for class 10

2. Power Sharing
Arrangement in Belgium
and Sri Lanka

3. What is Power Sharing?
 Power Sharing is the distribution of
decisive powers at different levels.
 Power can be shared among:
• Different Organs of Government
• Governments at Different Levels
• Different Social or Ethnic Groups
• Political parties, pressure groups
or movements

4. Ethnic Composition of Sri Lanka
• Sinhalese: 73.8%
• Sri Lankan Moors: 7.2%
• Tamils: 18.5%
Sri Lankan Tamils: 70%
Indian Tamils: 30%
• Others: 0.5%
Ethnic Composition of Sri
Lanka
Sinhalese Tamils Sri Lankan Moors Others

5. Ethnic Composition of Belgium
• Flemings (Dutch) : 59%
• Walloons (French): 40%
• Others (German): 1%
Ethnic Composition of Belgium
Flemming Walloons Germans

6. Past Political Setup of Sri Lanka
 Sri Lanka was ruled by a
strong native dynasty
from 12th century but was
successively dominated by
the Portuguese, Dutch
and British from the 16th
century; It was finally
annexed by British in
1815. It became
independent republic in
1972.

7. Past Political Setup of Belgium
 Belgium became
independent from the
Netherlands after a
nationalist revolt in
1830. Occupied and
devastated during both
world wars. Flemish is
spoken mainly in the
north and French and
Walloon are spoken in
south.

8. Rights of the People and The role of
Government in Sri Lanka
 The Government of Sri
Lanka adopted
Majoritarionism. In 1956,
Sinhala was recognised as
the only official language
of Sri Lanka; thus,
disregarding Tamil. A new
constitution stipulated
that the state shall
protect and foster
Buddhism.

9. Policies of the Government in Sri Lanka
 The governments followed
preferential policies that
favoured Sinhala applicants
for university positions and
government jobs. This in
result denied equal Political
Rights to the Tamils in the
country. A feeling of
alienation was seen among
the Sri Lankan Tamils.
The Parliament of Sri Lanka

10. Struggle for Power: Demanding for Tamil
Eelam
 By 1980s, several
political organizations
were formed demanding
an independent Tamil
Eelam (state) in northern
and eastern parts of Sri
Lanka. One of them was
LTTE. These differences
in the two different
communities pushed Sri
Lanka into the state of
civil war.

11. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
 The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
was a major separatist militant
organisation that was based in
northern Sri Lanka.
LTTE Leaders at Sirumalai Camp

12.  LTTE was Founded in May
1976 by Velupillai
Prabhakaran, it waged a
secessionist nationalist
campaign to create an
independent state in the
north and east of Sri Lanka for
Tamil people. This campaign
evolved into the Sri Lankan
Civil War, which ran from
1983 until 2009, when the
LTTE was defeated by the Sri
Lankan Military.
Vellupillai Prabhakaran

13. Effect of the Civil War on Sri Lanka
 The war was finally over in
2009 with a decisive victory
if the Sri Lankan
Government. For over 25
years, the war caused
significant hardships for the
population, environment
and the economy of the
country, with an estimated
80,000-100,000 people killed
during its course. It caused a
great loss to the nation.

14. Struggle for Power in Belgium
 The Minority French were rich and powerful with political
influence. The tensions between the communities of Belgium
arose around a struggle between the two main language
communities of the country, Dutch and French. This resulted in
extensive language legislation, but which did not solve the
conflicts between Flanders and Wallonia, the two main regions
of the country. Due to the then widespread discrimination
against Flemings, symbolized by the bad treatment of Flemish
soldiers during World War I, the Flemish organized themselves
against the mostly French-speaking government.
 This system later evolved giving equal rights to all the
communities whether it is major or minor.

15. Rights of the People and Role of
Government in Belgium
After 4 Amendments, The
current Political system of
Belgium is so evolved and
innovative. It shares Power
among different sectors of the
society thus reducing
possibility of social conflict.
Belgium has recognised the
existence of regional
differences and cultural
diversities.
Parliament of Belgium

16. Power Sharing in Belgium
 The constitution of Belgium prescribes that the number of
French speaking and Dutch speaking ministers should be equal
in central government. State government are not the
subordinate to the central govt. Brussels have a separate
government which have both communities representation
equally. Other than state and central government they made
new form of government called community government which
have powers regarding cultural, educational, and language
related issues.
 All The communities of Belgium, minor or major enjoy equal
rights everywhere in the society.

17. Solutions for existing problems
 There are many solutions to
settle the disputes between
ethnic communities in Sri Lanka.
Just as the Belgium, Sri Lanka can
adopt vertical power sharing and
there should be reservation for
the Tamils and Tamil Language
should be recognised by the
government. This will settle the
ethnic disputes among the
people. Tamils Should get equal
rights which are given to sinhalas.

18. Comparing Power Sharing
Arrangements
Belgium
 They adopted a policy
of power sharing.
 They gave equal
powers to all
communities. minor or
major doesn't matter.
 It solved all the
disputes.
Sri Lanka
 They adopted a policy
of Majoritarionism.
 They gave preferences
to the majority Sinhala
group alone,
disregarding the
minority.
 It led a civil war lasting
25 years.

19. Conclusion
 Belgium and Sri Lanka are democratic countries having diverse
social setups. Yet, both took completely different approaches
when it came to sharing of power.
 Belgium accommodated the interests of its two main ethnic
groups i.e., Dutch and French by formulating a power-sharing
arrangement that gave both an equal opportunity in the
working of the government. The Belgians realized that the only
way of securing the country's political stability and unity was by
giving both the communities an equal representation in the
government. In this manner, feelings of resentment towards the
other community were not allowed to flourish in Belgium. The
power-sharing arrangement in Belgium, although complex, has
been running smoothly over the years.

20. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, took a different stand
with respect to power sharing. The government in
Sri Lanka was completely dominated by the majority
Sinhala-speaking population, thereby ignoring the
Tamil people. Power was concentrated in the hands
of only one community, thereby undermining the
interests of the others. This approach proved
catastrophic for the unity of Sri Lanka. Over the
years, Sri Lanka has been riddled with civil wars and
political instability. Refusal to share power has
resulted in the weakening of the country.