Question 341 markMCQSection C

Two statements are given below. They are Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Read both the statements carefully and choose the correct option :

Assertion (A) : Both, Sri Lanka and Belgium faced challenges of ethnic and linguistic diversity.

Reason (R) : Sri Lanka had majority of Tamils whereas Belgium had majority of French speaking people.

Power Sharing
Ethnic and Linguistic Diversity — Sri Lanka and Belgium

Options

(A)Both, (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(B)Both, (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(C)(A) is true, but (R) is false.
(D)(A) is false, but (R) is true.

Official answer

Option C — (A) is true, but (R) is false, since R wrongly reverses the majority-minority composition of both Sri Lanka and Belgium.

Answer keywords:Sri LankaBelgiumSinhalese majorityTamil minorityFlemish majorityWalloonspower sharingethnic diversity

Marking scheme

  1. 1.1 mark for correctly selecting option C
  2. 2.No partial marks for MCQ; the option chosen must exactly match the key

Hint

Check majority carefully: Sinhalese are the majority in Sri Lanka (not Tamils) and Dutch-speaking Flemish are the majority in Belgium (not French speakers) — this makes R false.

Quick oral answer

Both Sri Lanka and Belgium faced ethnic and linguistic challenges, but the reason given is false because it wrongly states the majority groups — Sinhalese are the majority in Sri Lanka and Flemish (Dutch-speaking) are the majority in Belgium.

Common mistakes

  1. 1.Selecting option A or B because both statements 'sound correct' at a glance without checking majority/minority facts
  2. 2.Confusing which group is the majority in Sri Lanka (assuming Tamils are majority instead of Sinhalese)
  3. 3.Confusing which language group is the majority in Belgium (assuming French speakers are majority instead of Dutch-speaking Flemish)

Analysis and explanation

An Assertion-Reason question from the opening case studies of the 'Power Sharing' chapter.


Concept

  • Assertion (A) is true: both Belgium and Sri Lanka faced ethnic/linguistic tension — Belgium between Dutch-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons, Sri Lanka between the Sinhala majority and Tamil minority.
  • Reason (R) is false: it reverses the majorities — Sri Lanka's majority is Sinhalese (~74%), not Tamil (~18%); Belgium's majority is Dutch-speaking Flemish (~59%), not French-speaking (~40%).

Common mistakes

  • Recalling only that 'ethnicity/language caused conflict' without remembering which group was actually the majority in each country, leading to a wrong choice of A or B instead of C.

Interesting facts

Belgium's constitution was amended four times between 1970 and 1993 to work out a mutually acceptable power-sharing arrangement between its communities.

Sri Lanka's 1956 Act made Sinhala the only official language, disadvantaging Tamil-speakers and fueling decades of civil conflict that lasted until 2009.

Belgium has three official languages — Dutch, French, and German — reflecting its complex linguistic geography.

Question details

Q34 of 57 questions

Board
CBSE
Class
Class 10
Subject
Social Science
Year
2026
Section
Section C
Marks
1
Type
MCQ
Chapter
Power Sharing
Topic
Ethnic and Linguistic Diversity — Sri Lanka and Belgium
Bloom's level
analyze
Syllabus topic
Unit 4 (Political Science/Democratic Politics): Power Sharing — Belgium and Sri Lanka case studies of ethnic/linguistic diversity
Author
CBSE
Reviewed by
Padhantu Academic Team

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Frequently asked questions

Which community is the majority in Sri Lanka?

The Sinhala-speaking Sinhalese are the majority in Sri Lanka, forming about 74% of the population, while Tamils are a minority.

Which community is the majority in Belgium?

The Dutch-speaking Flemish community is the majority in Belgium (about 59%), while French-speaking Walloons form roughly 40%.