ZAMINDARI ABOLITION ACT-1950

INDIA CONTEXT

BY- VISHAKHA MAHICHA

 INTRODUCTION

 Even in contemporary India, the Agriculture sector employs more than 50% of the total workforce
and has always been the paramount source of income and livelihood in India.
 Even the East India Company established themselves in our country targeted the agricultural sector
by raising tax every year on land to make as much as money possible.
 In the course of the same, the Permanent Settlement of Bengal or Istamari Settlement agreement
was brought into effect in 1793 under Lord Corn Wallis’s rule where the zamindars use to collect tax
from the peasants and then pay it to the state.
 Apart from the Permanent Settlement, other kinds of land revenue systems also existed, which
were the Ryotwari and the Mahalwari systems which I’d be discussing the research paper.
 Further, the research paper provides comprehensive research on the history of the Zamindari
system in India and the need for its abolition. A crucial topic discussed in the paper is the salient
features of the Zamindari Abolition Act, 1950.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. Do the provisions of the Zamindari Abolition Act, 1950 are in accord with and fulfil
the right to adequate means of livelihood for all citizens?

2. Whether the Zamindari Abolition Act, 1950 succeeded in bringing any significant
change in the plight conditions of the poor farmers?
 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY OF ZAMINDARI
SYSTEM

 Ancient Era- Land is a highly valuable and marketable commodity and thus the land
was considered as public property and not individual property, therefore, everyone
has equal rights over it.
 Other Western scholars Sir George Campbell and Baden Powell have also confirmed
that purchasing of land or individualization of land was not possible.
 From 3000 BC to 2000 BC, the idea of land ‘ownership’ began to establish by the
Shang Dynasty and the Egyptian pharaohs
 Later, the rise of different empires led to the first land laws, promulgated at the level
of the emperor. The Hammurabi Code,
 Moreover, there are no such strong evidences of taxation on land in the ancient
period.
 Medieval Era- No significant changes in the medieval land laws and rights but the ownership of land was
transferred to the king or the emperors of the village.
 There was imposed tax on the land called Bhumikar (land tax) used to collected by the zamindars. Under
the Mughal Empire, the practice of the Zamindari system became more prevalent and more complex.
 Earlier where only the chieftains were considered as the head, Mughals reduced the status of chieftains
and created intermediatory for better functioning.
 Though, the classification wasn’t exclusive, there were broadly three sub categories (a) the chieftains-
were the highest in the classification and were assigned to collect the revenue of the area under their
dominion, .
 (b) the intermediatory zamindars- as suggested by their title intermediatory, their work was to collect
the revenue from the primary zamindars and pay it to the chieftains, they were also responsible to
maintain law and order in the province.
 (c) the primary zamindars- comprised of the peasants-proprietors carrying cultivation themselves or
with the hired labours. They were also expected to collect the revenue from the peasants and to deposit to the
State.
 Though the functioning was running smoothly, the innumerable conflicts between the Zamindars and
the State over the land revenue system and the agrarian patterns led to clashes and gravely affected
the functioning of the administration of the State.
 By the mid-seventeenth century, the increased pressure and death of Aurangzeb made the central
government too weak to maintain parity between the conflicting interests and bring about any
changes..
 British Era- After Aurangzeb’s death, the rights of the farmers were gravely exploited as the state
stopped interfering with the land revenue system thereby, small farmers began to work under
powerful and rich landowners for protection which marked the seedlings of the Zamindari System in
the modern era.
 KINDS OF LAND REVENUE SYSTEMS IN PRE-INDEPENDENT
INDIA

 Being the substantial source of income for the British government, the land revenue system witnessed
various changes over centuries which strengthened the East India Company, slowed down the nation’s
economy. Several changes in the land revenue systems,, agricultural debt, supplying and marketing were
sponsored by the British government to flourish their administration.
 THE ZAMINDARI SYSTEM- Adapted from the Mughal Empire, Zamindari System was the first type of land
revenue introduced in 1973 under Lord Cornwallis rule where Zamindars were the absolute owners of the
land were supposed to collect the fixed land revenue.
 The only difference between the Mughal Empire Zamindars and the British empire Zamindars that the
Mughal Zamindars were only responsible for collection of revenue but the British Zamindars were granted
ownership rights along with the collection of land revenue.
 however, with the increasing revolts and decrease in the profit because of the FIXED revenue, British
government didn’t extend the settlement to the whole nation.
 THE RYOTWARI SYSTEM- Introduced in 1820 by Sir Thomas Munro, this system handed over the ownership rights to
the cultivators or the peasants with the absolute rights to either use, sell or mortgage the land.
 This system proved advantageous to the peasants. However, the high land tax rates left peasants with no choice but to
take loans from Zamindars who further oppressed them with high interest rates.
 THE MAHALWARI SYSTEM- Lord William Benedict introduced this system in 1822 with mixed provisions of both the
Zamindari sys and Ryotwari Sys.
 The land was divided into a large fiscal unit called Mahal, each constituting one or more villages represented by the
village head or lambardar responsible for keeping the land records and collection of the land revenue.
 Unfortunately, the system didn’t work out well as the settlement officers turned corrupt and began collecting the tax at
their own discretion leaving the British government discontent and miserable.
 Some other minor systems were also implemented- Taluqdari System and Malguzari System,

Taluqdars were the aristocrats possessing hereditary lands, responsible for collecting taxes from small
farmers and pay it to the Zamindars. Under Malguzari System, the powerful hereditary families, were
appointed to collect the land revenue.

