Land Tenure System

Land Tenure Systems
Land Tenure – Meaning:
Land tenure refers to the way in which land is held by an

individual from the Government. It shows the relationships
between the land holder and the State. The absolute ownership of
land rests with the Government. Government gives proprietary
rights to individuals or communities. Thus, whom we call a land
owner, is in that sense is the proprietor of that land and he has to
pay land renew for that.
History of Land Tenures in India:
In ancient times, the State of India claimed a share of the

produce of the land from the cultivator. The laws of Manu
mention one sixth of the gross produce at the legitimate share of
the King. During the war and other emergencies, it was increased
to one fourth.
The institute set up by Timur represented the first systematic

attempt in the direction of converting the State’s share of the
produce into money. Sher-shah made some improvement.
However, it remained incomplete due to his short reign.
The most famous settlement was made under Akbar by his able
Finance Minister, Todarmal. While fixing the revenue, scientific
and detailed investigation was made to assess the taxable
capacity of different soils. Land was carefully measured and
1
divided into four classes representing different grades of fertility.
The Government’s share was fixed as one-third of the gross
produce. Thus, Mughals did not introduce any fundamental
changes in the ancient revenue system but put a coherant system
in place of customary and unwritten usages of the Hindu
administration.
Malik Amber of Ahmednager made similar improvements in the

Deccan. He fixed one-third of the gross value of produce as the
revenue. Maratha rulers continued the system. They fixed
`Kamal’ or the maximum rates for the best lands. The
assessment was not permanent in majority of the cases.
However, `Miras’ tenure was subject to the payment of fixed
assessment.
In the declining days of Mughal Empire, the control over the

revenue officials became weak. The flow of income started
declining. So, the system called ‘revenue farming’ was introduced
in Bengal in the reign of Farukhsiyer (1713-19). Under this
system, the revenue farmer paid the Government nine-tenth of
the whole collection and kept the rest as his collection charges.
However, in the later period, the right of collecting land revenue
for a pargana or a district was sold by public auction to the
highest bidders. Due to this, the exploitation of the cultivators
started. The revenue farmers became more dominant. This
revenue farming system which started during the Mughal rule in
Bengal was soon extended to other parts of the country.
2
In Deccan, Nana Fadanis, in the later part of the 18th Century,
had introduced a revenue system which was very efficient and
equitable. It was universally recognised.
The revenue farming system even came to the Deccan. In

Konkan, the Khots who were earlier revenue farmers acquired
landlord rights. In United Provinces and in Punjab revenue
farmers succeeded in acquiring certain overlord rights.
The disorders in the revenue administration resulted in many

complexities of land tenures and rights.
Land Tenures under British Rule:
Under British Rule, there were three main types of land tenure
systems in India. They were Zamindars, Mahalwari and
Rayatwari.
i. Zamindari: This system was introduced by Lord

Cornwallis in Bengal in 1973. Under this system, the lands
of a village or few villages was held by one person or few
joint owners who were responsible for payment of land
revenue to the Government. There used to be number of
intermediaries between the Zamindars and the actual tillers
of the soil. The system took were various forms such as
Zamindari, Jagirdari, Inamdari, etc. In many cases revenue
collectors were raised to the status of land owners. This
system was introduced in many parts of the country. In this
system, tillers of the soil were exploited by way of
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exhorbitant rents. There were no incentives for them to
improve the land or to use better cultivation practices. There
were many other social evils of the system. It is said that
the British introduced Zamindari system to achieve two
objectives. First, it helped in regular collection of land
revenue from a few persons i.e. Zamindars. Secondly, it
created a class of people who would remain loyal to the
British ruler in the country.
ii. Mahalwari: The Regulation IX of 1833, which was passed

during the period of Lord William Bentick, was the basis of
Mahalwari System. Under this system, the village lands were
held jointly by the village communities, the members of
which were jointly and severally responsible for the payment
of land revenue. Land revenue was fixed for the whole
village and the village headman (Lumberdar) collected it for
which he received ‘Panchatra’ i.e. 5 per cent as commission.
iii. Rayatwari: It was introduced by Sir Thomas Munro first

