Democratic Politics Class X Textbook PDF

Social Science D EMOCRATIC POLITICS -II Textbook in Political Science for Class X 2015-16(19/01/2015)  ISBN 81-7450-711-6 First Edition March 2007 Chaitra 1928...

Social Science D EMOCRATIC POLITICS -II Textbook in Political Science for Class X 2015-16(19/01/2015)  ISBN 81-7450-711-6 First Edition March 2007 Chaitra 1928 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED q No p art of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval Reprinted system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, February 2008 Magha 1929 mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior January 2009 Pausa 1930 permission of the publisher. January 2010 Magha 1931 q This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way January 2011 Magha 1932 of trade, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of January 2012 Magha 1933 without the publisher ’s consent, in any form of binding or cover November 2012 Kartika 1934 other than that in which it is published. December 2013 Pausa 1935 q The correct price of this publication is the price printed on this December 2014 Pausa 1936 PD 500T MJ OFFICES OF THE PUBLICATION © National Council of Educational DIVISION, NCERT Research and Training, 2007 NCERT Campus Sri Aurobindo Marg New Delhi 110 016 Phone : 011-26562708 108, 100 Feet Road Hosdakere Halli Extension Banashankari III Stage Bangalore 560 085 Phone : 080-26725740 Navjivan Trust Building P.O.Navjivan Ahmedabad 380 014 Phone : 079-27541446 CWC Campus Opp. Dhankal Bus Stop ` 65.00 Panihati Kolkata 700 114 Phone : 033-25530454 About the cover CWC Complex Maligaon The cartoons on the cover page are Guwahati 781 021 Phone : 0361-2674869 from Yesudasan, R. K. Laxman and Irfaan Khan. Publication Team Head, Publication : N. K. Gupta Division Chief Production : Kalyan Banerjee Officer Chief Editor : Shveta Uppal Chief Business : Gautam Ganguly Manager Production Officer : Arun Chitkara Printed on 80 GSM paper with NCER T watermark Cover and Layout Illustrations Published at the Publication Division by the Parthiv Shah with Irfaan Secretary, National Council of Educational Shr oboni Research and Training Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016 and printed at Aravali Printers & Publishers (P) Ltd., A-129, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi 110 020 2015-16(19/01/2015) Foreword The National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005, recommends that children’s life at school must be linked to their life outside the school. This principle marks a departure from the legacy of bookish learning which continues to shape our system and causes a g ap between the school, home and community. The syllabi and textbooks developed on the basis of NCF signify an attempt to implement this basic idea. They also attempt to discourage rote learning and the maintenance of sharp boundaries between different subject areas. We hope these measures will take us significantly further in the direction of a child-centred system of education outlined in the National Policy on Education (1986). The success of this effort depends on the steps that school principals and teachers will take to encourage children to reflect on their own learning and to pursue imaginative activities and questions. We must recognise that given space, time and freedom, children generate new knowledge by engaging with the information passed on to them by adults. Treating the prescribed textbook as the sole basis of examination is one of the key reasons why other resources and sites of learning are ignored. Inculcating creativity and initiative is possible if we perceive and treat children as participants in learning, not as receivers of a fixed body of knowledge. These aims imply considerable change in school routines and mode of functioning. Flexibility in the daily timetable is as necessary as rigour in implementing the annual calendar so that the required number of teaching days is actually devoted to teaching. The methods used for teaching and evaluation will also determine how effective this textbook proves for making children’s life at school a happy experience, rather than a source of stress or boredom. Syllabus designers have tried to address the problem of curricular burden by restructuring and reorienting knowledge at different stages with greater consideration for child psychology and the time available for teaching. The textbook attempts to enhance this endeavour by giving higher priority and space to opportunities for contemplation and wondering, discussion in small groups, and activities requiring hands-on experience. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) appreciates the hard work done by the textbook development committee responsible for this book. We wish to thank the Chairperson of the advisory group in Social Sciences, Professor Hari Vasudevan. We also wish to thank the Chief Advisors for this book, Professors Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar along with Advisor for this book, Professor K. C. Suri for guiding the work of this committee. Several teachers contributed to the development of this textbook; we are grateful to their principals for making this possible. We are indebted to the institutions and organisations which have generously permitted us to draw upon their resources, material and personnel. We are especially grateful to the members of the National Monitoring Committee, appointed by the Department of 2015-16(19/01/2015) Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development under the Chairmanship of Professor Mrinal Miri and Professor G.P. Deshpande, for their valuable time and contribution. As an organisation committed to systemic reform and continuous improvement in the quality of its products, NCERT welcomes comments and suggestions which will enable us to undertake further revision and refinement. Director New Delhi National Council of Educational 20 November 2006 Research and Training iv 2015-16(19/01/2015) A Letter for You Dear students, teachers and parents, Political Science textbooks for Class IX and Class X together form an integrated w hole. That is why we called them Democratic Politics-I and Democratic Politics-II. This book begins where the Political Science textbook stopped last year in Class IX. Last year the tour of democracy introduced you mainly to some basic ideas, institutions and rules of democracy. This year the focus shifts from the institutions to the process. The book introduces you to how democracy works in practice and what can be expected of it. As a result of this shift, you would read much more directly about politics in this book. Politics is about how thinking human beings determine and change the way they live together. This involves ideas and ideals, cooperation and coordination. This also involves conflict and