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Power Sharing

• In democracy (government by the people) , any one organ of government do not own all power
• Power is shared among legislature (lawmakers), executive (decision makers) and judiciary (court system) in democratic country

Lets start with two stories from Belgium and Sri Lanka
Belgium

• Belgium was a small country in Europe with 1 crore population
• Belgium has complex racial composition. Out of total population –
• 59% Flemish people speaks Dutch
• 40% Wallonia people speaks French
• 1% Belgian people speaks German
• In capital city- Brussels, 80% speaks French while 20% speaks Dutch
• Minor and rich French-speaking peoples were hated by Dutch speaking peoples
• This hatred led to clashes between Dutch-speaking and French-speaking in 1950s and 1960s
• Dutch-speaking were majority in country but minority in Brussels

Accommodation in Belgium

• Belgium leaders recognised diversity in country
• Between 1970 and 1993, they made many changes in constitution to ensure unity in country
• They framed out a Belgium model in innovative ways
• Following are elements of Belgium model-
• Equal number of Dutch and French speaking ministers in central government. No single community can make decisions itself    (Equal Ministries)
• Transfer of power from central government to state government  (Power Sharing)
• Brussel government have equal representation for both communities  (Equal representatives)
• Community government ( Govt. of people belonging to one language) has power of cultural, educational and language related issues  (Community government empowerment)
• Belgium model helped to avoid conflicts between communities
• When European countries formed European union, Brussels was chosen as its headquarter

Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka is an island nation in South Asia with 2 crore population
• Sri Lanka has diverse population in which-
• 74% are Sinhala-speakers
• 18% are Tamil-speakers. Out of which-
• 13% are Sri Lankan Tamils
• 5% are Indian Tamils

 
 

• Sri Lankan Tamils are more in north and east of country
• Most Sinhalese are Buddhist while Tamils are Hindus or Muslims
• About 7% christians are both Tamilians and Sinhalese

Majoritarianism (majority can rule) in Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka got independence in 1948
• Sinhala community was in majority, So government adopted methods to establish Sinhala power in Sri Lanka
• In 1956, an Act declared Sinhala as official, university and governmental language
• Constitution demanded protection and encouragement of Buddhism
• All this government methods made Sri Lankan Tamils feel alone
• They felt their language and culture are in danger of loss
• They felt government refused their political rights, discriminated in getting jobs
• As a result, clashes exists between Sinhalese and Tamils

Sri Lankan Tamils

• Sri Lankan Tamils demanded for-
• Tamil as an official language
• Self rule in their regions
• Equal opportunities in job and education
• Independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka
• But their demands were denied by the government
• As a result, civil war occurred between Sri Lankan Tamils and Sinhalese
• War killed thousands of people in both communities
• War destroyed social, cultural and economic life of the country

Learnings from Belgium and Sri Lanka

• Belgium shows that Unity can be achieved by respecting feelings of different communities and regions    (United we Stand)
• Sri Lanka shows if majority wants to dominate over others, it can destroy Unity of country   (Divided we Fall)

Power Sharing

Power is shared among legislature which are law makers, executive which are decision makers, and judiciary that is court system in democratic country.

Following two reasons favour Power sharing-

1. Prudential (common sense reasons) says that – 

• Power sharing helps to avoid conflicts between social groups
• It ensures political stability
• It focuses that power sharing brings better results

2.   Moral (good reasons) says that – 

• Power sharing is spirit of democracy
• Democratic rule involves power sharing among peoples

• It focuses on power sharing as valuable  

Forms of Power Sharing-
  1. Power is shared among different organs of government such as legislature (lawmakers), executive ( decision makers), judiciary (court system).

• This is horizontal distribution of power as no organs can use unlimited power
• This form ensures balance of power among various institutions

2.   Power can be shared among governments at different levels-

• This levels are Central government, State government or regional government, municipalities and panchayat
• This is vertical distribution as power division involves higher and lower levels of government
• Constitution set the powers of different levels of government

3.   Power may also be shared among different social groups-

• There are different religious and linguistic groups in the country
• This type of power sharing gives value to social groups in government and administration
• Minor communities shares a power by this form

4.   Power sharing among various political parties, pressure groups and movements-

• Power is shared among different political parties representing different ideologies and social groups
• Groups of traders, businessmen, industrialists, farmers, workers also share governmental power