The Belgian leaders recognised the existence of regional and cultural diversities. 

(i) They amended their Constitution four times so as to work out an innovative arrangement that would enable everyone to live together in peace and harmony, i.e., there was sharing of power between the Dutch and the French both in the Central Government, State Government and Community Government. They followed a policy of accommodation. 

(ii) This helped to avoid civic strife and division of the country on linguistic lines. 

(iii) On the other hand, the Sinhalese who were in majority in Sri Lanka as compared to the Tamils followed a policy of majoritarianism and adopted a series of measures to establish Sinhala supremacy by passing an Act of 1956. These measures alienated the Tamils leading to civic strife between the two communities.

The different forms of power-sharing in modern democracies are:

•  Horizontal Division of Power- It is the sharing of power among the different organs of government, for example, power sharing by the executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. In this type of power-sharing arrangement, different organs of government, placed at the same level, exercised different powers. Such a separation ensures that none of the organs can exercise unlimited power, thereby putting a check on each other.
•  Vertical Division of Power- It is a system of power sharing among governments at different levels. For example, a general government for the entire country and governments at provincial or regional levels. In India, we refer to it as the Central Government, State Governments, Municipality, Gram Panchayat etc. The Constitution lays down the powers of different levels of government.
•  Division of Power among different Social Groups- Power can also be shared among different groups which differ socially like different religious and linguistic groups. ‘Community Government’ in Belgium is a good example of this type of power sharing. The system of reserved constituencies in India is another example. Such an arrangement is used to give minority communities a fair share in power, who otherwise would feel alienated from the government.
• Division of Power among Political Parties, Pressure Groups, and Movements- In contemporary democracies such a division takes the form of competition among 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.

Power-sharing is desirable due to the following reasons

• It helps to reduce the possibility of conflict and clashes between social groups.
• Secondly, a democratic rule involves sharing power with those affected by its exercise, and who have to live with its effects.
• People will have a right to be consulted on how they are to be governed and can change the power in the next upcoming years.

Majoritarianism in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, the democratically elected government opted for a series of Majoritarian policy measures because they desired Sinhala supremacy. Some of the measures taken were:

Sinhala was the only official language.

The governments followed preferential policies and Sinhala applicants.

This made the Sri Lankan Tamils feel alienated. As a result of this, the Sri Lankan Tamils launched parties and began struggles for the recognition of Tamil as an official language. By the 1980s several political organisations were formed. They demanded for an independent Tamil Eelam (state) in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. All this soon turned into a Civil War, thereby, causing distress in the nation.

Accommodation in Belgium

From 1970 to 1993, the constitution of Belgian was amended four times. The idea was to work out an arrangement that would make everyone to live together. Key elements of the Belgian model are:

The number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the central government.

Certain powers of the central government were given to state governments of the two regions of the country.

There was a separate government for Brussels in which both the communities had equal representation.

There was a provision of ‘community government’ that was elected by people belonging to one language.

Hence, it was a fairly better alternative than the majoritarian policy of Sri Lanka.

The leaders of the Sinhala community of Sri Lanka sought to secure dominance over government by virtue of their majority.

(ii) In 1956 an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language, thus disregarding Tamils.
(iii) The government followed preferential policies that favour Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
(iv) In Sri Lanka, maximum people believe in Buddhism. A new constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.

In both countries, there could be tension and conflict between different ethnic groups. In Belgium, the majority community of Dutch-speaking people could try to dominate the French and German-speaking people. This could lead to conflict — specially in Brussels. Brussels could have been partitioned as the ratio of the Dutch and the French was different from the rest of the country.
In Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese people, already in majority, could try further to dominate the Tamil-speaking people. It could even lead to a war.
Thus, size and population do not matter. Ethnic divisions, if not handled with patience and common sense, can lead to a civil war, division of the country and conflict between communities.

Legislature

The chief function of the legislature is to enact laws.

• It is the basis for the functioning of the other two organs, the executive and the judiciary.
• It is also sometimes accorded the first place among the three organs because until and unless laws are enacted, there can be no implementation and application of laws.

Executive

The executive is the organ that implements the laws enacted by the legislature and enforces the will of the state.

• It is the administrative head of the government.
• Ministers including the Prime/Chief Ministers and President/Governors form part of the executive.

Judiciary

The judiciary is that branch of the government that interprets the law, settles disputes and administers justice to all citizens. 

• The judiciary is considered the watchdog of democracy, and also the guardian of the Constitution.
• It comprises of the Supreme Court, the High Courts, District and other subordinate courts.
• For more on Indian Judiciary, click on the linked article.

Enzymes are biological catalysts, mainly proteins, generated by an organism to speed up chemical reactions. They have an active site on which the substrate is attached, and then broken up or joined. Enzymes are proteins which act as bio-catalysts and catalyse bio-chemical reactions.

Power-sharing helps to maintain a balance between different sections of the society, and in Belgium, there is a need to maintain the power-sharing between Dutch and French to avoid clashes between both the groups. Banning French will only cause the civil unrest. 

(i) Resources are function of human activities.
(ii) Human beings interact with-nature through technology, and create institutions to accelerate their economic development.
(iii) Human beings transfer materials available in our environment into resource, and use them.
(iv) For example, river is a natural endowment and it becomes resource when its water is used for irrigation or power production.