competition, self and collective interest. Therefore much of democratic politics is about power sharing. This forms the subject matter of the first six chapters in this book. In these chapters, we explore various forms of sharing and shaping of power in a democracy. Chapters One and Two constitute the first unit that presents the idea of power sharing and elaborates it in the context of power sharing between different levels of government. The second unit, comprising chapters three and four, is about power sharing and accommodation among different social groups. The next two chapters make up the third unit. It tells us how different political organisations and movements are important in democratic politics. The seventh and the eighth chapters take up the larger questions with which we began our tour last year. Thus, what democracies have achieved and what is yet to be achieved is discussed in the seventh chapter on outcomes. This leads us, in the last chapter, to the challenges democracy faces in our times and the ways in which we can overcome them. Thus ends the tour of democracy we began last year. As we travel through the different chapters, the meaning of democracy expands. This book is a continuation of the Class IX textbook in another sense as well. Last year the textbook had introduced a different style and form. Since we have had a very positive feedback from many of you regarding these features, we continue the experiment this year as well. This book also interacts with the students with the help of stories, illustrations, puzzles and cartoons. This time we have increased the visual elements and introduced a new feature called ‘Plus Box’. Do read about all the old and new features in the 'How to Use this Book'. Above all, this book does not seek to teach and preach about democracy. It seeks to engage in a conversation with you. You would agree that this is a democratic way of thinking about democracy. We were fortunate this year as well that some of the leading political scientists of the country agreed to join the Textbook Development Committee. We would like to express our deep appreciation of the support we received in preparing this textbook from Professor Krishna Kumar and Professor Hari Vasudevan and the advice received from the National Monitoring Committee. We would like to thank Professor Satish Deshpande for reading specific chapters and giving comments. A group of teachers and educationists comprising Anuradha Sen, Suman Lata, Manish Jain, Radhika Menon, 2015-16(19/01/2015) Malini Ghose, Alex M. George and Pankaj Pushkar read the drafts and made valuable suggestions. We would like to make a special mention of the untiring efforts of Alex and Pankaj, the two 'super advisors' of this book, to ensure that what is presented in the book was accurate, interesting and communicative. Parthiv Shah and Shroboni gave the book its attractive look. Irfan Khan once again created new-look Unni and Munni for you. Ahmed Raza of ARK Grafix provided with informative and appealing graphics and maps. We are highly thankful to the Lokniti and Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) for providing a congenial home for the textbook development committee, for sparing space and resources for this enterprise during the last two years. At the end of this academic year, you will be taking the Board examinations. We wish you all the best in your examinations. We wish and hope that the tour of democracy undertaken in these two books will help you overcome two most common reactions: that Political Science is boring and that politics is disgusting. We hope you will continue to take interest in a critical and balanced understanding of democratic politics either by opting for Political Science as a subject or by acting as a responsible citizen in future. K. C. Suri Yogendra Yadav, Suhas Palshikar Advisor Chief Advisors vi 2015-16(19/01/2015)  How to use this book This book retains several features with which you are familiar. These were introduced in your Political Science textbook for Class IX. This book also has some new features that you might wish to know about. Overview comes at the beginning of every chapter. It tells you about the purpose of the chapter and what is covered in it. Please read the overview before and after reading the chapter. Section and sub-section headings: Each chapter is divided into sections and sub-sections. A section heading spreads over both columns on the page. This indicates the beginning a major part of the chapter and often covers a topic specified in the syllabus. The sub-section heading in a column indicates one point under the section concerned. Graphics, Collages, Photographs and Posters occupy more space in this textbook than they did in your textbook for Class IX. You would continue to find a wide range of political Cartoons. These images provide visual relief and some fun. But you should not merely ‘see’ these images and turn the page. You are expected to ‘read’ the meaning of these images. Very often politics is carried out not through words but through images. The captions and questions that often accompany these images help you to read these images. Munni and Unni are back with you. Like you, they have also grown up a little since you met them in Class IX. They keep popping up and asking questions that you may have wished to ask. Do stop to engage with their questions. And don’t hesitate to ask similar questions to your teachers and parents. + Plus boxes contain supplementary information related to the theme of the chapter. Sometimes the plus box has a story that invites you to reflect on the dilemmas concerning our social and political life. You are supposed to read and discuss these. But you need not memorise the information and contents of the plus box. Nor is there a ‘correct’ answer to some of the moral questions posed there. These are just meant to help you think hard. Each plus box carries a special + sign. 2015-16(19/01/2015)  Let us watch television, Let us listen to radio, Let us read newspaper, Let us debate, Let’s find out or Let’s do it give students some activity in or outside the classroom. These activities become more meaningful when the students present their findings to the entire class and have the space for discussion. Where necessary, please feel free to substitute one type of media with another. Glossary appears at the margin of the page in which an unfamiliar word or expression comes in the text. Such a word is highlighted in the text. Remember, you don’t need to learn the definition by heart. You just need to understand the word. Let us revise usually comes at the end of every section. The questions invite you to apply the points learnt in that section to a specific situation. Teachers can come up with more such in-text exercises and use these to check the progress that everyone has made. Exercises