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Read the given… (Class 10 Social Science SQP 2025-26, Q28)

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Social ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Sample paper, session 2025-26 · 4 marks · Case-based

CBSE Class 10 Social Science sample paper 2025-26: question 28

From the official CBSE sample question paper for 2025-26, section C, question 28, for 4 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q28 · 4 marks · Case-basedCompetency-basedPower-sharing

Read the given text and answer the following questions:

Sri Lanka emerged as an independent country in 1948. The leaders of the Sinhala community sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority. As a result, the democratically elected government adopted a series of MAJORITARIAN measures to establish Sinhala supremacy. Over the years, it created feelings of alienation among the Sri Lankan Tamils. They felt that none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders was sensitive to their language and culture. As a result, the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained over time. On the other hand, the Belgian leaders took a different path. They recognised the existence of regional differences and cultural diversities. Between 1970 and 1993, they amended their constitution four times to work out an arrangement that would enable everyone to live together within the same country.

Source-Adapted from Power Sharing, NCERT

  1. 28.1

    State any two demands of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

    1 mark
  2. 28.2

    State the results of the Majoritarian Government in Sri Lanka.

    1 mark
  3. 28.3

    Explain any two provisions of the Belgian model of power sharing.

    2 marks

Source: official sample paper from cbseacademic.nic.in (PDF). See it in the full Sample paper 2025-26.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Recall what Tamils asked for regarding language, regions and jobs.

Hint 2

Think of what happened when one community's dominance created alienation: the relationship ended in conflict.

Hint 3

For Belgium, think of ministers, state governments, Brussels and the community government.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. (28.1) Any two demands of Sri Lankan Tamils: recognition of Tamil as an official language; regional autonomy; equality of opportunity in education and jobs. (The scheme accepts any one for the 1 mark.)

    1 mark

  2. (28.2) Majoritarian rule created distrust and alienation between Sinhalas and Tamils, which grew into a civil war. Thousands of people from both communities were killed and many families fled the country as refugees.

    1 mark

  3. (28.3)(i) The Belgian Constitution requires equal numbers of Dutch- and French-speaking ministers in the central government. Some special laws need majority support from each linguistic group, so no community can decide unilaterally.

    1 mark

  4. (28.3)(ii) Many central powers were given to state governments of the two regions, which are not subordinate to the centre. Brussels has a separate government with equal representation of Dutch and French speakers. A third 'community government' is elected by each language community (Dutch, French, German) and handles cultural, educational and language issues. (Any one more provision for the second mark.)

    1 mark

Answer: (28.1) Tamil as an official language; regional autonomy. (28.2) Distrust, civil war, deaths and refugees. (28.3) Equal Dutch and French ministers in the central government; community government for cultural, educational and language matters.

Where the marks are

  • Any demand of Tamils (1 mark)
  • Results of majoritarian rule: distrust, civil war, deaths and refugees (1 mark)
  • First Belgian provision explained (1 mark)
  • Second Belgian provision explained (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Power-sharing, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paperSample paper 2025-26: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.