(i) Power can be shared among governments at different levels - a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level.
(ii) Such a general government for the entire country is usually called federal government.
(iii) In India we refer to it as the central or union government.
(iv) The governments at the provincial or regional level are called by different names in different countries.
(v) In India, we call them state governments.
(vi) Where there are different levels of government, the constitution clearly lays down the powers of different levels of government.
(vii) This is called federal division of power followed in Belgium but not accepted in Sri Lanka.
(viii) The same principle can be extended to levels of government lower than the state government such as the municipality and panchayat.
(ix) Division of powers involving higher and lower levels of government is known as the vertical division of power.

(i) Belgian constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government.
(ii) Some special laws require the support of majority members from each linguistic group.  Thereby no single community can make decisions unilaterally.
(iii) The state governments are not subordinate to the central Government.  Many powers of the central government have been given to state governments of the two regions of the country.
(iv) Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation.
(v) Apart from the central and state governments, there is a third kind of government called community government.
(vi) This government has the power regarding cultural, educational and language related issues.

(i) As a result of civil war, thousands of people of both Sinhalese and Tamil communities have been killed.
(ii) Many families were forced to leave the country as refugees.
(iii) Many more lost their livelihoods.
(iv) The civil war has caused a terrible setback to the social, cultural and economic life of the country.

The ethnic composition of Sri Lanka can be described in the following ways
(i) The major social groups in Sri Lanka are the Sinhala speakers (74%) and the Tamil speakers (18%).
(ii) Among Tamils there are two sub-groups. Sri Lankan Tamils or the Tamil natives of Sri Lanka (13%). Indian Tamils (5%) whose forefather came from India as plantation workers during colonial period.
(iii) Most of the Sinhala speakers are Buddhists. Most of the Tamils are either Hindus or Muslims.
(iv) Christians are about 7%, who are both Tamil and Sinhala

Majoritarianism is a concept which signifies a belief that the majority community should the wishes and needs of the minority.

Sri Lanka.

A feeling of alienation was seen among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
(a) The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an official language.
(b) For regional autonomy.
(c) Equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs.
This was denied by the Sinhala dominated government.

By 1980s, several political organisations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

These differences in the two different communities pushed Sri Lanka into the state of civil war.

Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. There were two major communities- Sinhalese and Tamilians. The Sinhalese were in majority, and hence, after being elected to power, the Sinhalese leaders followed a series of majoritarian policies in order to ascertain the supremacy of their community.
(1) In 1956, an act was passed and Sinhala was recognised as the only official language of Sri Lanka disregarding Tamil.
(2) The governments followed preferential policies that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
(3) A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster-Buddhism.
(4) A feeling of alienation was seen among the Sri Lankan Tamils.
(5) The Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an official language, for regional autonomy and equality of opportunity in securing education and jobs.
(6) This was denied by the Sinhala dominated government.
(7) By 1980s, several political organizations were formed demanding an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka.
(8) These differences in the two different communities pushed Sri Lanka into the state of civil war.
(9) In Sri Lanka, the idea of majoritarianism crumbled the country in a civil war

The prudential reason which is cited in the passage is that giving power to Panchayats is also a way to reduce corruption and increase administrative efficiency.

The prudential reason for power sharing helps to reduce the possibility of conflict between social groups. An example is the reservation of constituencies for SC, ST, minorities in India. In this way, the power sharing tries to reduce the possibility of conflicts.
Power sharing for moral reason is based on moral considerations. An example of power sharing for a moral reason is decentralisation of powers in India through formation of local, state and central governments operating at different levels. Here power is morally shared between different governments.

Different forms of power sharing in modern democracies:
(a) Horizontal division of power:
It is the sharing of power among the different organs of government. The division of government into the executive, the legislature and the judiciary is an example of horizontal division of power. In such a power sharing arrangement, different organs of government, placed at the same level, exercise different powers. This separation of powers ensures that no organ exercises unlimited power. Each organ checks the others, thereby putting in place a system of checks and balances. The division of power between the Council of Ministers headed by the Indian Prime Minister, the Parliament of India and the Indian Supreme Court is an example of this kind of power sharing.
(b) Vertical division of power:
It is the sharing of power among governments at different levels - a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. For example, in India, the Constitution defines the way power is to be shared between the Central or Union government and the various State governments. There are certain matters on which only the Central government can take decisions, while there are others on which only an individual state government has an exclusive right for decision making. 
(c) Division of power among social groups:
Power can also be shared among different groups which differ socially. The system of 'community government' in Belgium is an example of this type of power division. This government is elected by people belonging to one language community (Dutch, French and German speaking) and has the power to take decisions regarding cultural, educational and language related issues. The system of reserved constituencies in India is another example.
(d) Division of power between political parties, pressure groups and movements:
Political parties are the organisations which aim to control power by contesting elections. In a democracy, citizens have the freedom to choose among the various contenders for power (the different political parties or the different alliances comprising political parties). Such a freedom of choice entails competition among the different parties, which in turn ensures that power does not remain in one hand, and is shared among different political parties representing different ideologies and social groups. Pressure groups and movements also share governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or by influencing the decision making process.