Exercises come at the end of every chapter. You would notice that we have introduced some new kinds of exercises, particularly in multiple choice format, which require reasoning and application of mind. Once you become familiar with the format, you would enjoy the challenge. Maps are essential not just for understanding geography but also for history and politics. That is why some of the information is presented by way of maps in this book. You are not expected to draw the maps, but understand patterns depicted here. viii 2015-16(19/01/2015) Textbook Development Committee C HAIRPERSON, ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR TEXTBOOKS AT THE SECONDAR Y LEVEL Hari Vasudevan, Professor, Department History, University of Calcutta, Kolkata C HIEF ADVISORS Yogendra Yadav, Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi Suhas Palshikar, Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Pune, Pune ADVISOR K. C. Suri, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad Members Sanjyot Apte, Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics, S. P. College, Pune Rajeev Bhargava, Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi Peter R. deSouza, Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi Alex M. George, Independent Researcher, Eruvatty, District Kannur, Kerala Malini Ghose, Nirantar, Center for Gender and Education, New Delhi Manish Jain, Researcher, University of Delhi, Delhi Suman Lata, Senior Lecturer, Department of Education, Gargi College, University of Delhi, Delhi Pratap Bhanu Mehta, President and Chief Executive, Center for Policy Research, New Delhi Nivedita Menon, Reader, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, University of Delhi, Delhi Radhika Menon, Lecturer, Department of Education, Mata Sunderi College, University of Delhi, Delhi Sanjeeb Mukherjee, Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, Calcutta University, Kolkata Priyavadan Patel, Professor, Department of Political Science, M. S. University, Vadodara Malla V. S. V. Prasad, Lecturer, DESSH, NCERT, New Delhi Pankaj Pushkar, Senior Lecturer, Lokniti, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi Madan Lal Sawhney, PGT (Pol. Sc.), Govt. Sr. Sec. School, Sec. VII, R.K. Puram, New Delhi Anuradha Sen, Principal, The Srijan School, Model Town III, Delhi Meenakshi Tandon, PGT (Pol. Sc.), Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Lodhi Road, New Delhi Coordinator Sanjay Dubey, Reader, DESSH, NCERT, New Delhi 2015-16(19/01/2015) Acknowledgements Maps, photographs, posters, graphics and cartoons for this book are drawn from a variety of sources. We gratefully acknowledge the following institutions and persons (with their institutional affiliation) in this regard: Wikipedia for the map on page 2 and for the photographs on pages 4, 5, 30 and 64, which are available under GNU license. ARK Grafix for the maps on pages 3 and 14 and for the graphics on pages 45, 50 and 82. UNFPA for the map on page 43. Flikr for the use of the photograph on page 36, under ‘Creative Commons’. Min Bajracharya for the photographs on pages 58 and 59. The Hindu for the photographs on pages 72 and 75. Anhad/NCDHR for the posters on pages 33 and 54; and Anhad for the two posters on pages 46 and 65. Zuban for generous help in searching several precious posters, including the ones on pages 40, 41 and 76. Oxfam GB for the poster on page 44; Voluntary Health Association of India for the one on page 48; and APDP for the poster on page 65. Oxford University Press and Raza/ARK for the graphics on pages 78, 92 and 98, which are taken from the Report on the State of Democracy in South Asia. Ajit Ninan of Times of India for the cartoons on pages 21, 49 and 53; Keshav of The Hindu for the cartoons on pages 62 and 86; Kutty for the cartoon on page 21; Manjul of DNA for the one on page 85; Surendra of The Hindu for the cartoons on pages 45 and 66; Cagle Cartoons for the cartoons on pages 6, 8, 32, 37, 68, 79, 83, 84, 91, 93-98, 103 and 111; R.K. Laxman of Times of India for the cartoons on pages 73 and 90; and Irfaan Khan for the cartoon on page 110. Irfaan Khan, Yesudasan and R.K. Laxman for the cartoons on the Cover page. Zuban, INSAF (Delhi), SAHMAT, Street Art Workers.com, Oxfam GB, Aalochana (Pune), Chandralekha (Chennai), Nari Nirjatan Pratirodh Manch (West Bangal), Sakhi (Kerala), Institute of Development Communication (Chandigarh), Sahiyar (Gujarat), Sheba Chhachhi for the posters on back cover. We thank Uttam Kumar and Ritu Sharma, both DTP operators at the NCERT, for their sincere efforts in making this book error-free. We also thank Devyani Oniyal and Deepti Sharma of NCERT for copy-editing the book. REQUEST FOR FEEDBACK How did you like this textbook? What was your experience in reading or using this? What were the difficulties you faced? What changes would you like to see in the next version of this book? Write to us on all these and any other matter related to this textbook. You could be a teacher, a parent, a student or just a general reader. We value any and every feedback. Please write to: Coordinator (Political Science) Department of Education in Social Sciences (DESS) NCERT Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016. You could also send an email to [email protected] 2015-16(19/01/2015) Contents Foreword iii A Letter for You v How to Use this Book vii Unit I Chapter 1 Power sharing 1 Chapter 2 Federalism 13 Unit II Chapter 3 Democracy and Diversity 29 Chapter 4 Gender, Religion and Caste 39 Unit III Chapter 5 Popular Struggles and Movements 57 Chapter 6 Political Parties 71 Unit IV Chapter 7 Outcomes of Democracy 89 Chapter 8 Challenges to Democracy 101 xi 2015-16(19/01/2015) 2015-16(19/01/2015)  ISBN 81-7450-711-6 First Edition March 2007 Chaitra 1928 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED q No p art of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval Reprinted system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, February 2008 Magha 1929 mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior January 2009 Pausa 1930 permission of the publisher. January 2010 Magha 1931 q This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way January 2011 Magha 1932 of trade, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of January 2012 Magha 1933 without the publisher ’s consent, in any form of binding or cover November 2012 Kartika 1934 other than that in which it is published. December 2013 Pausa 1935 q The correct price of this publication is the price printed on this December 2014 Pausa 1936 PD 500T MJ OFFICES OF THE PUBLICATION © National Council of Educational DIVISION, NCERT Research and Training, 2007 NCERT Campus Sri Aurobindo Marg New Delhi 110 016 Phone : 011-26562708 108, 100 Feet Road Hosdakere Halli Extension Banashankari III Stage Bangalore 560 085 Phone : 080-26725740 Navjivan Trust Building