Power-Sharing Class 10 Chapter 1: PDF and Explanation

The Power-Sharing Class 10 chapter is Chapter 1 of the NCERT Democratic Politics (Democratic Politics-II) textbook in the Class 10 Social Science set. This chapter runs 12 printed pages, and the official NCERT PDF is available right here on this page, with a section-by-section walkthrough below it.

Download the Power-Sharing Class 10 Chapter PDF

This is the opening chapter of the civics book: it introduces the idea of sharing power that the next two chapters (Federalism and Democracy and Diversity) carry forward. If you need the official file to read or revise from, open the NCERT Class 10 Social Science Power-Sharing Chapter 1 PDF on the official NCERT textbook portal.

Nothing on this page replaces the chapter itself — use the walkthrough below alongside the book.

Chapter at a Glance: What the PDF Contains

The chapter is built around two real-country stories that teach one idea: democracy survives when power is shared, not concentrated. It keeps a margin glossary, includes one story-box (Khalil’s dilemma), teaches four forms of power sharing, and closes with nine exercises. The table below gives the exact counts inside the file.

What This Chapter Covers: Two Stories to Four Forms

This chapter builds a single argument: democracies survive by sharing power, and it proves the point by contrasting two countries that faced the same question and chose opposite paths. The argument moves in five steps:

• Two country stories (pages 2–5). Belgium and Sri Lanka, both democracies, both ethnically divided. One accommodates, the other dominates — with opposite results. A newspaper-clippings activity on page 5 asks you to classify real conflicts and judge which could be resolved by power sharing.
• Why power sharing is desirable (page 6). The chapter gives two sets of reasons — prudential (better outcomes) and moral (participation is valuable in itself) — and tests them on two students, Annette and Selvi.
• Khalil’s dilemma (page 7). A story-box that pushes the idea further: is a community-based power-sharing arrangement fair when it blocks an individual’s ambition?
• Four forms of power sharing (pages 8–9). Horizontal, vertical, social groups, and political parties/pressure groups — each with concrete examples, plus the ‘Reigning the Reins’ cartoon box on page 8.
• Nine exercises (pages 10–12). A mix of direct recall, opinion-based questions, and code-based multiple-choice questions that test whether you can apply the four forms, not just name them.

Belgium and Sri Lanka: Two Stories of Power Sharing

These two stories are the evidence the whole chapter is built on: two democracies faced the same problem — ethnic division — and made opposite choices, with opposite results. Sri Lanka’s majority tried to dominate; it ended in civil war. Belgium’s leaders accommodated every community; the country stayed united and became the headquarters of the European Union.

Sri Lanka: When the Majority Imposes Its Will

Sri Lanka became independent in 1948. Its democratically elected Sinhala-led governments then passed a series of majoritarian measures (NCERT, p. 3) to secure Sinhala supremacy:

• 1956: an Act made Sinhala the only official language, disregarding Tamil.
• Preferential policies favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
• A new constitution said the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
• The Tamils’ repeated demands for autonomy in Tamil-populated provinces were denied.

The result was growing alienation among Sri Lankan Tamils, a demand for an independent Tamil Eelam in the north and east, and finally a civil war that ended only in 2009 (NCERT, p. 3).

Belgium: Accommodation by Constitutional Change

Belgium’s leaders recognised regional and cultural differences and, between 1970 and 1993, amended the constitution four times to build an arrangement that let everyone live together (NCERT, p. 4). The elements of the Belgian model:

• Equal ministers: the constitution prescribes an equal number of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers in the central government, so no single community decides unilaterally.
• State governments: many powers of the central government were given to the governments of the two regions, and these state governments are not subordinate to the centre.
• Separate Brussels government: Brussels has its own government with equal representation for both communities.
• Community government: a third kind of government, elected by people of one language community — Dutch, French or German — no matter where they live, with power over cultural, educational and language-related issues.

Here is the chapter’s own bottom line from page 5: Belgium respected the feelings and interests of different communities and stayed united; Sri Lanka forced the majority’s dominance and fell into civil war.

To see whether you have understood the contrast, use the chapter’s own test case (NCERT, p. 6): Annette studies in a Dutch-medium school in Belgium and wants French as the medium; Selvi studies in a Tamil-medium school in Sri Lanka and wants Tamil. Whose parents are more likely to succeed if they approach their government?

