

  1. When no party gets an absolute majority in legislature, different parties come together and form a coalition government and share power in a democracy. For example, the present NDA (National Democrative Alliance) government headed by Shri Narendra Modi is a coalition government in which power is shared by different political parties that represent different ideologies and social groups.
  2. In addition to this, different pressure groups, interest groups and movements also directly or indirectly influence the decision making process of the government. Thus there is power sharing among political parties, pressure groups and movements.

Question 11.
Differentiate between horizontal and vertical power sharing in modem democracies.
Answer:
The differences between horizontal and vertical power sharing in modern democracies is as mentioned below:

Horizontal Power Sharing

Vertical Power Sharing

(1)   Power is shared among different organs of government such as the legislature, executive and judiciary.

(2)   It allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise different powers.

(3)   It ensures that none of the organs exercise unlimited power.

(4)   Each organ checks the other. This results in a balance of power among various institutions. It is called a system of checks and balances.

 

 

(1)  Power is shared among governments at different levels i.e., central, state/ provinicial, regional level.

(2)   The constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government as has been in Belgium/ India. It is federal division of power.

(3)   It ensures that each government works according to the constitutional powers.

(4)   It is vertical division of power as the powers are divided involving higher and lower levels of government i.e., central, state and local level.

 

Question 12.
“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:
The points of difference between systems of power sharing in Belgium and Sri Lanka are as mentioned below :

Sri Lanka Belgian

(1) In Sri Lanka the leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority. The elected government adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy.

(2)  In 1956 an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language. The govt, followed preferential policies favouring Sinhala applicants for university positions and govt. jobs. A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

(3) There is no such community govt, regarding cultural, educational and language related issues.

(4)  In Sri Lanka, there was the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils. They felt that the constitution and the government policies denied them equal political rights, discriminated against them in getting jobs and other opportunities and ignore

 

 

 The Belgian leaders recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities. Between 1970 and 1993 they amended their constitution four times so as to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country. Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central govt. Many powers of the central government have been given to the state governments which are not subordinate to the central government. Brussels (capital) has a separate govt, in which both the communities have equal representation. In Belgium, the “community government” 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.
In Belgi um there is no feeling of alienation among any of the communities because the constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government. Many powers of the central government have been given to state governments of the two regions of the country. Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation.

Question 13.
Describe basic principles o f democracy about power sharing.
Answer:

  1. They elect their representatives through direct or indirect election. Those who win and secure majority in the legislature form government at various levels i.e., national, state or local.
  2. In democracy due respect is given to all social groups including minorities. For example in India, minorities enjoy educational and cultural rights. Reservation has been made for SCs/STs in Parliament and State Assemblies. Thus, in democracy power is shared at various levels and among various social groups.
    It is based on prudence or on careful calculation of gains and losses.

 

 

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