P.O.Navjivan Ahmedabad 380 014 Phone : 079-27541446 CWC Campus Opp. Dhankal Bus Stop ` 65.00 Panihati Kolkata 700 114 Phone : 033-25530454 About the cover CWC Complex Maligaon The cartoons on the cover page are Guwahati 781 021 Phone : 0361-2674869 from Yesudasan, R. K. Laxman and Irfaan Khan. Publication Team Head, Publication : N. K. Gupta Division Chief Production : Kalyan Banerjee Officer Chief Editor : Shveta Uppal Chief Business : Gautam Ganguly Manager Production Officer : Arun Chitkara Printed on 80 GSM paper with NCER T watermark Cover and Layout Illustrations Published at the Publication Division by the Parthiv Shah with Irfaan Secretary, National Council of Educational Shr oboni Research and Training Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016 and printed at Aravali Printers & Publishers (P) Ltd., A-129, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi 110 020 xiii 2015-16(19/01/2015)  Power-sharing ed sh pu T re R i bl E Overview be C Chapter I With this chapter, we resume the tour of democracy that we started last year. We noted last year that in a democracy all power does not o N rest with any one organ of the government. An intelligent sharing of power among legislature, executive and judiciary is very important to the design of a democracy. In this and the next two chapters, we © carry this idea of power-sharing forward. We start with two stories from Belgium and Sri Lanka. Both these stories are about how democracies handle demands for power-sharing.The stories yield some general conclusions about the need for power-sharing in democracy. This allows us to discuss various forms of power-sharing that will be taken up in the following two chapters. tt Power sharing no 1  Belgium and Sri Lanka Belgium is a small country in Europe, and education much later. This led to smaller in area than the state of tensions between the Dutch-speaking Haryana. It has borders with France, and French-speaking communities the Netherlands, Germany and during the 1950s and 1960s. The Luxembourg. It has a population of a tension between the two communities little over one crore, about half the was more acute in Brussels. Brussels ed population of Haryana. The ETHNIC presented a special problem: the I have a simple composition of this small country is Dutch-speaking people constituted a equation in mind. Sharing power = very complex. Of the country’s total majority in the country, but a population, 59 per cent lives in the minority in the capital. h dividing power = Flemish region and speaks Dutch Let us compare this to the pu T weakening the language. Another 40 per cent people is country. Why do we situation in another country. Sri start by talking of live in the Wallonia region and speak Lanka is an island nation, just a few this? re R French. Remaining one per cent of the kilometres off the southern coast of bl Belgians speak German. In the capital Tamil Nadu. It has about two crore city Brussels, 80 per cent people speak people, about the same as in Haryana. E French while 20 per cent are Dutch- Like other nations in the South Asia speaking. region, Sri Lanka has a diverse be C The minority French-speaking population. The major social groups community was relatively rich and are the Sinhala-speakers (74 per cent) powerful. This was resented by the and the Tamil-speakers (18 per cent). o N Dutch-speaking community who got Among Tamils there are two sub- the benefit of economic development groups. Tamil natives of the country Communities © and regions of Belgium © Wikipedia Ethnic: A social Democratic Politics tt division based on shared culture. People belonging to the same ethnic group believe in no Brussels-Capital Region their common descent Walloon (French-speaking) because of similarities of physical type or of Flemish (Dutch-speaking) culture or both. They need not always have German-speaking Look at the maps of Belgium and Sri Lanka. In which the same religion or region, do you find concentration of different nationality. communities? 2 are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 per cent). Dutch community could take The rest, whose forefathers came from advantage of its numeric majority and India as plantation workers during force its will on the French and colonial period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’. German-speaking population. This As you can see from the map, Sri Lankan would push the conflict among Tamils are concentrated in the north and communities further. This could lead ed east of the country. Most of the Sinhala- to a very messy partition of the speaking people are Buddhists, while country; both the sides would claim most of the Tamils are Hindus or control over Brussels. In Sri Lanka, the Muslims. There are about 7 per cent Sinhala community enjoyed an even h Christians, who are both Tamil bigger majority and could impose its pu T and Sinhala. will on the entire country. Now, let us is Just imagine what could happen look at what happened in both these re R in situations like this. In Belgium, the countries. bl E Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka emerged as an independent government policies denied them equal be C country in 1948. The leaders of the political rights, discriminated against Sinhala community sought to secure them in getting jobs and other dominance over government by virtue opportunities and ignored their o N of their majority. As a result, the interests. As a result, the relations democratically elected government adopted a series of MAJORITARIAN Ethnic Communities measures to establish Sinhala supremacy. of Sri Lanka © In 1956, an Act was passed to Sinhalese Sri Lankan Tamil recognise Sinhala as the only official Indian Tamil Muslim language, thus disregarding Tamil. The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs. A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect tt and foster Buddhism. All these government measures, Power sharing no coming one after the other, gradually Majoritarianism: A increased the feeling of alienation belief that the majority among the Sri Lankan Tamils. They felt community should be able to rule a country in that none of the major political parties whichever way it wants, led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders was by disregarding the sensitive to their language and culture. wishes and needs of the They felt that the constitution and minority. 