The Belgian model is built to accommodate exactly this kind of demand — Annette’s case would be heard within the power-sharing framework. Selvi’s request collides with Sri Lanka’s Sinhala-only policy, which is precisely what caused the conflict.

Why Power Sharing Is Desirable: Prudential and Moral Reasons

The chapter gives two different justifications for power sharing, and exam answers must say which is which (NCERT, p. 6).

• Prudential reasons — power sharing is good because of its outcomes: it reduces the possibility of conflict between social groups and ensures the stability of the political order. Imposing majority rule may look attractive in the short run, but in the long run it undermines the unity of the nation.
• Moral reasons — power sharing is good in itself: it is the very spirit of democracy. People have a right to be consulted on how they are governed, and a legitimate government is one where citizens, through participation, acquire a stake in the system.

The chapter adds a sharp warning: the tyranny of the majority is not just oppressive for the minority — it often damages the majority too (NCERT, p. 6). A one-line memory aid: prudential = practical payoff; moral = principle.

The chapter also answers two doubts that its own margin dialogues raise: ‘Sharing power = dividing power = weakening the country’ (p. 2) and ‘What’s wrong if the majority community rules?’ (p. 3). The answer to both is the Sri Lankan story itself — imposed majority rule looks decisive and ends by destroying the country.

Khalil’s Dilemma: Testing the Idea of Community-Based Power Sharing

After giving reasons for power sharing, the chapter makes you apply them to a hard case (NCERT, p. 7). The story: Khalil lives in Beirut, Lebanon, where a power-sharing pact ended a bitter civil war.

The country’s top posts are reserved by community — President must be a Maronite Christian, Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, Deputy Prime Minister an Orthodox Christian, Speaker a Shi’a Muslim.

Khalil is popular and ambitious, but his parents come from different communities (an Orthodox Christian father, a Sunni Muslim mother), and under these rules the top position is out of his reach. He asks why Lebanon cannot be a ‘normal’ democracy: just hold an election, let everyone contest, and whoever wins the most votes becomes president.

His elders answer that the present system is the best guarantee of peace.

The chapter poses Vetal’s question exactly: would you adopt the ‘regular’ rules, keep the community-based rules, or do something else? The chapter deliberately gives no single answer — it wants you to weigh the moral value of power sharing against individual merit.

That is the point: power-sharing arrangements protect peace but can frustrate individuals, and there is no formula for balancing the two. This prepares you for the opinion-based questions in the exercise set (Q3 and Q4).

The Four Forms of Power Sharing

Modern democracies share power in four standard arrangements, and knowing which is which answers the chapter’s first exercise directly (NCERT, pp. 8–9).

1. Horizontal division (among organs of government). Power is shared among the legislature, executive and judiciary, placed at the same level. Each organ checks the others — this is the system of checks and balances. Example: ministers are responsible to Parliament, and judges, though appointed by the executive, can check its functioning.
2. Vertical division (among levels of government). Power is shared between a general government for the whole country and governments at the provincial or regional level — the federal division of power. In India: the Union or Central Government, State Governments, and below them the municipality and panchayat. The constitution clearly lays down the powers of each level.
3. Among social groups. Power is shared between religious and linguistic groups through constitutional and legal arrangements. Example: Belgium’s community government; in India, reserved constituencies for socially weaker sections and women in the assemblies and Parliament.
4. Among political parties, pressure groups and movements. Citizens choose among competing parties, and no single hand holds power for long. When two or more parties form an alliance and win, they form a coalition government. Interest groups (traders, farmers, workers) also share influence through governmental committees or by shaping decisions.

Mnemonic for the four forms: O-L-S-P — Organs, Levels, Social groups, Parties. Say it as ‘Old Leaders Share Power’.

Two side prompts go with this section: the class-monitor question on page 9 (a monitor who changes every month — is that power sharing?) and the ‘Reigning the Reins’ cartoon box on page 8, which asks what the relationship is between democracy and the concentration of power — the cartoon shows Russia’s president gaining more power, the opposite of the power-sharing idea.

