Land Reforms

Land Reforms
India under the British Raj had witnessed a lot of such atrocious
regulations that exploited the poor and helpless in many aspects. Among
them, land ownership contributed significantly to preventing the socio-
economic growth of the backward population.
The government of independent India came up with acts and laws to

establish equal rights and ownership of land, which now constitutes a
crucial episode of India’s economy. In the following lesson, you will come
across a detailed discourse on land reforms in India after independence
and their importance.
The instruments that are visualized for social justice are known as Land
Reforms. It is because the Land Reforms that are divided as the sharp
class division which is between the rich Landowning classes and the
impoverished peasants who have no security of tenure seek to do away
with the exploitative relationships. It is a step that is taken against the
concentration of Landholdings in the hands of non-cultivating owners or
few absentees, who on the size of holdings impose the ceilings and those
Landholdings can be owned by families. Mainly, the concept of
redistribution of Land is studied under Land Reforms but their scope is
much wider.
In simpler terms, Land Reforms refer to the redistribution of Lands from

the rich class to the poor class. It includes operations, leasing, regulations
of ownership, sales, and the inheritance of Land since Land redistribution
requires legal changes.
Why Were the Land Reforms Introduced?
Almost all agricultural lands of India before independence were owned by

intermediaries, like jagirdars and zamindars, among others, and not by the
farmers who worked in these lands to produce crops. These farmers
naturally suffered from exploitation when the landowners paid no heed in
agricultural requirements and were solely concerned about the rent they
collected from these labourers.
After independence in 1947, an inadequate agricultural output was

apparent. In order to fix this situation, the Indian government took
measures to alter existing regulations for a better outcome. These acts
formed agrarian reforms in India after independence.
Objectives of Land Reforms
The Indian government aimed at speeding up the socio-economic

advancement of rural India and its agricultural industries with this land
reform system. Some of the main objectives of Land Reforms are listed
below-
The primary objective concerned an overall renewal of law structure

for agricultural lands in India.
These acts aimed at an equal and uniform distribution of agricultural

lands so that concentration of ownership was not in few hands.
Abolition of intermediaries of the medieval land-ownership system in

India.
Facilitating optimum agricultural produce with healthy and economic

practices.
Ensuring social and economic justice for previous violations of the

tiller’s rights.
Uniform ownership of land would prevent exploitation of tenant

farmers and will help in reducing rural poverty.
Elimination of the exploitation in the Land relations.
To increase agricultural production and infuse equality in society.

To restructure the agrarian relations in order to achieve an egalitarian
social structure.
To realize the age-old goal of Land to the tiller.
Land Reform- Types
Pre-Independence:
The farmers did not have ownership of the Lands in which they used
during the British Raj.
The Landlords of those Lands were Jagirdars, zamindars, etc.
Many issues were confronted in front of the government and it

became a challenge in front of independent India.
Post-Independence:
Read on to get detailed descriptions on some of the most notable acts

from the long list of land reforms in India since independence.
The Land Reforms in post-independent India had various components:
Abolition of Intermediaries- The first step taken by the Indian

government under land reforms post-independence was passing the
Zamindari Abolition Act. The abolition of the zamindari system was
done that removed the layer of intermediaries who used to stand
between the state and the cultivators. In many areas, superior rights
were taken away from the zamindars and weakened their economic
and political power.
The primary reason of a backward agrarian economy was the presence of

intermediate entities like, jagirdars and zamindar who primarily focussed
on collecting sky-rocketing rents catering to their personal benefits,
without paying attention to the disposition of farms and farmers. Abolition
of such intermediaries not only improved conditions of farmers by
establishing their direct connection with the government but also
improved agricultural production.
Regulation of Rents
This was in direct response to the unimaginably high rents which were
charged by intermediaries during British rule, which resulted in a never-
ending cycle of poverty and misery for tenants. Indian government
implemented these regulations to protect farmers and labourers from
exploitation by placing a maximum limit on the rent that could be charged
for land.
Tenancy Reform- The tenancy Reform led to the introduction of