3  between the Sinhala and Tamil The distrust between the two What’s wrong if communities strained over time. communities turned into widespread the majority community The Sri Lankan Tamils launched conflict. It soon turned into a CIVIL WAR. rules? If Sinhalas parties and struggles for the recognition As a result thousands of people of both don’t rule in Sri of Tamil as an official language, for the communities have been killed. Many Lanka, where regional autonomy and equality of families were forced to leave the country else will they opportunity in securing education and as refugees and many more lost their rule? jobs. But their demand for more livelihoods. You have read (Chapter 1 ed autonomy to provinces populated by of Economics textbook, Class X) about the Tamils was repeatedly denied. By Sri Lanka’s excellent record of economic 1980s several political organisations development, education and health. But were formed demanding an the civil war has caused a terrible setback h independent Tamil Eelam (state) in to the social, cultural and economic life pu T northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. of the country. is re R Accommodation in Belgium bl The Belgian leaders took a different single community can make decisions E path. They recognised the existence of unilaterally. regional differences and cultural  Many powers of the central be C diversities. Between 1970 and 1993, government have been given to state they amended their constitution four governments of the two regions of the times so as to work out an arrangement country. The state governments are not o N that would enable everyone to live subordinate to the Central Government. together within the same country. The  Brussels has a separate government arrangement they worked out is in which both the communities have different from any other country and equal representation. The French- © is very innovative. Here are some of speaking people accepted equal the elements of the Belgian model: representation in Brussels because the Civil war: A violent conflict between  Constitution prescribes that the Dutch-speaking community has opposing groups within number of Dutch and French-speaking accepted equal representation in the a country that becomes ministers shall be equal in the central Central Government. so intense that it appears like a war. government. Some special laws require the support of majority of members from each linguistic group. Thus, no Democratic Politics tt no © Wikipedia What kind of a solution is this? I am glad our Constitution does not say The photograph here is of a street which minister will come from address in Belgium. You will notice that which community. place names and directions in two languages – French and Dutch. 4  Apart from the Central and the State Government, there is a third kind of government. This ‘community government’ is elected by people belonging to one language community – Dutch, French and German-speaking – no matter where they live. This government has the ed power regarding cultural, educational and language-related issues. You might find the Belgian model very complicated. It indeed is very h complicated, even for people living in pu T Belgium. But these arrangements have is worked well so far. They helped to re R avoid civic strife between the two major communities and a possible European Union Parliament in Belgium bl division of the country on linguistic E lines. When many countries of Europe Union, Brussels was chosen as its came together to form the European headquarters. So you are saying that be C sharing of power makes us more o N powerful. Sounds odd! Let me think. Read any newspaper for one week and make clippings of news related to ongoing conflicts or wars. A group of five © students could pool their clippings together and do the following:  Classify these conflicts by their location (your state, India, outside India).  Find out the cause of each of these conflicts. How many of these are related to power sharing disputes?  Which of these conflicts could be resolved by working out power sharing arrangements? tt What do we learn from these two stories regions. Such a realisation resulted in of Belgium and Sri Lanka? Both are mutually acceptable arrangements for Power sharing no democracies. Yet, they dealt with the sharing power. Sri Lanka shows us a question of power sharing differently. contrasting example. It shows us that In Belgium, the leaders have realised if a majority community wants to force that the unity of the country is possible its dominance over others and refuses only by respecting the feelings and to share power, it can undermine the interests of different communities and unity of the country. 5  The cartoon at the left refers to the problems of running the Germany’s grand coalition government that includes the two major parties of the country, namely the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party. The two parties are historically rivals to each other. They © Tab - The Calgary Sun, Cagle Cartoons Inc. had to form a coalition government because neither of them got clear majority of seats on their own in the 2005 elections. They take divergent positions ed on several policy matters, but still jointly run the government. Tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive for the minority; it often h brings ruin to the majority as well. pu T There is a second, deeper reason is why power sharing is good for re R democracies. Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy. A democratic rule bl Why power sharing is desirable? involves sharing power with those E Thus, two different sets of reasons can affected by its exercise, and who have be given in favour of power sharing. to live with its effects. People have a right to be consulted on how they are be C Firstly, power sharing is good because it helps to reduce the possibility of to be governed. A legitimate conflict between social groups. Since government is one where citizens, o N social conflict often leads to violence through participation, acquire a stake and political instability, power sharing in the system. is a good way to ensure the stability of Let us call the first set of reasons political order. Imposing the will of PRUDENTIAL and the second moral. While © majority community over others may prudential reasons stress that power look like an attractive option in the sharing will bring out better outcomes, short run, but in the long run it moral reasons emphasise the very act undermines the unity of the nation. of power sharing as valuable. Democratic Politics tt Annette studies in a Dutch medium school in the northern region of Belgium. Many French-speaking students in Prudential: Based on her school want the medium of instruction to be French. Selvi no prudence, or on careful studies in a school in the northern region of Sri Lanka. All the calculation of gains and students in her school are Tamil-speaking and they want the losses. Prudential decisions medium of instruction to be Tamil. are usually contrasted with decisions based purely on If the parents of Annette and Selvi were to approach moral considerations. respective governments to realise the desire of the child who is more likely to succeed? And why? 6 Khalil’s As usual, Vikram was driving the motorbike under a vow