Belgium Demographics and Language

Belgium's Demographics and Language

• Belgium is a small country in Europe, smaller in area than the state of Haryana.
• It has a population of a little over one crore, about half the population of Haryana.
• The ethnic composition of Belgium is complex, with 59% of the population living in the Flemish region and speaking Dutch, 40% living in the Wallonia region and speaking French, and 1% speaking German.
• In the capital city Brussels, 80% people speak French while 20% are Dutch-speaking.

Tensions between Dutch-speaking and French-speaking Communities

• The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful, which was resented by the Dutch-speaking community.
• The Dutch-speaking community got the benefit of economic development and education much later, leading to tensions between the two communities during the 1950s and 1960s.
• The tension between the two communities was more acute in Brussels, where the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in the country but a minority in the capital.

Sri Lanka's Demographics and Language

• Sri Lanka is an island nation, with a population of about two crore people, about the same as in Haryana.
• The major social groups are the Sinhala-speakers (74%), and the Tamil-speakers (18%), with two subgroups of Tamils: Sri Lankan Tamils (13%) and Indian Tamils.
• Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in the north and east of the country, while most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists, and most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

• The Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over the government by virtue of their majority.
• The democratically elected government adopted a series of majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy, including:
  • Recognising Sinhala as the only official language in 1956, disregarding Tamil.
  • Following preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
  • Stipulating that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism in the new constitution.
• These government measures gradually increased the feeling of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils, who felt that none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders was sensitive to their language and culture.