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CLASS- X

SUBJECT- POLITICAL SCIENCE

CHAPTER-1 [POWER SHARING]

Complete these following questions and answers in your notebook. No need to write any
question from the NCERT.

ETHNIC COMPOSITION —-

1. What policies or steps strained the relations between Sinhalas and Tamil community in Sri
Lanka?
OR
What did the Sinhala community do to secure its dominance over the government?
Answer –
Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. The leaders of the Sinhala
community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority.
a) In 1956, an act was passed to recognize Sinhala as the only official language, thus
disregarding Tamil.
b) Government favored Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
c) State took necessary steps to protect and foster Buddhism.
All these government measures increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan
Tamils. They felt that they were denied equal political rights, discriminated against in
jobs and other opportunities.

2. Discuss the demands put forward by Sri Lankan Tamils.


OR
What resulted in a civil war in Sri Lanka?
Answer-
In Sri Lanka, the Sinhala community was trying to dominate over the Tamils.
a) Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties (LTTE) and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an
official language, for regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in securing
education and jobs.
b) But their demands were repeatedly denied.
c) Tamils demanded an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of
Sri Lanka.
d) The distrust between the two communities turned into a civil war.
As a result thousands of people of both the communities were killed.

3. What do you conclude from the conflicts and their solutions in Sri Lanka and Belgium?
Answer-
Both Sri Lanka and Belgium are democracies. But they dealt with the question of power
sharing differently.
a) In Belgium, leaders respected the feelings and interests of different communities and
regions.
b) They focused more on the unity of the country by promoting mutually acceptable
arrangements for sharing power.
c) Unlike in Sri Lanka, a majority community tries to force its dominance over others.
d) It refuses to share power which undermines the unity of the country.

4. Why is power sharing necessary for the country?


Answer-
There are two different sets of reasons:-
a) Prudential reason
-power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
-it ensures the stability of political order
b) Moral reason
-power sharing is the very spirit of democracy
-a legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in
the system.
5. Discuss the various forms of power sharing. (write on your own)
6. Discuss the elements of the accommodation model in Belgium. (write on your own)
CARTOON QUESTIONS
Question 1. [On page no. 6]
a) What does the cartoon represent?
It refers to the problems of running a coalition government.
In a coalition government, conflicts are maximum, decision making becomes slow and
generally results in the fall of the government as all parties want to have the charge of key
areas (steering wheels as depicted in the cartoon)
b) Which country is represented here?
Germany
c) Name the political parties of Germany.
Christian Democratic Union and Social Democratic Party.
They are rivals to each other.
They formed a coalition government because neither of them got a clear majority in the
2005 elections.

Question 2. [On page no. 8]


a) What does the cartoon represent?
In 2005, some new laws were made in Russia giving more power to its President. During
the same time the US president visited Russia.
b) Identify the two main leaders shown here.
George W. Bush of USA
Vladimir Putin of Russia
c) What according to this cartoon, is the relationship between democracy and
concentration of power?
Democracy represents the will of the common people. But in the cartoon it has been
shown that democracy is run by elected people at their will, without taking care of the
will of the general people.
d) Can you think of other examples?
Sheikh Mujib Ur Rehman did the same thing by declaring Bangladesh as one party
democracy and making his own party (Awami League) more dominant and powerful.

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