of silence and Vetal was the pillion rider. As usual, Vetal dilemma started telling Vikram a story to keep him awake while driving. This time the story went as follows: “In the city of Beirut there lived a man called Khalil. His parents came from different communities. His father was an Orthodox Christian and mother a Sunni Muslim. This was not so uncommon in this modern, cosmopolitan city. People from ed various communities that lived in Lebanon came to live in its capital, Beirut. They lived together, intermingled, yet fought a bitter civil war among themselves. One of Khalil’s uncles was killed in that war. At the end of this civil war, Lebanon’s leaders came together and agreed to some basic h rules for power sharing among different communities. As per these rules, the country’s pu T President must belong to the Maronite sect of Catholic Christians. The Prime Minister must is be from the Sunni Muslim community. The post of Deputy Prime Minister is fixed for Orthodox Christian sect and that of the Speaker for Shi’a Muslims. Under this pact, the re R Christians agreed not to seek French protection and the Muslims agreed not to seek bl unification with the neighbouring state of Syria.When the Christians and Muslims came to E this agreement, they were nearly equal in population. Both sides have continued to respect this agreement though now the Muslims are in clear majority. be C Khalil does not like this system one bit. He is a popular man with political ambition. But under the present system the top position is out of his reach. He does not practise either his father’s or his mother’s religion and does not wish to be known by either. He o N cannot understand why Lebanon can’t be like any other ‘normal’ democracy. “Just hold an election, allow everyone to contest and whoever wins maximum votes becomes the president, no matter which community he comes from. Why can’t we do that, like in other democracies of the world?” he asks. His elders, who have seen the bloodshed of © the civil war, tell him that the present system is the best guarantee for peace…” The story was not finished, but they had reached the TV tower where they stopped every day. Vetal wrapped up quickly and posed his customary question to Vikram: “If you had the power to rewrite the rules in Lebanon, what would you do? Would you adopt the ‘regular’ rules followed tt everywhere, as Khalil suggests? Or stick to the old rules? Or do something else?” Vetal did not forget to remind Vikram of their basic Power sharing no pact: “If you have an answer in mind and yet do not speak up, your mobike will freeze, and so will you!” Can you help poor Vikram in answering Vetal? 7  Forms of power-sharing The idea of power-sharing has power should be distributed among as emerged in opposition to the notions many citizens as possible. of undivided political power. For a In modern democracies, power long time it was believed that all power sharing arrangements can take many of a government must reside in one forms. Let us look at some of the most person or group of persons located ed common arrangements that we have at one place. It was felt that if the or will come across. power to decide is dispersed, it would 1 Power is shared among different not be possible to take quick decisions organs of government, such as the and to enforce them. But these h legislature, executive and judiciary. Let notions have changed with the pu T us call this horizontal distribution of emergence of democracy. One basic is power because it allows different organs principle of democracy is that people of government placed at the same level re R are the source of all political power. to exercise different powers. Such a bl In a democracy, people rule separation ensures that none of the themselves through institutions of E organs can exercise unlimited power. self-government. In a good democratic Each organ checks the others. This government, due respect is given to results in a balance of power among be C diverse groups and views that exist in various institutions. Last year, we studied a society. Everyone has a voice in the that in a democracy, even though shaping of public policies. Therefore, o N ministers and government officials it follows that in a democracy political exercise power, they are responsible to Reigning the Reins the Parliament or State Assemblies. Similarly, although judges are appointed © Olle Johansson - Sweden, Cagle Cartoons Inc., 25 Feb. 2005 © by the executive, they can check the functioning of executive or laws made by the legislatures. This arrangement is called a system of checks and balances. 2 Power can be shared among governments at different levels – a general government for the entire country and governments at the Democratic Politics tt provincial or regional level. Such a general government for the entire country is usually called federal no government. In India, we refer to it as the Central or Union Government. The governments at the provincial or In 2005, some new laws were made in Russia giving more powers to its president. During the same time the US president visited Russia. regional level are called by different What, according to this cartoon, is the relationship between democracy names in different countries. In India, and concentration of power? Can you think of some other examples to illustrate the point being made here? 8 we call them State Governments. This would feel alienated from the system is not followed in all countries. government. This method is used to There are many countries where there give minority communities a fair share are no provincial or state in power. In Unit II, we shall look at governments. But in those countries various ways of accommodating social like ours, where there are different diversities. levels of g overnment, the 4 Power sharing arrangements can constitution clearly lays down the also be seen in the way political ed powers of different levels of parties, pressure groups and government. This is what they did in movements control or influence those Belgium, but was refused in Sri Lanka. in power. In a democracy, the citizens This is called federal division of must have freedom to choose among h power. The same principle can be various contenders for power. In pu T extended to levels of government contemporary democracies, this takes is lower than the State government, such the form of competition among re R as the municipality and panchayat. Let us call division of powers involving different parties. Such competition ensures that power does not remain in bl higher and lower levels of one hand. In the long run, power is E government vertical division of shared among different political parties power. We shall study these at some that represent different ideologies and length in the next chapter. be C social groups. Sometimes this kind of 3 Power may also be