Question 1 - Past Year Questions - 5 Marks - Chapter 1 Class 10 Political Science - Power Sharing - Political Science

Compare the situation of Belgium and Sri  Lanka considering their location, size and cultural aspects.

Answer:

Points to Remember

1. Location- Belgium is located in Europe , whereas Sri Lanka is located in South Asia .
2. Size- Belgium has a population of little over one  crore, whereas Sri Lanka has a population of almost 2 crores.
3. Cultural aspects-

1.   Language- 

In Belgium, 59 percent of people living in the Flemish region speak the Dutch language, 40 percent of people living in the Wallonia region speak French , and the remaining 1 percent of Belgian people speak German. 
Whereas
In Sri Lanka , 74 percent population is Sinhalese speakers and 18 percent are Tamil speakers. 

b. Ethnic Communities- 

In Belgium, the French-speaking community is relatively rich and powerful . In Belgium, Dutch-speaking people are in the minority .

Whereas

In Sri Lanka,  Sinhalese-speaking people are Buddhist and powerful and the Tamils remain in minority.   

Answer to be written in the exam

A. BELGIUM-  

1. Location- Belgium is a small country in Europe.  It shares borders with France , the Netherlands,  Germany, and Luxembourg .  
2. Size- It has a population of a little over one crore .
3. Ethnic composition-   The ethnic composition of this small country is very complex. 

• •  Of the country’s total population, 59 percent live in the Flemish region and speak the Dutch language. 
  • Another 40 percent of people live in the Wallonia region and speak French . The remaining 1 percent of the Belgians speak German . 
  • In the capital city Brussels , 80 percent of people speak French while 20 percent are Dutch-speaking. 
  • The minority French-speaking community was relatively rich and powerful.
  • Brussels presented a unique problem : the Dutch-speaking people constituted a majority in the country, but a minority in the capital .

B. SRI LANKA-

1. Location- Sri Lanka is an island nation, just a few kilometers off the southern coast of Tamil Nadu.
2. Size-   It has about 2 crore people.
3. Ethnic Composition- 

• • The major social groups are the Sinhala speakers (74 percent) and the Tamil-speakers (18 per cent) .
  •  Among Tamils there are two subgroups . Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 per cent) . 
  • The rest, whose forefathers came from India as plantation workers during the colonial period, are called ‘Indian Tamils’
  •   Sri Lankan Tamils are concentrated in the north and east of the country. Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhist , while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims.  
  • There are about 7 percent of Christians , who are both Tamil and Sinhala.