Power Sharing NCERT Exercise Questions
Question 1: What are the different forms of power sharing in modern democracies? Give an example of each of these.
Answer: Different forms of power sharing in modern democracies are as follows:
- Power sharing in different organs of government: Example: power sharing between legislature and executive
- Power sharing at different levels of government: Example: power sharing between Union government and state government.
- Power sharing among social groups: Example: Reservation in government jobs for OBCs and SCs & STs.
- Power sharing among various pressure groups: Example: Representative of trade union being consulted while making a new labour law.
Answer the following questions:
Question 2: State one prudential reason and one moral reason for power sharing with an example from the Indian context.
Answer: Prudential Reason: Power sharing helps in reducing the conflict between various social groups. Hence, power sharing is necessary for maintaining social harmony and peace.
Moral Reason: The avoiding conflict in society and preventing majority tyranny are considered as prudential reasons for power sharing. Maintaining the spirit of democracy is considered as the moral reason for power sharing.
Question 3: After reading this chapter, three students drew different conclusions. Which of these do you agree with and why? Give your reasons in about 50 words.
Thomman - sharing is necessary only in societies which have religious, linguistic or ethnic divisions.
Mathayi – Power sharing is suitable only for big countries that have regional divisions.
Ouseph – Every society needs some form of power sharing even if it is small or does not have social divisions.
Answer: I will agree with Ouseph. We know that the power to people is the basic theme of a democracy. By sharing power, we respect the basic theme of democracy. Moreover, by not sharing power; there is every chance of power being concentrated in the hands of a selected few. Such an arrangement would finally result in dictatorship and would kill democracy.
Question 4: The Mayor of Merchtem, a town near Brussels in Belgium, has defended a ban on speaking French in the town’s schools. He said that the ban would help all non-Dutch speakers integrate in this Flemish town. Do you think that this measure is in keeping with the spirit of Belgium’s power sharing arrangements? Give your reasons in about 50 words.
Answer: As per the power sharing arrangements in Belgium; Dutch speakers and non-Dutch speakers have stake in power. The Brussels government has equal representation from the French speaking people and the Dutch speaking people; which shows that both groups have to respect each other’s right. Hence, the Mayor of Merchtem is wrong in banning the French language in school.
Question 5: Read the following passage and pick out any one of the prudential reasons for power sharing offered in this.
We need to give more power to the panchayats to realize the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and the hopes of the makers of our Constitution. Panchayati Raj establishes true democracy. It restores power to the only place where power belongs in a democracy – in the hands of the people. Giving power to Panchayats is also a way to reduce corruption and increase administrative efficiency. When people participate in the planning and implementation of developmental schemes, they would naturally exercise greater control over these schemes. This would eliminate the corrupt middlemen. Thus, Panchayati Raj will strengthen the foundations of our democracy.
Answer: This passage shows power sharing at different levels of the government; which is one of the prudential reasons.
Question 6: Different arguments are usually put forth in favour of and against power sharing. Identify those which are in favour of power sharing and select the answer using the codes given below? Power sharing:
- Reduces conflict among different communities
- Decreases the possibility of arbitrariness
- Delays decision making process
- Accommodates diversities
- Increases instability and divisiveness
- Promotes people’s participation in government
- Undermines the unity of a country
- a, b, d, f
- a, c, e, f
- a, b, d, g
- b, c, d, g
Answer: (i) a, b, d, f
Question 7: Consider the following statements about power sharing arrangements in Belgium and Sri Lanka.
- In Belgium, the Dutch-speaking majority people tried to impose their domination on the minority French-speaking community.
- In Sri Lanka, the policies of the government sought to ensure the dominance of the Sinhala-speaking majority.
- The Tamils in Sri Lanka demanded a federal arrangement of power sharing to protect their culture, language and equality of opportunity in education and jobs.
- The transformation of Belgium from unitary government to a federal one prevented a possible division of the country on linguistic lines.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: b, c and d
Question 8: Consider the following two statements on power sharing and select the answer using the codes given below:
- Power sharing is good for democracy.
- It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups.
Which of these statements are true and false?
- a is true but b is false
- Both a and b are true
- Both a and b are false
- a is false but b is true
Answer: (ii) Both a and b are true
Question 9: Match List I (forms of power sharing) with List II (forms of government) and select the correct answer using the codes given below in the lists:
Answer:
List I | List II |
---|---|
Power shared among different organs of government | Separation of powers |
Power shared among government at different levels | Federal government |
Power shared by different social groups | Community government |
Power shared by two or more political parties | Coalition government |