shared among sharing can be direct, when two or different social groups such as the more parties form an alliance to o N religious and linguistic groups. contest elections. If their alliance is ‘Community government’ in Belgium elected, they for m a coalition is a good example of this arrangement. government and thus share power. In In some countries there are a democracy, we find interest groups © constitutional and legal arrangements such as those of traders, businessmen, whereby socially weaker sections and industrialists, farmers and industrial women are represented in the workers. They also will have a share in legislatures and administration. Last governmental power, either through In my school, the year, we studied the system of ‘reserved participation in governmental class monitor constituencies’ in assemblies and the committees or bringing influence on changes every month. Is that parliament of our country. This type the decision-making process. In Unit what you call a of arrangement is meant to give space III, we shall study the working of power sharing tt in the government and administration political parties, pressure groups and arrangement? to diverse social groups who otherwise social movements. Power sharing no 9  Here are some examples of power sharing. Which of the four types of power sharing do these represent? Who is sharing power with whom?  The Bombay High Court ordered the Maharashtra state government to immediately ed take action and improve living conditions for the 2,000-odd children at seven children’s homes in Mumbai.  The government of Ontario state in Canada has agreed to a land claim settlement with the aboriginal community. The Minister responsible for Native Affairs announced that h the government will work with aboriginal people in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation. pu T  is Russia’s two influential political parties, the Union of Right Forces and the Liberal Yabloko Movement, agreed to unite their organisations into a strong right-wing re R coalition. They propose to have a common list of candidates in the next bl parliamentary elections.  The finance ministers of various states in Nigeria got together and demanded that E the federal government declare its sources of income. They also wanted to know the formula by which the revenue is distributed to various state governments. be C Exercises N 1. What are the different forms of power sharing in modern to © democracies? Give an example of each of these. 2. State one prudential reason and one moral reason for power sharing with an example from the Indian context. 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 - Power sharing is necessary only in societies which have religious, linguistic or ethnic divisions. Mathayi – Power sharing is suitable only for big countries that Democratic Politics have regional divisions. Ouseph – Every society needs some form of power sharing t even if it is small or does not have social divisions. no 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. 10 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 realise 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 Exercises ed 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 h democracy.” pu T 6. Different arguments are usually put forth in favour of and against is power sharing. Identify those which are in favour of power sharing re R and select the answer using the codes given below? Power sharing: bl A. reduces conflict among different communities B. decreases the possibility of arbitrariness E C. delays decision making process D. accommodates diversities be C E. increases instability and divisiveness F. promotes people’s participation in government G. undermines the unity of a country o N (a) A B D F (b) A C E F (c) A B D G (d) B C D G © 7. Consider the following statements about power sharing arrangements in Belgium and Sri Lanka. A. In Belgium, the Dutch-speaking majority people tried to impose their domination on the minority French-speaking community. B. In Sri Lanka, the policies of the government sought to ensure the dominance of the Sinhala-speaking majority. C. The Tamils in Sri Lanka demanded a federal arrangement of power sharing to protect their culture, language and equality of tt opportunity in education and jobs. D. The transformation of Belgium from unitary government to a federal one prevented a possible division of the country on Power sharing no linguistic lines. Which of the statements given above are correct? (a) A, B, C and D (b) A, B and D (c) C and D (d) B, C and D 11  8. 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: List I List II 1. Power shared among different organs of government A. Community government d 2. Power shared among governments at different levels B. Separation of powers he 3. Power shared by different social groups C. Coalition government Exercises 4. Power shared by two or more pu T is political parties D. Federal government re R 1 2 3 4 bl (a) D A B C (b) B C D A E (c) B D A C (d) C D A B be C 9. Consider the following two statements on power sharing and select the answer using the codes given below: N A. Power sharing is good for democracy. B. It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. Which of these statements are true and false? tt © (a) A is true but B is false (b) Both A and B are true (c) Both A and B are false (d) A is false but B is true o Democratic Politics no 12 Federalism Overview Chapter 2 In the previous chapter, we noted that vertical division of power among different levels of government is one of the major forms of power- sharing in modern democracies. In this chapter, we focus on this form of power-sharing. It is most commonly referred to as federalism. We begin by describing federalism in general terms. The rest of the chapter tries to understand the theory and practice of federalism in India. A discussion of the federal constitutional provisions is followed by an analysis of the policies and politics that has strengthened federalism in practice. Towards the end of the chapter, we turn to the local government, a new and third tier of Indian federalism. Feder alism 13 2015-16(19/01/2015)  What is federalism? Let us get back to the contrast between for all practical purposes, a unitary Belgium and Sri Lanka that we saw in system where the national government the last chapter. You would recall that has all the powers. Tamil leaders want one of the key changes made in the Sri Lanka to become a federal system. Constitution of Belgium was to reduce Federalism is a system of the power of the Central Government government in which the power is I am confused. and to give these powers to the regional divided between a central authority and What do we call governments. Regional governments various constituent units of the the Indian existed in Belgium even earlier. They country. Usually, a