Walking Through the Chapter’s Figures

The chapter uses four illustrations to carry its argument. Each one below is explained so you can read it with meaning, not just glance at it.

Figure 1: The Belgian model — complicated but it works

This illustration from page 5 shows why the chapter calls the Belgian arrangement ‘very complicated’ — even for Belgians. It is complicated because power sits at three tiers at once: the central government with equal Dutch and French ministers, the state governments of the two regions, and the community governments elected by language.

The text’s own admission is part of the lesson: the model is complicated, yet it has worked — it prevented civic strife and a possible partition on linguistic lines.

Figure 2: Brussels as EU headquarters — the proof that accommodation worked

The chapter uses this photograph of the European Parliament (p. 5) as living proof of Belgium’s success: when many European countries came together to form the European Union, Brussels — not Paris or Amsterdam — was chosen as its headquarters. A stable, united Belgium was the only reason that choice was possible.

Figure 3: ‘Sharing power makes us more powerful?’ — the myth, in dialogue

This comic strip (p. 5) names the chapter’s central misconception: ‘sharing of power makes us more powerful? Sounds odd!’ The chapter’s whole argument is the rebuttal. Prudentially, sharing power reduces conflict and keeps the political order stable; morally, it is what makes a government legitimate. Sri Lanka’s civil war is what happens to a country that never learns this.

Figure 4: The fourth form — parties, pressure groups and movements

This illustration on page 9 supports the fourth form of power sharing. It ties together the ideas that close the section: electoral competition among parties, alliances and coalition governments, and interest groups (traders, farmers, industrialists) that win influence through committees or by shaping decisions.

Connect it to the ‘Reigning the Reins’ cartoon on page 8 — a president concentrating power is the opposite of everything this figure stands for.

Key Definitions and Terms from the Chapter

This chapter builds its argument on a handful of terms, and the book defines three of them in the margin. Here they all are in one place, with the pages where they appear.

Common Mistakes Students Make in Power Sharing

Most marks are lost in this chapter not on facts but on swapped labels. Here are the errors students make most often, and the correction for each.

How Exam Questions Use This Chapter

The nine exercises at the end of the chapter are the best guide to how this content gets tested. Many are code-based: you match statements or options to the concept they describe, so you need the labels absolutely straight.

Work through the two trickiest ones here, in full.

Exercise 5 — spotting a prudential reason. The passage defends giving more power to panchayats.

Several lines are moral reasons (‘Panchayati Raj establishes true democracy’, ‘power belongs in the hands of the people’), but the prudential ones are about outcomes: giving power to panchayats reduces corruption and increases administrative efficiency, because when people participate in planning and implementation they exercise greater control, which eliminates corrupt middlemen.

In the exam, underline every line that promises a result, then pick the one that is clearly about reducing conflict or improving stability/efficiency.

Exercise 7 — Belgium and Sri Lanka, statement by statement. Statement A says the Dutch-speaking majority in Belgium tried to impose domination on the French. That is wrong — Belgium chose accommodation, not domination. Statement B (Sri Lanka sought Sinhala dominance), C (Tamils demanded a federal arrangement for protection) and D (the transformation to a federal system prevented division) are all correct.

So the answer is (d) B, C and D.

Exercise 8 — matching forms to governments. Organs of government → separation of powers (B); governments at different levels → federal government (D); different social groups → community government (A); two or more political parties → coalition government (C). So the code is (c) B, D, A, C.

For Q3 and Q4, note the instruction: give your reasons in about 50 words. A full-marks answer states a clear position in the first line, then gives one grounded reason.

On Q4, the ban on French in a Flemish town’s schools cuts against the spirit of Belgium’s arrangements — the whole model was built so that no community imposes its language on another.

One honest note: textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official CBSE syllabus for what is examinable this session. No one can promise which questions will appear or how many marks they carry.

Power-Sharing: The Chapter’s Argument in Brief

This is a rapid recap of the whole chapter for the night before an exam — use it to check that you can reproduce the argument chain, not as a substitute for the chapter.

