Power Sharing

Sharing Power

• Sharing power or dividing power is equivalent to weakening the country. \text{Sharing Power} = \text{Dividing Power} = \text{Weakening the Country}

Glossary

• Ethnic Group: A social division based on shared culture and belief in common descent due to similarities in physical type or culture. They don't necessarily share the same religion or nationality.

Belgium and Sri Lanka: A Comparison

Belgium

• A small European country bordering France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg.

• Population: Slightly over one crore (about half of Haryana's population).

• Ethnic Composition:

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

  • 40% live in the Wallonia region and speak French.

  • 1% speak German.

• Capital City Brussels:

  • 80% speak French.

  • 20% are Dutch-speaking.

• The minority French-speaking community was rich and powerful, causing resentment from the Dutch-speaking community who benefited from economic development and education later.

• Tensions between the Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities arose during the 1950s and 1960s.

• Brussels presented a special problem: Dutch-speaking people were a majority in the country but a minority in the capital.

Sri Lanka

• An island nation off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.

• Population: About two crore (same as Haryana).

• Diverse Population:

  • Sinhala-speakers: 74%

  • Tamil-speakers: 18% (divided into Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils)

• Sri Lankan Tamils: 13% (natives of the country), concentrated in the north and east.

• Indian Tamils: Forefathers came from India as plantation workers during the colonial period.

• Religion:

  • Most Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists.

  • Most Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.

  • About 7% are Christians (both Tamil and Sinhala).

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka became independent in 1948.

• Sinhala community leaders sought dominance over the government due to their majority.

• The democratically elected government adopted majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy.

• 1956 Act: Recognized Sinhala as the only official language, disregarding Tamil.

• Preferential policies favored Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.

• A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

• These measures increased alienation among Sri Lankan Tamils, who felt denied equal political rights and discriminated against in jobs and opportunities.

• Sinhala leaders were perceived as insensitive to their language and culture.

• Relations between Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time.

• Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for recognition of Tamil as an official language, regional autonomy, and equal opportunities in education and jobs.

• Demands for autonomy in Tamil-populated provinces were repeatedly denied.

• By the 1980s, political organizations demanded an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

Civil War in Sri Lanka

• Distrust between the two communities led to widespread conflict and civil war.

• Thousands of people from both communities were killed.

• Many families were forced to leave the country as refugees, and even more lost their livelihoods.

• The civil war caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural, and economic life of the country, ending in 2009.

Glossary

• Majoritarianism: The belief that the majority community should be able to rule a country in whichever way it wants, disregarding the wishes and needs of the minority.

• Civil War: A violent conflict between opposing groups within a country that becomes so intense that it appears like a war.

Accommodation in Belgium

• Belgian leaders recognized regional differences and cultural diversities.

• Between 1970 and 1993, the constitution was amended four times to enable everyone to live together in the same country.

• The arrangement they worked out is different from that of any other country and is very innovative.

• Elements of the Belgian Model:

  • The constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government.

  • Some special laws require the support of the majority of members from each linguistic group, ensuring that no single community can make decisions unilaterally.

  • Many powers of the Central Government have been given to State Governments of the two regions of the country.

  • The State Governments are not subordinate to the Central Government.

  • Brussels has a separate government in which both communities have equal representation.

  • The French-speaking people accepted equal representation in Brussels because the Dutch-speaking community has accepted equal representation in the Central Government.

  • Apart from the Central and State Governments, there is a third kind of government: the community government.

  • The community government is elected by people belonging to one language community (Dutch, French, and German-speaking) regardless of where they live.

  • This government has the power regarding cultural, educational, and language-related issues.

• The Belgian model is complicated but has worked well so far.

• It helped to avoid civic strife between the two major communities and a possible division of the country on linguistic lines.

Lessons from Belgium and Sri Lanka

• Both are democracies but dealt with power-sharing differently.

• In Belgium, leaders realized that the unity of the country is possible only by respecting the feelings and interests of different communities and regions.

• This realization resulted in mutually acceptable arrangements for sharing power.

• Sri Lanka shows that if a majority community wants to force its dominance over others and refuses to share power, it can undermine the unity of the country.

Why Power Sharing Is Desirable

• Two sets of reasons for power sharing:

  • Prudential Reasons: Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.

  • Social conflict often leads to violence and political instability.

  • Power sharing ensures the stability of the political order.

  • Imposing the will of the majority community over others may seem attractive in the short run but undermines the unity of the nation in the long run.

  • Moral Reasons: Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy.

  • Democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise.

  • People have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed.

  • A legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system.

• Tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive to the minority but often affects the majority adversely as well.

Glossary

• Prudential: Based on prudence, or on careful calculation of gains and losses. Prudential decisions are usually contrasted with decisions based purely on moral considerations.

Forms of Power Sharing

• The idea of power-sharing has emerged in opposition to the notions of undivided political power.

• For a long time, it was believed that all power of a government must reside in one person or group of persons located at one place.

• It was felt that if the power to decide is dispersed, it would not be possible to take quick decisions and to enforce them.

• But these notions have changed with the emergence of democracy.

• One basic principle of democracy is that people are the source of all political power.

• In a democracy, people rule themselves through institutions of self-government.

• In a good democratic government, due respect is given to diverse groups and views that exist in a society.

• Everyone has a voice in the shaping of public policies.

• Therefore, it follows that in a democracy, political power should be distributed among as many citizens as possible.

• Power-sharing arrangements can take many forms.

Common Arrangements

1. Horizontal Distribution of Power:

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

   • Allows different organs of government placed at the same level to exercise different powers.

   • Ensures that none of the organs can exercise unlimited power.

   • Each organ checks the others, resulting in a balance of power among various institutions.

   • This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances.

   • Ministers and government officials exercise power and are responsible to the Parliament or State Assemblies.

   • Judges are appointed by the executive but can check the functioning of the executive or laws made by the legislatures.

2. Vertical Division of Power:

   • Power is shared among governments at different levels.

   • A general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level.

   • A general government for the entire country is usually called a federal government.

   • In India, it is referred to as the Central or Union Government.

   • Governments at the provincial or regional level are called by different names in different countries.

   • In India, they are called State Governments.

   • The constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government.

   • Belgium followed this, but Sri Lanka refused.

   • This is called federal division of power.

   • The same principle can be extended to levels of government lower than the State government, such as the municipality and panchayat.

3. Power Sharing Among Social Groups:

   • Power may also be shared among different social groups, such as religious and linguistic groups.

   • 'Community government' in Belgium is a good example.

   • In some countries, constitutional and legal arrangements ensure that socially weaker sections and women are represented in the legislatures and administration.

   • System of reserved constituencies in assemblies and parliament.

   • This type of arrangement is meant to provide space in the government and administration to diverse social groups who would otherwise feel alienated from the government.

   • This method is used to give minority communities a fair share in power.

4. Power Sharing Among Political Parties, Pressure Groups, and Movements:

   • Power sharing arrangements can also be seen in the way political parties, pressure groups, and movements control or influence those in power.

   • In a democracy, citizens must have the freedom to choose among various contenders for power.

   • In contemporary democracies, this takes the form of competition among different parties.

   • Such competition ensures that power does not remain in one hand.

   • In the long run, power is shared among different political parties that represent different ideologies and social groups.

   • Sharing can be direct when two or more parties form an alliance to contest elections.

   • If their alliance is elected, they form a coalition government and thus share power.

   • Interest groups, such as those of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers, and industrial workers, also have a share in governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or by bringing influence on the decision-making process.