POWER SHARING

Day 1

• What is power sharing

Power Sharing

As practiced in Belgium and Sri Lanka

BELGIUM

• Smaller than Haryana

• Borders with France, Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg

SIZE AND ETHNIC COMPOSITION

• 59% speak Dutch and live in the Flemish region.

Walloon Region

BrusselsETHNIC COMPOSITION OF THE

NATIONFlemish Region

• 40% speak French and live in the Walloon Region

• 1% speak German and live in the Walloon Region

• 80% in the capital speak French but they are minority in the country

• 20% in the capital speak Dutch but they are majority in the country

ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF BRUSSELS

REASONS FOR TENSION BETWEEN THE TWO COMMUNITIES• The minority French

were rich and powerful

• The majority Dutch got the benefit of economic development much later.

THE BELGIAN MODEL OF POWER SHARING• Between 1970 and 1993 the

constitution was amended four times to accommodate social and cultural diversities.

• This was done by sharing power as follows.

There shall be equal representation from both communities in the central council of ministers

The majority Dutch accepted this arrangement because they were minority in the nation

DAY 3

The Belgian Model of Power SharingSome special laws require the support of majority

from both the communitiesMany powers of the Central Government have

been transferred to State Governments and the State Governments are not subordinate to the Central Govt.

There is third form of Govt. called ‘Community Govt.’

It is elected by people belonging to one language community – the Dutch, the French and the German speaking no matter where they live.

The community governments have power regarding cultural, educational and language related issues.

The Belgian Model of Power SharingBrussels has a separate Govt. with equal

representation from both the communities.The majority French in Brussels accepted equal

representation in Brussels because the majority Dutch accepted equal representation in eh central government.

Advantages of The Belgian ModelThough complex,

the model has worked well so far.

It has avoided civic strife between the two communities.

The European Union chose to have its parliament at Brussels as Power Sharing was practiced successfully

DAY 2

SRI LANKA

• About the same as Haryana

• Just a few kms away off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu

SIZE

SOCIAL COMPOSITION• Sinhala Speakers:

74%. They are mostly Buddhists

• Tamils Speakers: 18%. They are Hindus and Muslims

Sri Lankan Tamils Indian

Tamils

Tamil Speakers

13% 5%

Indian Tamils• They

migrated to Sri Lanka as Plantation workers during the British Rule

Sri Lankan Tamils• Tamil

Natives

7% of the Population• Consists

Christians who speak both Sinhala and Tamil

MAJORITARIANISM IN SRI LANKA

• After independence in 1948, Sri Lanka adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhalese supremacy over the Tamils

• In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language

MAJORITARIANISM IN SRI LANKA• In 1956 an Act was

passed which recognised Sinhala as the only official language.

• Sinhala speakers were preferred both for university positions and Govt. jobs.

Sinhala

Lanka

DAY 4

MAJORITARIANISM IN SRI LANKA• Constitution was

amended to protect and strengthen Sinhala Language.

EFFECT ON TAMILS• The Tamils felt isolated • They thought that

even the constitution was against them.

• None of the Political parties ever considered their needs.

• The Tamils formed groups, organisations and parties to fight for rights

EFFECT ON TAMILS• Their demands for

recognition to their language and separate state with autonomous status were repeatedly neglected.

• This made some groups like the LTTE to take violent actions.

DAY 5

THE CIVIL WAR• Civil war thus broke

out between the Tamils and the Sinhalas

Thousands of people on both the sides were killed.Thousands of Tamil families went out of the country as refugees

WHY IS POWER SHARING DESIRABLE?• Prudential Reasons

1. It avoids conflicts between different social groups. The absence of power sharing can result in division of the country.

2. Imposing will of the majority on the minority might appear to be an attractive option but it can be counter productive and can come in way of national integration as it happened in Sri Lanka

3. The tyranny of the majority brings ruins both to the minority and the majority (as in Sri Lanka)

DAY 5

WHY IS POWER SHARING DESIRABLE?• Moral Reasons

1. Power sharing is the very essence of democracy. In an ideal democracy as many people as possible should get a chance to enjoy power.

2. People are affected by all the policies of democratic politics and they have to live with the effects. Hence citizens need share in power.

3. A legitimate govt. is one where citizens, through participation, acquire stake in power.

DAY 6

FORMS OF POWER SHARING• Horizontal OR Check and Balance System

The Legislature The Executive The Judiciary

• Each of these organs is placed at the same level to exercise different powers

• None of them has unlimited power thus maintains balance.

• Each one of them keeps watch on the functioning of the other two.

• Hence it is called Check and Balance System

• The Central Govt. is set up for the whole nation.• The state/provincial govt. is set up for each

provinces/states.• The central govt. transfers/shares some of the

powers to/with the state govt. (as in Belgium)• In a big country like India, this type of two tier

system is not sufficient.• So we have the third tier – the Local Self Govt.• Both the Central and State govt. have transferred

power and resources to the Local bodies.

Central Govt.State Govt.Local

Bodies

Vertical Power Sharing

DAY 6

• Socially weaker sections also have to have share in power.

• Community govt. in Belgium is one example for this type of power sharing.

• In India, it is done by way of reservation.• Constituencies and seats are reserved for

women, SCs and STs.• Thus power is shared among different social

groups.

Power Sharing among different social groups

SCsSTs

Women

Power Sharing among Political

parties, pressure groups and movements• No political party enjoys power for ever.

• It is for the people to decide who should be in power.

• With the emergence of coalition govt. many parties share power at the same time.

• Pressure groups and movements have share in power by exerting pressure on the govt.

• They exert pressure by various means and get policies framed in their favour.