• Economists suggest that the values of goods and services should be used rather than adding up the actual numbers. The value of goods and seivices in the three sectors are calculated and thep added up.
• Not every good (or service), that is produced and sold, needs to be counted. It makes sense only to include final goods and services.
  For example: A farmer sells wheat to a flour mill for ? 8 per kg. The mill grinds the wheat and sells the flour to a biscuit company for ? 10 per kg. The biscuit company uses flour, sugar and oil to make the packets of biscuits. It sells biscuits in the market to the consumer for ? 15 per packet. Now, biscuits are the final goods, i.e., goods that reach the consumer.
• Intermediate goods are used up in producing final goods and services. The value of final goods already includes the value of all the intermediate goods that are used in making the final goods.
  So, the value of final goods and services produced in each sector during a particular year, provides the total production of the sector for that year. And the sum of production in three sectors gives us the ‘Gross.Domestic Product or GDP’.

The problem of double counting is the problem of estimating the value of goods and services more than once. Value of intermediate goods is not included in the estimation of gross domestic product because value of intermediate goods is reflected in the value of final goods. For e.g. a farmer sold wheat to flour mill for Rs 10 per kg. The mill grinds the wheat and sold the flour to a biscuit company for Rs 12 per kg. The biscuit company uses the flour, sugar and butter to make 5 biscuit packets. These biscuits are sold to consumer at Rs 15 per biscuit packet (Rs 75). Here biscuits are the final goods which are purchased by the consumer. Wheat and wheat flour are the intermediate goods used in the production of final good. The value of biscuit, Rs 15 includes the value of flour, Rs 12. Hence, only the value of final goods and services are taken into consideration.  

In 1834, the customs union of Zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia and was joined by most of the German states.

• The union abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two.
• The creation of a network of railways further stimulated mobility, harnessing economic interests to national unification.
• A wave of economic nationalism strengthened the wider nationalist sentiments growing at the time.
• Varied currencies and weights and measures were obstacles to economic growth, so the creation of a unified economic territory allowing the unhindered movement of goods, people and capital was needed. So, Zollverein was formed.

We can overcome the above problems in the following ways:

(a) The food production can be increased by using new agricultural techniques which are environmentally sustainable.

(b) By using biotechnology as a supplementary tool to modify different crops genetically to increase the yield per hectare.

(c) Genetically modified crops are more resistant to insects, pests and diseases.

(d) Genetically modified crops require less water compared to other crops.

We can overcome the above problems in the following ways:

(a) The food production can be increased by using new agricultural techniques which are environmentally sustainable.

(b) By using biotechnology as a supplementary tool to modify different crops genetically to increase the yield per hectare.

(c) Genetically modified crops are more resistant to insects, pests and diseases.

(d) Genetically modified crops require less water compared to other crops.

Due to the following reasons food production is declining :—
(i) There has been a gradual shift from cultivation of food crops to cultivation of cash crops, fruits vegetable, etc.
(ii) Area under food crop has reduced due to rapid urbanisation.
(iii) More areas are being demanded for housing, setting up industries. etc.
(iv) The productivity of land is also declining due to heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The Green Revolution has outlived its utility.
(v) Natural calamities like drought and flood have become frequent. Monsoon is still vital for food production.

Unification of Germany:

• The  newly  emerged  middle  class  in  Germany  in  1848  tried  to  unite  several German  kingdoms which  were  suppressed  by  monarchies  and  large  landowners into one nation state governed by an elected body.
• Prussia, a German kingdom, took the leadership in uniting various German states. Otto  von  Bismarck,  the  Chief  Minister  of  Prussia, aimed  to  achieve  the  goal  of unification with the help of the Prussian army and the bureaucracy.
• Spread over seven years, the Prussian army with the help of the Austrian, French and Danish armies fought three wars and successfully incorporated all the small German kingdoms. This marked the process of completion of German unification.
• The  German  unification  was  completed  in  1871  and  in  the  same  year William I was  declared  as  the emperor of Germany at the Palace of Versailles.
• The process of the unification of Germany exhibited the power of the Prussian state. Many new reforms were initiated in banking, currency, administration and judiciary in Germany.

1. Giuseppe Mazzini was was an Italian revolutionary born in Genoa, 1807 who became a member of the secret society of the Carbonari

2. Giuseppe Mazzini was sent to prison for revolting against the monarchs at the age of 24

3. Giuseppe Mazzini then formed secret society i. e. young Italy and young Europe in Marseilles and Berne respectively

4. He also helped Bismarck during the war for unification of Italy ( he had sought to put together coherent programme for a unitary Italian Republic )

5. He believed that good had intended nations to be the natural units of mankind. So Italy couldn't continue to be the patchwork of small states and kingdoms.

6. even Duke Metternich of Austria even stated that he was the most dangerous enemy of their social order i. e. monarchical rul

In the public sector, ownership of assets and delivery of services is under the government. The government spends huge amount of money in providing various services to the public at reasonable costs.
The Government, thus, contributes towards the economic development of the nation by development of infrastructure, i.e. :

1. Construction of roads, national highways, flyovers, metro nahts, railway lines, irrigation through dams, etc.
2. The Government provides impetus to industrial growth by supplying electricity at the affordable rates.
3. By running schools and providing good quality of education, the government is trying to remove illiteracy and taking the nation forward.