regulation of rent, providing security tenure, and conferring
ownership to the tenants. In the pre-independence period, the rent
which was paid by the tenants was exorbitant producing 35% to 75%
of gross throughout the country. The primary attempt of the Reform
was either to regulate rents and give some security to the tenants or
outlaw tenancy altogether.
Legislations were passed in all states of the country to grant tenants with
permanent ownership of lands and protection from unlawful evictions on
expiry of the lease. This law protects tenants from having to vacate a
property immediately after their tenure is over unless ordered by law. Even
in that case, ownership can be regained by tenants with the excuse of
personal cultivation.
Ceilings on Landholdings- This Reform referred to the legal

stipulation of maximum size after which no farm household or farmer
can hold any Land. By the year 1961-62 the government of all states
passed the Land ceiling acts and in order to bring uniformity across
states, a totally new ceiling policy was evolved in 1971.
This law was enacted to prevent the concentration of land ownership in a

few hands. It placed an optimum limit on the total measure of land which
an individual or a family can hold. Along with fixation of land ceilings, this
rule enables the government to take ownership of the additional or extra
amount of land, which in turn, is given to minor tillers or farmers with no
land.
With the help of these Reforms, the states were able to identify and take
possession of Lands exceeding the ceiling limits from the households and
redistribute them to the Landless families.
Consolidation on Land Holdings- The term consolidation referred to

the redistribution or reorganization of the fragmented Lands into one
single plot. The trend of the fragmentation of Land increased
because of the growing population and fewer work opportunities and
this fragmentation made the personal supervision and the irrigation
management tasks very difficult. Therefore, the act of Landholdings
consolidation was introduced which states that if there are few plots
of Lands of a farmer then those Lands were consolidated in one
bigger piece which was done by the process of exchanging or
purchasing.
A major problem of the agrarian structure of India is land fragmentation,

which hinders large-scale farming and production. This problem was
solved with this regulation which permitted farmers to consolidate minor
fragments of land owned by them into a singular piece of land. This
enabled tenants to carry out agricultural operations in a larger field, which
could be done by exchanging land or purchasing additional pieces.
Lands reforms constitute an important part of CBSE Class 12 Commerce

syllabus and might contribute to long-answer-type questions in final
exams like writing a short note on land reforms in India. If you are looking
for more information on the topic, land reforms in India after
independence pdf from Vedantu can help with detailed explanation on
crucial concepts. You can avail these study materials from our website, or
you can install the app from PlayStore.

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The government of independent India came up with acts and laws to

In simpler terms, Land Reforms refer to the redistribution of Lands from

Why Were the Land Reforms Introduced?

Almost all agricultural lands of India before independence were owned by

After independence in 1947, an inadequate agricultural output was

Objectives of Land Reforms

The Indian government aimed at speeding up the socio-economic

The primary objective concerned an overall renewal of law structure

These acts aimed at an equal and uniform distribution of agricultural

Abolition of intermediaries of the medieval land-ownership system in

Facilitating optimum agricultural produce with healthy and economic

Ensuring social and economic justice for previous violations of the

Uniform ownership of land would prevent exploitation of tenant

Elimination of the exploitation in the Land relations.

To increase agricultural production and infuse equality in society.

To realize the age-old goal of Land to the tiller.

Land Reform- Types

The Landlords of those Lands were Jagirdars, zamindars, etc.

Many issues were confronted in front of the government and it

Read on to get detailed descriptions on some of the most notable acts

The Land Reforms in post-independent India had various components:

Abolition of Intermediaries- The first step taken by the Indian

The primary reason of a backward agrarian economy was the presence of

Tenancy Reform- The tenancy Reform led to the introduction of

Ceilings on Landholdings- This Reform referred to the legal

This law was enacted to prevent the concentration of land ownership in a

Consolidation on Land Holdings- The term consolidation referred to

A major problem of the agrarian structure of India is land fragmentation,

Lands reforms constitute an important part of CBSE Class 12 Commerce

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