Abolition of Zamindari in India

The major objective of land reforms in free India was to abolish intermediaries and to bring
changes in the revenue system that would be favourable to cultivators. The process of
abolition of Zamindari, Ryotwari etc. system had started even before the constitution of India
came into effect.

Position of the intermediaries at the time of independence

On the eve of the independence, there were two extremes in India. On one extreme, there
were landless labourers and tenants-at-will while on the other end, there were big landlords
having huge estates. However, various tenancy systems had undergone vast transformation in
150 years of their practice. The coexistence of Zamindari, Mahalwari and Ryotwari led to
intermixing of their characteristics, which led to drastic problems at the time of enactment of
Zamindari abolition laws. The intermixing of the various systems made it difficult to know
who was the rentier. This problem was made further complex due to land sub-letting,
absentee landlords, absence of proper records etc. The most harassing feature was absence of
proper revenue records which made the task of abolition of intermediaries very difficult.
Thus, there was a need felt for complete census of land holdings.
Zamindari Abolition Acts
The first important agrarian reform after independence was the abolition of the Zamindari
system. The process of passing Zamindari abolition bills had started even when the
constitution of India was not enacted. A number of provinces such as United Provinces (UP),
Central Provinces, Bihar, Madras, Assam, Bombay had introduced such bills on the basis of a
Zamindari Abolition committee, chaired by G.B. Pant. However, there was a widespread
concern that he Zamindars would make every effort to cause delay in acquisition of their
lands. 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. The supreme court
upheld the rights of Zamindars. To secure the constitutional validity of these state acts, the
parliament passed first amendment (1951) within 15 months of enactment of the constitution
and second amendment in 1955. By 1956, Zamindari abolition act was passed in many
provinces. Due to conferment of land rights, around 30 lakh tenants and share-croppers were
able to acquire the ownership rights over a total cultivated area of 62 lakh acres throughout
the country due to these acts. On the other hand, the compensation paid to Zamindars was
generally small and varied from state to states.

CONCLUSION
The main motive of these land reforms is to benefit the farmers and the
land cultivators at the micro level. The Government realised that if these
peasants are not exploited they would work hard and willingly on their
lands. The Government need to safeguard their interests and give them
financial support. And if the cultivators were made the proprietors, they
could put in their best to increase investment so as to cultivate their lands
to the maximum.

Another important benefit of land reform was on a macro level to boost the
agricultural output of the country, without any major investment of capital.
India struggled with massive famines in the past and could not manage to
have sufficient production for survival. With these cost efficient land
reforms, India could manage to give a boost to its agricultural production. If
the farmer has enough grains to sustain his family he would sell the extra
grains in the market, and this would in turn help the national economy.

These land reforms were a way to improve close interaction between the
peasants and the government. During the pre-independence era, these
farmers were oppressed and hence became helpless and powerless.
These reforms helped unblock the communication between the government
and the peasants. They both now work in tandem to develop the
agricultural sector of our economy.

The land reforms were also one of the important goals of the five-year plan.
This provided social justice to the crores of peasants in the country.  It
ensured that the peasants gained from their hard work and helped in
promoting equality of wealth distribution in the society.