1. Where was the need for land reforms in India?

Ans: In India, for centuries, agriculture has remained in a stagnant condition without progress
whatsoever. The sown area per head was declining and the productivity decreasing since 1901. The
agricultural holding was getting divided and subdivided and fragmented because of the pressure of
population. The tillers of the soil were getting frustrated because they did not have security on their
farms and they were forced to pay high rents to the landlords. When the Zamindari system of land
tenure was prevalent, the landlords were mere rent-receivers and did nothing towards productivity of
the land held by their tenants. The pressure of population and the consequent demand for cultivate
land helped the Zamindars to increase the rent progressively and this also gave incentive to the growth
of sub-infeudation and intermediary interests between the cultivator tenant and the Zamindar. All this
meant that the enormous amount of gross rent paid by the cultivator was shared by the Zamindar and
the middlemen and with a fixed share by the State. The landlords grew richer, the intermediaries
continued to flourish, the State was deprived of its share of legitimate increase in revenue and the
cultivating tenant lived a ‘hand to mouth existence’. The agricultural sector was completely
impoverished and the term ‘poverty’ was almost synonymous with rural India and that too with
agriculture.
During the days of the British rule, the poverty of the farmer was ascribed to the apathetic
nature of the alien rule and the consequent tenurial system. Economists and politicians of those days
categorically pointed out that the poverty of the farmer was due to the pattern of cultivation, i.e., the
system of tenancy and absentee landlordism. They attacked the Zamindari system which stood in the
way of land reforms. It was concluded that if the cultivators owned the land, poverty could be wiped
out.
2. What are the three types of land reforms in India?
Ans: During the British Period there were three types of land tenures, viz., (1) Zamindari system,
(2) Ryotwari system and (3) Mahalwari system.
(1) Zamindari system:
During the British period, it was Lord Cornwallis, in 1793, who perfected the genuine
zamindari system through the scheme called ‘Permanent Revenue Settlement’. The
permanent settlement declared the landlords, known as zamindars, as full proprietors of
large areas of land. The permanent settlement fixed land revenue in perpetuity. The
demand was fixed at 10/11 of the rental the rest 1/11 being the Zamindar’s remuneration.
With the absolute property rights over their estates, the tillers of the soil,i.e., tenants
became serfs. Thus, the revenue collectors were raised to the status of land owners and
the princes acting as West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, U.P., M.P., and some northern districts
of Madras (now part of Andhra Pradesh). The land owners were called by different names
as ‘Zamindars’ in Bengal and Madras; ‘Taluqdars in Agra; and ‘Malguzars’ in Central
India.
(2)Ryotwari System:Under the Ryotwari system, every registered holder of land is
recognised as its proprietor and pays the revenue direct to the government. He can sell,
mortgage, or do anything with his land. He cannot ejected by Government so long as he
pays the fixed assessment. This kind of peasant-proprietorship system was introduced in
the districts of southern Madras in 1792, by Thomas Munroe. Later on, this system was
extended to Bombay, Bihar, Mysore, Hyderbad, Assam, Madhya Bharat, etc.

The advantage of the Ryotwari system is that the cultivator is in direct relation with the
Government. There are no intermediaries as in the Zamindari system. But these
advantages have tended to disappear due to the possession of large land-holdings in the
hands of non-agriculturists, and consequently, the increase in the number of landless

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 labourers. According to this system, the ryot is at liberty to sub-let his land and can enjoy
a permanent right of tenancy so long as he pays the land revenue. Hence, some elements
of Zamindari tenure did appear in this subject too.

(3) Mahalwari system:

This system was introduced by William Bentick in Agra and Oudh which was later extended
to Punjab and M.P. In this system, the land was held jointly by landlords and severally
responsible for the land revenue. Except the joint nature of ownership and payment of tax to
the government, the cultivation was done by tenants closely resembling ryotawari system.

These three systems, viz., Zamindari, Ryotwari, Mahalwari underwent lot of transformation
during the course of 150 years and this led to inter-mixing of characteristics which by and
large tended towards Zamindari system. “If Lord Conrwallis and Sir Thomas Munroe, the
respective protagonists of Zamindari and Ryotwari, were to look at the system in 1940, they
would barely recognize them as such”. Evils of Zamindari system and absentee landlordism
percolated all the tenurial systems in India. The inter-mixing of various systems, and absence
of proper revenue records made it difficult to know the rentier class.

3. Discuss whether Indian economy is developed or not.

Ans: Introduction:During the last six decades a number of significant changes have taken
place in the Indian Economy. These changes point to the fact that the Indian Economy should
not be classified along with other underdeveloped countries. It should rather be called rapidly
emerging developing economy. India’s economy became the world’s fastest growing major
economy in the last quarter of 2014,

India as Rapidly Emerging Developing Economy:

(1) Sustained Growth: Economy of India is the seventh-largest economy in the

world measured by nominal GDP and the third-largest by purchasing power parity
(2) Self-reliance and Minimal Dependence: India has sought to control and regulate
the impact of the international environment on its domestic economic and political
choice. It has done so successfully enough to minimising the dependency
constraints that afflict many under developed countries.
(3) Agricultural Transformation: Agriculture has transformed from subsistence to
market-oriented, from traditional to technology oriented, from extensive to
intensive, from mono-crop to multi-crop and from open cultivation to controlled-
cultivation and has ushered in a rainbow of revolutions.
(4) Industrial Change: India has emerged as a leading industrialised country, it has
fairly high manufacturing base(61.7 on scale of 1-100). The Indian auto mobile
industry is one of the largest in the world with an annual production of 21.48
million vehicles (mostly two and three wheelers) in FY 2013-14.
(5) Change in Foreign Trade: India’s Foreign Trade, presently, is highly diversified
and had recorded changes of far-reaching importance.

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 (6) Novelties of Indian Dual Economy: Although the pattern of economic
development in India during the post independence period essentially resembles a
dual economic model.
(7) Strong Fundamentals: Another important thing about the Indian developmental
experience is the ability built up over the years to weather crisis. There are very
instance in the last five and a-half decades when as economic crisis has led to an
about-turn in economic policy.
(8) Fast Expanding Infrastructure: (i) Fast development in transport system and
Power system (ii) India’s communications systems has developed at a greater
speed. And (iii) In the sphere of health and educational also substantial progress
has been achieved.
(9) Expansion of Science and Technology: There s a large scale expansion of
science and technology in India including nuclear power, a high technology area
requiring great precision and knowledge.
(10) Social Change: The post-independence period has also seen some far-
reaching changes in the legality of the caste system

All the above, in short, help to characterise India as a rapidly emerging

economy’, different from an undeveloped economy.

Conclusion:

The long-term growth prospective of the Indian economy is positive due to its young
population, corresponding low dependency ratio, healthy savings and investment rates, and
increasing integration into the global economy. The Indian economy has the potential to
become the world’s 3rd-largest economy by the next decade, and one of the largest economies
by mid-century.

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