Politics of Land Reforms in India: A Case Study of Land Legislation in Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Ever since India attained independence, land reforms have occupied a fairly high place in its order of priorities. Keeping in view the type of agrarian structure inherited from the British, the first five year plan emphasized the abolition of big landed estates (zamindari and jagidari), bringing the tiller of the soil nearer to the state by ending the institution of intermediary lessees, and providing security of tenure to the tenants of the landowners. The second and the third plans were in the nature of a follow-up action which had been unduly delayed partly because of the inadequate and poorly organized administrative machinery needed to implement the reform measures and partly because of the prolonged legal battle waged by the landed gentry in order to recover their lost estates. The fourth plan, coming in the wake of serious drought and the resultant famine conditions, renewed the emphasis on land reforms. Its main thrust was toward fixing the ceiling limit for individual holdings, redistributing surplus land (in excess of the ceiling limit) among the landless, and protecting the tenants' rights. It was in the context of that renewed determination that most of the state governments either modified their existing land laws or enacted new ones, thereby making an effort to solve the problem. But in retrospect, we find that little progress was made. Lamenting the governments' poor performance, the Sixth Five Year Plan (Draft Document)