federation has two government? Is had their roles and powers. But all these levels of government. One is the it Union, Federal powers were given to these or Central? governments and could be withdrawn government for the entire country that by the Central Government. The is usually responsible for a few subjects change that took place in 1993 was that of common national interest. The the regional governments were given others are governments at the level of constitutional powers that were no provinces or states that look after longer dependent on the central much of the day-to-day administering government. Thus, Belgium shifted of their state. Both these levels of from a unitary to a federal form of governments enjoy their po wer government. Sri Lanka continues to be, independent of the other. Federal political systems Russia Canada Germany Belgium Austria Switzerland United States of America Spain Bosnia and Pakistan Herzegovina St. Kitts India Mexico and Nevis Nigeria PACIFIC OCEAN United Venezuela Arab Ethiopia Emirates ATLANTIC Comoros Malaysia D e m o c r a t i c Po l i t i c s PACIFIC OCEAN Brazil OCEAN INDIAN OCEAN Micronesia Australia Argentina South Africa Source: Montreal and Kingston, Handbook of Federal Countries: 2002, McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002. Though only 25 of the world’ s 192 countries have federal political systems, their citizens make up 40 per cent of the world’ s population. Most of the large countries of the world are federations. Can you notice an exception to this rule in this map? 14 2015-16(19/01/2015)  In this sense, federa tions are 7 The federal system thus has dual contrasted with unitary governments. objectives: to safeguard and promote Under the unitary system, either there unity of the country, while at the same is only one level of government or the time accommodate regional diversity. sub-units are subordinate to the central Therefore, two aspects are crucial for government. The central government the institutions and practice of can pass on orders to the provincial or federalism. Governments at different the local government. But in a federal levels should agree to some rules of If federalism system, the central government cannot power-sharing. They should also trust works only in big order the state government to do that each would abide by its part of countries, why something. State government has the agreement. An ideal federal system did Belgium powers of its own for which it is not has both aspects : mutual trust and adopt it? answerable to the central government. agreement to live together. Both these governments are separately The exact balance of power answerable to the people. between the central and the state Let us look at some of the key government varies from one federation features of federalism : to another. This balance depends 1 There are two or more levels (or mainly on the historical context in which tiers) of government. the federation was formed. There are 2 Different tiers of government two kinds of routes through which govern the same citizens, but each tier federations have been formed. The first has its own JURISDICTION in specific r oute involves independent States matters of legislation, taxation and coming together on their own to form administration. a bigger unit, so that by pooling 3 The jurisdictions of the respective sovereignty and retaining identity they levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the can increase their security. This type of existence and authority of each tier of ‘coming together’ federations include gover nment is constitutionally the USA, Switzerland and Australia. In guaranteed. this first category of federations, all the 4 The fundamental provisions of constituent States usually have equal the constitution cannot be unilaterally power and are strong vis-à-vis the changed by one level of government. federal government. Such changes require the consent of The second route is where a large both the levels of government. country decides to divide its power 5 Courts have the power to interpret between the constituent States and the the constitution and the powers of national government. India, Spain and different levels of government. The Belgium are examples of this kind of highest court acts as an umpire if ‘holding together’ federations. In disputes arise between different levels Jurisdiction: The area this second category, the central over which someone Feder alism of government in the exercise of their government tends to be more powerful has legal authority. The respective powers. vis-à-vis the States. Very often different area may be defined in 6 Sources of revenue for each level constituent units of the federation have terms of geographical boundaries or in terms of government are clearly specified to unequal pow ers. Some units are of certain kinds of ensure its financial autonomy. granted special powers. subjects. 15 2015-16(19/01/2015)  Some Nepalese citizens were discussing the proposals on the adoption of federalism in their new constitution. This is what some of them said: Khag Raj: I don’t like federalism. It would lead to reservation of seats for different caste groups as in India. Sarita: Ours in not a very big country. We don’t need federalism. Babu Lal: I am hopeful that the Terai areas will get more autonomy if they get their own state government. Ram Ganesh: I like federalism because it will mean that powers that were earlier enjoyed by the king will now be exercised by our elected representatives. If you were participating in this conversation what would be your response to each of these? Which of these reflect a wrong understanding of what federalism is? What makes India a federal country? What makes India a federal country? We have earlier seen how small the Union of India and the State countries like Belgium and Sri Lanka governments. Later, a third tier of face so many problems of managing federalism was added in the form of diversity. What about a vast country like Panchayats and Municipalities. As in India, with so many languages, religions any federation, these different tiers and regions? What are the power enjoy separa te jurisdiction. The sharing arrangements in our country? Constitution clearly provided a three- Isn’t that Let us begin with the Constitution. fold distribution of legislative powers strange? Did our India had emerged as an independent between the Union Government and constitution nation after a painful and bloody the State Governments. Thus, it makers not know partition. Soon after Independence, contains three lists: about several princely states became a part of l Union List includes subjects of federalism? Or the country. The Constitution declared national importance such as defence did they wish to India as a Union of States. Although it of the country, foreign affairs, banking,