Land Reforms Ordinance
Encyclopedia
Due to the ancient land relations and taxation and regulation under the British Raj
, at the time of independence, India inherited a semi-feudal agrarian system, with ownership of land concentrated in the hands of a few individual landlords. Since independence, there has been voluntary and state initiated/mediated land reforms in several states. The most notable and successful example of land reforms are in the states of West Bengal
and Kerala
. The Land Reforms Ordinance was a law in the state of Kerala
, India
under the E. M. S. Namboodiripad
government limiting the amount of land one person could own.
The EMS government
was the first communist state government popularly elected to power in India
, in the southern state of Kerala
. Soon after taking its oath of office, the government introduced the controversial Land Reforms Ordinance, which was later made into an act. This, along with an Education Bill
, raised a massive uproar from the landlord classes. The popular slogan for the radical socialists was "the land for tillers", which sent shockwaves through the landlord classes in the country. The ordinance set an absolute ceiling on the amount of land a family could own. The tenants and hut dwellers received a claim in the excess land, on which they had worked for centuries under the feudal system. In addition, the law ensured fixity of tenure and protection from eviction. These ground-breaking measures caused the premature death of the state government, as the central government, under Nehru, used article 356
to dismiss it, alleging the breakdown of law and order. The land reforms in Kerala imparted drastic changes to the political, economic and social outlook.
Different types of feudal relations existed in Travancore-Cochin and Malabar at the time of
the formation of the state. The landless farmers and those who were evicted from their land wanted to get their grievances redressed. The clamour for changes gathered strength. The government which came to power in 1957 introduced the Land Reforms Bill in the Legislative Assembly. The Agrarian Relations Bill introduced in 1958 was passed with minor amendments. The legislature passed subsequent land reform bills in 1960, 1963, 1964, and 1969. But the historical land reform act, which put an end to the feudal system and ensured the rights of the tenants on land, came into force on 1st January, 1970. However, cash crop plantations had been exempted from its purview.
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, at the time of independence, India inherited a semi-feudal agrarian system, with ownership of land concentrated in the hands of a few individual landlords. Since independence, there has been voluntary and state initiated/mediated land reforms in several states. The most notable and successful example of land reforms are in the states of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
and Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. The Land Reforms Ordinance was a law in the state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
under the E. M. S. Namboodiripad
E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad, , popularly known as EMS, was an Indian Communist leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala. As the first non-Congress chief minister in independent India, he became the leader of the first democratically elected communist government in the world...
government limiting the amount of land one person could own.
The EMS government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
was the first communist state government popularly elected to power in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in the southern state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. Soon after taking its oath of office, the government introduced the controversial Land Reforms Ordinance, which was later made into an act. This, along with an Education Bill
Education Bill
The Education Bill was introduced in the Kerala assembly by Prof. Joseph Mundasseri, the then education minister for the first elected Communist Party of India government...
, raised a massive uproar from the landlord classes. The popular slogan for the radical socialists was "the land for tillers", which sent shockwaves through the landlord classes in the country. The ordinance set an absolute ceiling on the amount of land a family could own. The tenants and hut dwellers received a claim in the excess land, on which they had worked for centuries under the feudal system. In addition, the law ensured fixity of tenure and protection from eviction. These ground-breaking measures caused the premature death of the state government, as the central government, under Nehru, used article 356
President's rule
President's rule is the term used in India when a state legislature is dissolved or suspended and the state is placed under direct federal rule...
to dismiss it, alleging the breakdown of law and order. The land reforms in Kerala imparted drastic changes to the political, economic and social outlook.
Different types of feudal relations existed in Travancore-Cochin and Malabar at the time of
the formation of the state. The landless farmers and those who were evicted from their land wanted to get their grievances redressed. The clamour for changes gathered strength. The government which came to power in 1957 introduced the Land Reforms Bill in the Legislative Assembly. The Agrarian Relations Bill introduced in 1958 was passed with minor amendments. The legislature passed subsequent land reform bills in 1960, 1963, 1964, and 1969. But the historical land reform act, which put an end to the feudal system and ensured the rights of the tenants on land, came into force on 1st January, 1970. However, cash crop plantations had been exempted from its purview.
Main objectives of land reform acts
- To bestow on tenents ownership of a minimum of ten cents of land
- To end the old feudal relations by legitimizing the right of real peasants to own the land they cultivate
- To introduce land ceiling and distribute excess land among the landless agricultural laborers
- To abolish exploitation and inequalities in the agrarian sector
- To ensure the consistent progress and transformation of society
- To achieve economic development and modernization
- To end the era of feudalismIndian feudalismFeudalism was a social system of medieval European origin, according to which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a...
Impact of the land reform acts on the ownership of land
- Leasing of land became unlawful.
- The Jenmis who lived by collecting lease became extinct.
- The lease holders were given ownership of the land.
- A few big farmers who had cultivated on the leased lands also became owners of that land.
- Land owners sold their excess land.
- Lakhs of people got dwelling places of their own.