Zamindari Abolition And Its Impact On Agrarian Structure In Uttarakhand

Dhruv Malik, B.A. LL.B. (H.), Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

Dr. Ramakant Tripathi, Assistant Professor, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

ABSTRACT

The article discusses the socio-economic effect of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act of 1950 on the agrarian structure of Uttarakhand, an Indian state with distinct geographical and socio-cultural features. In the pre-statehood era (1947-2000), the region, formerly known as Uttaranchal and Uttarakhand, was part of Uttar Pradesh. The rural and agrarian economy in Uttarakhand was dominated by relationships of zamindari – where landowners would collect rents from tenants. This Act dismantled such feudal structures, vested land ownership with the actual tillers, and sought to correct decades of skewed ownership to increase agricultural production and promote social justice. All of these changes remade the geography of the countryside, expanding the number of small landholdings and reducing the number of landless labourers. While there were challenges and problems in the resolution of zamindari titles, including a certain degree of bureaucratic incompetence and corruption that undermined, in places, the desired purpose of the reform, in general the reforms were a stark example of the new capacities of the Indian state to change. Post-2000, reforms were also amended at the state level to make them more suited to the specific conditions of Uttarakhand, marked by its mountain geography and predominantly rural economy.

Keywords: Zamindari Abolition, Agrarian Structure, Land Reforms, Uttarakhand, Socioeconomic Impact, Land Ownership, Agricultural Productivity, Rural Economy