Compare the ways in which the Belgium and the Sri Lankans have dealt with cultural diversity?
Answers
In Belgium the power was shared.Brussels had a separate Constitution.State government was not subordinate to the Central government.
But in the case of Sri Lanka,majoritiaran policy was followed.Sinhala was recognized as the national language thus disregarding the Tamils.Moreover they protected and fostered Buddhism.
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In Belgium, the minority French-speaking community was more rich and powerful than Dutch-speaking community.
The Belgium leaders realised this problem and took some significant measures to solve this are as follows:-
1. Number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the Central Government.
2. Many powers of the Central Government are given to state governments.
3. Brussels has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representation.
4. Community Government is elected by people belonging to one language community which deals with cultural, educational and language related issues.
In Sri Lanka, major social groups are the Sinhala speakers (74 per cent) and the Tamil speakers (18 per cent). In Sri Lanka, the democratically elected government adopted a series of Majoritarian measures to establish Sinhala supremacy.
The government took the following measures:-
1. Preferential policy that favoured Sinhala application for university position and government jobs.
2. The state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
All these measures increased the feeling of alienation among Sri Lankan Tamils. The Belgium solution helped in avoiding civic strife whereas the Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka led to the Civil War.