1. Two democracies, two outcomes. Sri Lanka (Sinhala 74%): Sinhala-only Act 1956, preferential policies, Buddhism protected, autonomy denied → alienation → Tamil Eelam demand → civil war ending 2009. Belgium (Dutch 59%, French 40%, German 1%): four amendments 1970–1993, equal ministers, federal states, Brussels government, community government → unity preserved, Brussels became EU headquarters.
2. The lesson. Respecting communities preserves unity; forcing dominance destroys it (NCERT, p. 5).
3. Two sets of reasons. Prudential — reduces conflict, ensures stability; imposing majority rule undermines the nation in the long run. Moral — power sharing is the spirit of democracy; people have a right to be consulted and to acquire a stake in the system (NCERT, p. 6).
4. The four forms. Horizontal (organs, checks and balances), vertical (levels — federal division), social groups (community government, reserved constituencies), parties and pressure groups (competition, coalitions).
5. The opening idea. In a democracy, all power does not rest with any one organ; intelligent sharing among legislature, executive and judiciary is essential — and the next two chapters carry this idea forward (NCERT, p. 1).

Related Resources

This listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session using the NCERT textbook information available to us. NCERT remains the authority for confirming the latest edition.

Chapter 1 introduces the idea of sharing power that the next two chapters carry forward. If you are studying this book for boards, these pages are your next stops:

• All chapters of this book: NCERT Class 10 Democratic Politics book page
• The full subject set: Class 10 Social Science NCERT books hub
• Federalism, Chapter 2 of this book, builds directly on the vertical division of power introduced here — see NCERT Class 10 notes home for the whole collection

Sources and Data Verification

• What this page describes: the NCERT Democratic Politics textbook for Class 10 (Democratic Politics-II), Chapter 1, ‘Power-Sharing’ — a 12-page chapter from the current NCERT book.
• Where the facts come from: the official NCERT textbook edition published on ncert.nic.in; every page number cited here refers to that edition. The counts table above is rendered directly from the chapter’s own structure.
• Session: this listing is maintained for the current session using the NCERT information available to us.
• Authority: NCERT settles textbook contents, editions and PDFs; CBSE settles the curriculum, syllabus and examinations. No expert review process beyond this is claimed.

Reference: NCERT Class 10 Democratic Politics textbook, chapter 1, official edition on ncert.nic.in.

Frequently Asked Questions About Power Sharing

What is power sharing in the Class 10 Democratic Politics chapter?

Power sharing is the distribution of political power among organs of government, levels of government, social groups, and political parties and pressure groups — so that no single person or group can dominate (NCERT, pp. 8–9). The chapter argues this is essential to democracy, not a compromise of it.

Why is power sharing desirable? What are the prudential and moral reasons?

For two sets of reasons (NCERT, p. 6). Prudential: power sharing reduces conflict between social groups and ensures the stability of the political order. Moral: power sharing is the very spirit of democracy — people have a right to be consulted on how they are governed, and participation gives citizens a stake in the system.

What is the difference between horizontal and vertical division of power?

Horizontal division shares power among organs at the same level — legislature, executive and judiciary — so each checks the others (checks and balances). Vertical division shares power among higher and lower levels of government — Union, State, and municipality/panchayat — with the constitution laying down each level’s powers (NCERT, p. 8).

What was the Belgian model of power sharing?

An arrangement built through four constitutional amendments between 1970 and 1993: equal Dutch- and French-speaking ministers in the central government, state governments that are not subordinate to the centre, a separate Brussels government with equal representation, and a community government elected by each language community for cultural, educational and language matters (NCERT, p. 4).

What is majoritarianism and what happened in Sri Lanka because of it?

Majoritarianism is the belief that the majority community should rule as it wishes, disregarding the minority (NCERT, p. 3, margin). Sri Lanka passed the Sinhala-only Act of 1956, adopted preferential policies for Sinhala applicants in jobs and universities, protected Buddhism in the constitution, and denied Tamil demands for autonomy.

The result was alienation, a demand for Tamil Eelam, and a civil war that ended in 2009.

What are the four forms of power sharing mentioned in Class 10 Chapter 1?

The four forms (NCERT, pp. 8–9): among organs of government (horizontal, checks and balances); among governments at different levels (vertical, federal division); among social groups (community government, reserved constituencies); and among political parties, pressure groups and movements (electoral competition, coalitions, interest-group influence).