1. The Balkan Wars consisted of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan Peninsula in 1912 and 1913. Four Balkan states defeated the Ottoman Empire in the First Balkan War. In the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria fought against all four original combatants of the first war along with facing a surprise attack from Romania from the north. The conflicts ended catastrophically for the Ottoman Empire, which lost the bulk of its territory in Europe. Austria-Hungary, although not a combatant, became relatively weaker as a much enlarged Serbia pushed for union of the South Slavic peoples.[2] The war set the stage for the Balkan crisis of 1914 and thus served as a "prelude to the First World War".
2. Belgium, a small European country, has Dutch-, French- and German-speaking populations. While 59% of the total population of the country live in the Flemish region and speak Dutch, the other 40% of the people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. In Brussels, the capital of Belgium, about 80% of the people speak French, while the remaining 20% speak Dutch.
3. Sri Lanka has a diverse population. The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population (74%) with Tamils (18%) who are mostly concentrated in the north and east of the island, forming the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include the Muslims. Among Tamils, there are two sub-groups. The Tamil natives of the country are called ‘Sri Lankan Tamils’ (13 %). The Tamils, who were brought as indentured labourers from India by British colonists to work on estate plantations are called the ‘Indian Origin Tamils’ (5%). Most of the Sinhala-speaking people are Buddhists, while most of the Tamils are Hindus or Muslims. There are about 7 per cent Christians, who are both Tamil and Sinhalese.
4. Sri Lankan Tamils felt alienated because:
(i) Government adopted majoritarian measure to establish Sinhala Supremacy. In 1956, an Act was passed to recognise Sinhala as the only official language thus disregarding Tamil.
(ii) The governments followed preferential politics that favoured Sinhala applicants for university positions and government jobs.
(iii) A new Constitution stipulated that the state shall protect and foster Buddhism.
(iv) Sri Lankan Tamils felt that none of the major political parties led by the Buddhist Sinhala leaders were sensitive to their language and culture.
(v) As a result, the relations between the Sinhala and Tamil communities strained overtime and it soon turned into a Civil War.
5. The Ethnic composition of Belgium is very complex. Of the country’s total population, 59 per cent lives in the Flemish region and speak Dutch language. Another 40 per cent people live in the Wallonia region and speak French. 1 per cent of the Belgians speak German. To rule this regionally and culturally, diverse country is not very easy.
Thus, the government has taken some measures
(i) Constitution prescribes that the number of Dutch and French-speaking ministers shall be equal in the Central Government.
(ii) Many power of the Central Government have been given to State Governments, erf’ die two regions of the ’ country.
(iii) Brussels, the capital of Belgium, has a separate government in which both the communities have equal representations.
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