ABOLITION OF ZAMINDARI

&
INTRODUCTION TO UPZA & LR ACT
CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION
• WHO ARE ZAMINDARS
• WHAT IS ZAMINDARI SYSTEM
• ABOLITION OF ZAMINDARI SYSTEM
• ABOLITION UNDER UPZALR ACT
• FEATURES OF UPZALR ACT
• DEFINITIONS UNDER UPZALR ACT
• VESTING OF ESTATES
• CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION

After the Independence, the Government of India was set up with the specific
situation of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution of
India with a great disclosure of financial change and a guarantee to advance
the general government assistance of the general population. There were
issues of destitution, starvation, joblessness, broad absence of education,
misuse of mechanical and rural specialists, reinforced work, etc. India
needed to modernize its economy.
Different financial reformatory enactments were passed by the legislative
bodies at the Centre and the State level in compatibility with the objectives
of financial equity cherished in the Preamble and Directive Principles of
State Policy.
WHO ARE ZAMINDARS
A Zamindar, in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or
semiautonomous ruler of a state who accepted the suzerainty, that is,
relationship in which one state or other polity controls the foreign
policy and relations of a tributary state, of the Emperor of Hindustan. The
term means land owner in Persian. Typically hereditary, zamindars held
enormous tracts of land and control over their peasants, from whom they
reserved the right to collect tax on behalf of imperial courts or for military
purposes. A Zamindar is, basically, a landowner, especially one who leases
his land to tenant farmers.
Under the British Colonial Rule of India, the British rewarded supportive
zamindars by recognizing them as princes.
The role of the zamindar –
The role of Zamindar in Mughal administration was to collect the revenues
and taxes from the peasants that were a source of income for the Mughals.
They acted as an intermediate between the Mughals and the peasants and in
some areas the zamindars exercised a great deal of power.
 WHAT IS ZAMINDARI
SYSTEM

• Under the Zamindari System, the land revenue was collected from the
farmers by the intermediaries known as Zamindars.
• Zamindari system was started by the Imperialist East India Company in
1793.
• Lord Cornwallis entered into ‘Permanent Settlement’ with the landlords
with a view to increase land revenue. Under this arrangement, the landlords
were declared as zamindars with full proprietorship of the land.
• The Zamindars were made responsible for the collection of the rent.
• Under British colonial rule in India, the permanent settlement consolidated
what became known as the Zamindari system.
• The share of the government in the total rent collected by the zamindars
was kept at 10/11th, and the rest went to zamindars.
ABOLITION OF ZAMINDARI SYSTEM
The zamindari system was abolished during land reforms in India in 1951. The
zamindari system was mostly abolished in independent India soon after its
creation with the first amendment to the constitution of India which
amended the right to property.
A number of provinces had introduced such bills on the basis of a Zamindari
Abolition. When constitution was passed, right to property was enshrined
as fundamental right under article 19 and 31. The provinces passed the
Zamindari Abolition Acts but all these acts were challenged in the court on
account of their constitutional validity.
To secure the constitutional validity of these state acts, the parliament passed
first amendment of constitution in 1951,that is, within 15 months of
enactment of the constitution. It introduced two new articles(31A and 31B)
and a schedule(9th schedule).
The amendment basically states that the State can make laws to acquire any
estates / rights related to estates. And the courts cannot declare such law
void, on the ground that it violates fundamental rights (Article 31A).
The Acts and regulations listed in 9th Schedule of the constitution cannot be
challenged in courts on the ground that they are violating fundamental
rights (Article 31B).
The first Amendment act listed acts and regulations in 9th Schedule, all meant
for abolishing Zamindari. Therefore, Zamindars could not approach courts
against those laws.
By 1956, Zamindari abolition act was passed in many provinces. Due to
conferment of land rights, many tenants and share-croppers were able to
acquire the ownership rights over cultivated area throughout the country
due to these acts.
ABOLITION UNDER U.P. Zamindari
Abolition & Land Reform Act 1950

• Objective of UPZA & LR Act –

An Act to provide for the abolition of the Zamindari system which involves
intermediaries between the tiller of the soil and the State in Uttar Pradesh
and for the acquisition of their rights, title and interest and to reform the
law relating to land tenure consequent upon such abolition and acquisition
and to make provision for other matters connected therewith.
• Salient features of UPZA & LR Act –

