Class 10 Civics (Political Science) Chapter 1, Power-sharing, opens Democratic Politics II (2026-27) by contrasting how Belgium and Sri Lanka handled ethnic and linguistic diversity, explains the prudential and moral reasons for power sharing, and details the four major forms of power sharing in modern democracies.
What Class 10 Social Science (Civics) Chapter 1 Covers
Belgium and Sri Lanka: Accommodation vs Majoritarianism compares Belgium ($59\%$ Dutch-speaking in the Flemish region, $40\%$ French-speaking in Wallonia, $1\%$ German-speaking; in Brussels $80\%$ French and $20\%$ Dutch), which amended its constitution four times between 1970 and 1993 to give equal ministers in the central government, autonomous state governments, a separate equal-representation government for Brussels, and a Community Government for cultural/educational/language issues, with Sri Lanka ($74\%$ Sinhala-speakers and $18\%$ Tamil-speakers: $13\%$ Sri Lankan Tamils and $5\%$ Indian Tamils), where the 1956 Act made Sinhala the sole official language and majoritarianism led to alienation and civil war.
Why Power Sharing is Desirable: Prudential vs Moral Reasons distinguishes Prudential reasons (power sharing reduces the possibility of conflict between social groups and ensures the stability of political order; imposing the will of the majority undermines the unity of the nation) from Moral reasons (power sharing is the very spirit of democracy; citizens have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed).
Forms of Power-sharing in Modern Democracies identifies four forms: (1) Horizontal distribution of power among the legislature, executive and judiciary (placed at the same level to create a system of checks and balances); (2) Vertical division of power among governments at different levels (federal division: Union/Central, State and local municipality/panchayat governments); (3) Power shared among different social groups (such as Belgium’s Community Government and reserved constituencies in India); and (4) Power shared among political parties, pressure groups and movements (coalition governments and interest groups).
Exercises in Chapter 1
- Chapter Exercises (9 Questions) ask what the different forms of power sharing in modern democracies are (with an example of each), state one prudential reason and one moral reason for power sharing with an example from the Indian context, and evaluate passages and statements on power sharing.
Read Class 10 Social Science (Civics) Chapter 1 Online
More Chapters
- Next: Chapter 2: Federalism
- Hindi medium: Class 10 Civics Chapter 1 in Hindi (Loktantrik Rajniti II)
- All Social Science (Civics) chapters and the other Class 10 books: Class 10 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
- Every book chapter by chapter: NCERT chapter wise PDF
FAQ
What is the difference between horizontal and vertical division of power?
Horizontal division of power shares power among different organs of government placed at the same level—the legislature, executive and judiciary—so each organ checks the others (a system of checks and balances). Vertical (federal) division of power shares power among governments at different levels—a general government for the entire country (Union/Central government) and governments at the provincial/state and local levels.
Give one prudential reason and one moral reason for power sharing.
Prudential reason: Power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict and violence between social groups and ensures political stability (e.g., reserving seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India’s legislatures prevents social alienation). Moral reason: Power sharing is the very spirit of democracy—people have a fundamental right to be consulted on how they are governed (e.g., Decentralisation through Panchayati Raj in India).