Various Objectives of Land Reforms
The main objective of the land reforms programme is to do away with the existing inequalities in the system of landholding and to increase the agricultural productivity. The Five Year Plans aimed to remove the impediments for increase in agricultural production and elimination of exploitation and social injustice within the agrarian system so as to achieve equality and providing opportunities for all sections of the rural society.
The other objectives of land reforms are abolition of intermediaries and their exploitative practices on real tillers of the land. The measures sought to enable the redistribution of lands from the hands of middlemen to the tillers themselves. Ceiling on agricultural holdings aimed to ensure that ownership of land does not get concentrated in a few hands. Tenancy reforms seek to give rights to tenants or complete abolition of tenancy.
Efforts in Land Reforms
Changing the man-land relations and the man-man relations on land has been a concern for decision-makers and people of a country. Whenever there is exploitation of landlords or the government’s failure to frame the policies, peasants and people’s movements targeted the oppressors and policy makers. The efforts in land reforms can be categorised under four heads.
- Governmental action (top-down): This is related to enactment of various laws related to land.
- Peasants or people’s movements (Bottom-up): Protest movements from disadvantaged sections. These movements have often turned militant.
- Initiatives by individuals, charismatic leaders or non-governmental organizations. Such voluntary efforts aims to bring the change through non-violent and consensus based decisions. Bhoodan and Gramdan movements are glaring examples of this.
- Based on efforts of two or more of the above three categories above.