1. Compensation
Ownership and land revenue related rights of the zamindars were
abolished. Lands were transferred to the tenants after the lands were
transferred to the Government. State governments gave compensation to
Zamindars as the Act was not confiscatory in nature. Compensation were
given according to Zamindar’s income. In other words compensation
formula was inversely related to Zamindar’s income during British raj.
2. Abolition of Zamindar
Abolishes of the Zamindari system which involved intermediaries between
the cultivator and the State.
3. Personal cultivation
Lands which were cultivated by the zamindar himself, were exempted
from the purview of these acts. Zamindar was permitted to keep that land.
“He who cultivates the land should be the owner.”
 4. Direct payment of land revenue
Now Farmer was made directly liable for paying land revenue to the state
government. Because Zamindar is no longer the ‘middleman’ in land
revenue hierarchy.
5. Common Land and Resources
Common Land, for example wasteland, grazing land, ponds, wells, forest
area surrounding the village. Earlier Zamindars controlled such common
land/resources and charged fees from villagers, if they wanted to use it.
The Zamindari Abolition acts transferred the ownership of such common
land/resources to Village Panchayat and forest area to Forest department.
6. Prohibition of letting
To prevent zamindar from spreading its tentacles again, tenure-holders are
prohibited from letting out the holdings. Merely letting will end the tenure
rights.
• Important Definitions (SECTION 3) –

8. "Estate" means and shall be deemed to have always meant the area included
under one entry in any of the registers described in Clause (a), (b), (c) or
(d) and in so far as it relates to a permanent tenure holder in any register
described in Clause (e) of Section 32 of the U.P. Land Revenue Act, 1901,
as it stood immediately prior to the coming into force of the Act.
Basically, Zamindari Land or any part of it.

12. "Intermediary" with reference to any estate means a proprietor, under

proprietor, sub-proprietor, thekedar, permanent lessee in Avadh and
permanent tenure-holder of such estate or part thereof.
21. “Proprietor" means as respects an estate a person owning, whether in
trust or for his own benefit, the estate and includes the heirs and
successor-in-interest of a proprietor

26. words and expression land-holder, permanent tenure-holder, thekedar,

permanent lessee in Avadh, grove-holder, rent, cess, sayar,
sir, [tenant] hereditary tenant, khudkasht, fixed-rate tenant, rent-free
grantee, exproprietory tenant, occupancy tenant, non-occupancy tenant,
sub-tenant holding and crops, not defined in this Act, and used in the
United Provinces Tenancy Act, 1939 (U.P. Act XVII of 1939), shall have
the meaning assigned to them in that Act.
PROVISIONS RELATED TO ABOLITION
OF ZAMINDARI SYSTEM
Section 4 – Vesting of estates in the states

(1) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, the State
Government may, by notification, declare that, as from a date to be
specified, all estates situate in Uttar Pradesh shall vest in the State and as
from the beginning of the date so specified (hereinafter called the date of
vesting), all such estates shall stand transferred to and vest, except as
hereinafter provided, in the State free from all encumbrances.
(2) It shall be lawful for the State Government, if it so considers necessary, to
issue, from time to time, the notification referred to in sub-section (1) in
respect only of such area or areas as may be specified and all the provisions
of subsection (1) shall be applicable to and in the case of every such
notification.
Section 27 - Intermediary entitled to receive compensation for
acquisition of his estate

Every intermediary whose rights, title or interest in any estate are acquired
under the provisions of this Act, shall be entitled to receive and be paid
compensation as hereinafter provided.

Section 28 – Interim Compensation

(1) The State Government may direct payment of interim compensation to

such extent and in such manner as may be prescribed.
Provided that if the compensation payable to an intermediary is not
determined in accordance with the provisions of this Act, before the
expiry of nine months from the date of vesting, the State Government
shall, on the application of the intermediary concerned, direct the payment
of such interim compensation.
CONCLUSION

1949 marked the gradual disintegration and abolition of the zamindari

system. In the changed socio-political situation throughout the world, the
problem received as much social and political importance as it received in
the economic field. The rapid growth of the freedom movement worked
as a force to mobilize the support of the common people. The peasant
proprietors and small land holders rallied around for issues like reduction
of revenue, irrigation charges, rent and debt burdens and return of
alienated land. The most radical slogan of this period was 'Abolition of
Zamindar’. The Government determined to give top priority for land
reforms and improvement in agriculture. With the achievement of
independence and a democratic set-up, the Government abolished the
Zamindari system in total and brought the peasants under the direct
control of the state administration. Thus the last vestiges of feudalism
were wiped off.