 While there are many differences among these systems, the one thing common is the high revenue

rate which make it very difficult for small peasants to pay revenues.

 The agriculture sector deteriorated leading to a series of famines in nineteenth century which further

gave rise to peasant revolts for the abolition of Zamindari.

STEPS TOWARD ABOLITION OF ZAMINDARI SYSTEM

 Evidently, no attention was paid to the farmers’ interests while framing the land revenue settlements
resulting in impoverishment and oppression.
 Growing indebtedness among the peasantry class and consequent mortgage had considerably worsened
agrarian relations resulting in protests against Zamindari system. The steps towards abolition of the
Zamindari System can be study in two phases:
 Pre-Independence: The early evidences of revolts against Zamindari System and agrarian oppression
date back to 1875, where farmers attacked the Zamindars and moneylender, looted the account books
and set an arson.
 This created a state of great disorder and disturbance. To undermine the riots, the Government of India
set up the Deccan Riots Commission to propose policy changes.
 Eventually, Deccan Agriculturist Relief Act (DARA) was passed in 1879 to protect the debtor. It was
probably the first Act which provided relief to the farmers and rights to them.
 The Act entitled the judge to enquire or investigate the history of the transactions between both of the
parties.
 Another provision permitted the Court that it could lower the interest rest decided by the parties if it
sounds “unreasonable”.
 The next relief provided by the Act was that it mandated the proper documentation and registration of
agreements, receipts of transactions.
 However, the provisions didn’t turn out to be as effective and helpful as it seemed. The exploitation
continued and the Zamindars kept charging high interest rates to the farmers.
 The Malabar Tenancy Act passed in 1929 is one of the landmark legislations in this regard.
 Later, Bhopal State Land Revenue Act was enacted in 1932 with broad objectives of ensuring proper
implementation of land reforms and providing land to the poor and needy farmers.
 Post-Independence: After India got independent, among all the key issues which had to be
dealt with, Zamindari System was a major one as it was resulting into increasing poverty.
 Further, journalists and politicians also agreed that Zamindari System is one of the biggest
hinderance in the development of Indian economy..
 Moreover, abolishment of the Zamindari System was necessary not only because of moral
viewpoint of exploited farmers but also from the legal perspective too as their fundamental
rights were gravely violated.
 Article 23 of the Indian Constitution prohibits the practice of the Begar system which assets
any form of labor without payment would be illegal, unconstitutional. However, the
Zamindari itself forced the farmers to provide free labor.
 Article 38 of the Indian Constitution strives to curtail the inequality in income. Now, Under the

Zamindari System, the Zamindars had total control over peasants and clearly denied them the
opportunities because of their unequal status.
 Article 39 of the Indian Constitution guarantees the right to adequate resources for livelihood. But the
Zamindars forcibly control lakes, wells, grazing lands and other public resources and didn’t allow free
access to the peasants.
 This is the reason why the first year plan and second year plan distinctly focused on the interests of
the intermediaries and perceived the land ownership
 Therefore, in 1946 when the Congress Cabinet was formed, a bill to abolish all kinds of the Zamindari
System and reinstate the direct link between the farmers and state was introduced which was passed
in 1950
 ZAMINDARI ABOLITION ACT,1950- A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
 The Zamindari Abolition Act, 1950 was the first crucial step taken towards land reforms and
brought favourable changes in the land revenue system.
 The salient provisions of the Act was that the proprietary rights were acquired from the Zamindars
and the acquired land was distributed among the poor peasants and farmers.
 The said provisions were challenged by the Zamindars in the court on the account of the violation
of their Fundamental Right to Property.
 Therefore, to protect the interests of Zamindars, the first Amendment Act was enacted inserting
Art. 31B- under which all the Zamindars were provided immunity for the confiscated property.
 However, even after the Act was eventually implemented, it failed to bring about any significant
improvement as the discontented Zamindars refused to co-operate with the authorities like
refusing to submit the land records and the revenue details to the government.
 There was a need of few more laws in the meantime with the proper synchronisation. For example-
there was an urgency of tenancy laws ensuring proprietary rights of the acquired land from the
Zamindars to tenants at the same time.
 Another much needed law was Ceiling law to set a standard on how much land an individual could hold
as the big farmers continued to acquire lands from the poor farmers
 However, it was noticed that even after when the other Acts were passed, no significant change
occurred and the situation almost remained the same.
 When a law is passed in public interest, it certainly causes conflicts of interests, however, its proper
implementation can prevent this kind of situation and bring a radical change.
 Had the Acts been properly implemented, the poor farmers wouldn’t have been exploited and the
Zamindars were also not left discontented and would’ve benefitted the Indian economy.