Different forms of power sharing in modern democracies:
(a) Horizontal division of power:
It is the sharing of power among the different organs of government. The division of government into the executive, the legislature and the judiciary is an example of horizontal division of power. In such a power sharing arrangement, different organs of government, placed at the same level, exercise different powers. This separation of powers ensures that no organ exercises unlimited power. Each organ checks the others, thereby putting in place a system of checks and balances. The division of power between the Council of Ministers headed by the Indian Prime Minister, the Parliament of India and the Indian Supreme Court is an example of this kind of power sharing.
(b) Vertical division of power:
It is the sharing of power among governments at different levels - a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. For example, in India, the Constitution defines the way power is to be shared between the Central or Union government and the various State governments. There are certain matters on which only the Central government can take decisions, while there are others on which only an individual state government has an exclusive right for decision making. 
(c) Division of power among social groups:
Power can also be shared among different groups which differ socially. The system of 'community government' in Belgium is an example of this type of power division. This government is elected by people belonging to one language community (Dutch, French and German speaking) and has the power to take decisions regarding cultural, educational and language related issues. The system of reserved constituencies in India is another example.
(d) Division of power between political parties, pressure groups and movements:
Political parties are the organisations which aim to control power by contesting elections. In a democracy, citizens have the freedom to choose among the various contenders for power (the different political parties or the different alliances comprising political parties). Such a freedom of choice entails competition among the different parties, which in turn ensures that power does not remain in one hand, and is shared among different political parties representing different ideologies and social groups. Pressure groups and movements also share governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or by influencing the decision making process.

Different forms of power sharing in modern democracies:
(a) Horizontal division of power:
It is the sharing of power among the different organs of government. The division of government into the executive, the legislature and the judiciary is an example of horizontal division of power. In such a power sharing arrangement, different organs of government, placed at the same level, exercise different powers. This separation of powers ensures that no organ exercises unlimited power. Each organ checks the others, thereby putting in place a system of checks and balances. The division of power between the Council of Ministers headed by the Indian Prime Minister, the Parliament of India and the Indian Supreme Court is an example of this kind of power sharing.
(b) Vertical division of power:
It is the sharing of power among governments at different levels - a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. For example, in India, the Constitution defines the way power is to be shared between the Central or Union government and the various State governments. There are certain matters on which only the Central government can take decisions, while there are others on which only an individual state government has an exclusive right for decision making. 
(c) Division of power among social groups:
Power can also be shared among different groups which differ socially. The system of 'community government' in Belgium is an example of this type of power division. This government is elected by people belonging to one language community (Dutch, French and German speaking) and has the power to take decisions regarding cultural, educational and language related issues. The system of reserved constituencies in India is another example.
(d) Division of power between political parties, pressure groups and movements:
Political parties are the organisations which aim to control power by contesting elections. In a democracy, citizens have the freedom to choose among the various contenders for power (the different political parties or the different alliances comprising political parties). Such a freedom of choice entails competition among the different parties, which in turn ensures that power does not remain in one hand, and is shared among different political parties representing different ideologies and social groups. Pressure groups and movements also share governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or by influencing the decision making process.

Different forms of power sharing in modern democracies:
(a) Horizontal division of power:
It is the sharing of power among the different organs of government. The division of government into the executive, the legislature and the judiciary is an example of horizontal division of power. In such a power sharing arrangement, different organs of government, placed at the same level, exercise different powers. This separation of powers ensures that no organ exercises unlimited power. Each organ checks the others, thereby putting in place a system of checks and balances. The division of power between the Council of Ministers headed by the Indian Prime Minister, the Parliament of India and the Indian Supreme Court is an example of this kind of power sharing.
(b) Vertical division of power:
It is the sharing of power among governments at different levels - a general government for the entire country and governments at the provincial or regional level. For example, in India, the Constitution defines the way power is to be shared between the Central or Union government and the various State governments. There are certain matters on which only the Central government can take decisions, while there are others on which only an individual state government has an exclusive right for decision making. 
(c) Division of power among social groups:
Power can also be shared among different groups which differ socially. The system of 'community government' in Belgium is an example of this type of power division. This government is elected by people belonging to one language community (Dutch, French and German speaking) and has the power to take decisions regarding cultural, educational and language related issues. The system of reserved constituencies in India is another example.
(d) Division of power between political parties, pressure groups and movements:
Political parties are the organisations which aim to control power by contesting elections. In a democracy, citizens have the freedom to choose among the various contenders for power (the different political parties or the different alliances comprising political parties). Such a freedom of choice entails competition among the different parties, which in turn ensures that power does not remain in one hand, and is shared among different political parties representing different ideologies and social groups. Pressure groups and movements also share governmental power, either through participation in governmental committees or by influencing the decision making process.