A significant focus of land reforms in India after independence was on:
- AOption (a)
Promoting large-scale commercial farming
- BOption (b)
Consolidation of small and fragmented landholdings
- COption (c)
Abolition of intermediaries like zamindars
- DOption (d)
Developing extensive irrigation facilities across all regions
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Correct answer
Abolition of intermediaries like zamindars
Why this answer is correct
The correct answer is Abolition of intermediaries like zamindars.
Key Points
- Immediately after independence, the primary objective of land reforms was to eliminate the exploitative semi-feudal agrarian structure inherited from the British Raj, specifically the Zamindari system.
- The Abolition of Intermediaries targeted layers of middlemen such as Zamindars, Jagirdars, and Inamdars who collected exorbitant rents from peasants without contributing to agricultural productivity.
- This reform was the most successful component of the First Five-Year Plan, bringing nearly 20 million tenants into a direct relationship with the state and granting them ownership rights.
- Legislation like the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition Act (1950) served as a model for other states to ensure social justice and equitable distribution of resources in rural India.
- By removing these intermediaries, the government aimed to incentivize the actual tillers of the soil to invest in their land, thereby increasing national food security and productivity.
Additional Information
- Major Components of Land Reforms:
- Tenancy Reforms: These involved three key aspects: regulation of rent (capped at 20% to 25% of gross produce), security of tenure, and granting ownership rights to tenants.
- Ceiling on Land Holdings: This policy fixed the maximum size of land an individual or family could own. Surplus land was redistributed to landless laborers and small-scale farmers.
- Consolidation of Holdings: Also known as Chakbandi, it aimed to merge fragmented and scattered land plots into a single compact block to improve farming efficiency and reduce operational costs.
- Bhoodan and Gramdan Movements: Led by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1951, these were voluntary land reform movements encouraging wealthy landowners to donate land to the poor.
- Constitutional Status: Land reform is a State Subject under the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution, meaning individual state legislatures are responsible for enacting these laws.