in Madras state and then in Bombay State. In this system,
there was a direct relationship between Government and the
tenant or Rayat i.e. individual land holder. Every registered
holder was recognised as its proprietor and he could sell or
transfer the land. He was assured of permanent tenure as
long as he paid the land revenue. The land holder was also
allowed to sublet his land. It was a better system as
4
compared to Zamindari or Mahalwari and similar other forms
of tenure.
Though we have discussed the above three main systems of land

tenure, there was lot of intermixing of characteristics of these
systems. It is said that these three systems gravitated towards
the tendencies of the Zamindari system. The Mahalwari system in
states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh subletting and rock
renting became common. It became common even in the
Rayatwari areas. There was no proper revenue record. This was
the situation which prevailed at the time of independence.
Post-independence Period:
Our leaders had thought about the need for land reforms even
prior to independence. For instance, the Agrarian Reforms
Committee under Shri J.C.Kumarappa had given the guidelines
for the formulation of land reform policies in the independent
India. The committee recommended that
i. all intermediary interest should be abolished and land

should belong to the tiller;
ii. leasing of land should be prohibited except in case of

widows, minors and other disabled persons.
iii. All the tenants who had been cultivating land for a
period of 6 years should be granted occupancy rights
5
iv. The tenants should have the right to purchase the
holdings at reasonable price to be determined by the
land tribunal;
v. The agrarian economy should provide an opportunity

for the development of the farmers.
Abolition of Zaminari and Intermediaries Acts;
India’s First Five year plan has clearly mentioned the land policy
and the specific land reform measures to be undertaken. Most of
the states passed the legislations for abolition of zamindari and
similar exploitative land tenure systems. The first act in this
respect was passed in Madras in 1948. The other states followed
it. Now land tenure systems like Zamindari, Mahalwari, Jagir,
Inam, etc. are abolished in all the states in the country.
It has been said that in implementation of land reforms, this first

and the important step of abolition of zaminari was completed
peacefully.
As a result of abolition of Zaminari and intermediaries, about 26

lakh intermediaries and 20 lakh tenants got proprietory rights of
lands i.e. they became the land owners. This has resulted in
improving their economic and social conditions. The land revenue
income of the states also increased.
Tenancy reforms:
6
Tenancy refers to the relation between the land holder (owner)
and the actual tiller of the soil. Many of the land owners did not
cultivate their lands personally but gave it to some tiller and took
rent for that. They were absentee landlords. The tenancy
prevailed in all forms of land tenure systems including Rayatwari
system. The main reason was the increase in the population of
landless labourers. In 1951, of the total families dependent on
agriculture, as many as 23.6 per cent families belonged to the
tenant class. The National Sample Survey (8th round) indicated
that the lands leased out varied from 11 per cent to 26 per cent
of the total, in different states. The tenants were exploited by the
land owners by way of heavy rents (50 per cent or even 2/3rd of
the produce). There was no protection of tenure (evictions on
minor pretexts). Thus, there were no incentives for tenants to
make land improvements or to increase production. This
necessitated enacting the legislation for tenancy reforms.
Tenancy Acts were passed in most of the States, they provided
for
i. regulation of rents
ii. security of tenure, and
iii. confirment of ownership on tenants.
Bombay State promptly enacted the legislation as early as in

1950. As regards the regulation of rents, different states fixed
different rates. For instance, in Bombay (Maharashtra), Gujarat
7
and Rajasthan, one-sixth of the grass produce has been fixed as
the maximum rent; while in Punjab rent fixed is one-third of the
produce.
It was found that there were large scale evictions of tenants on

the plea of resumption for personal cultivation.
As reported in the draft fourth five year plan, as a result of

tenancy legislations in India, 3 million tenants or share croppers
became the land owners. Uttar Pradesh was in the forefront in
this respect. The next state in order is Maharashtra where 13.56
lakh tenants got the ownership rights of about 32 lakh hectares of
land by September, 1992.
Protection of tenants and regulation of rent is the first step in the

tenancy reforms. The ultimate object of the reform is "land to the
tiller". The Tenancy Acts have been moved in that direction.
It could be said that the land reform measures adopted by the

States soon after independence, provided a sound basis for
agricultural developments that took place in the country in the
later period.

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Land Tenure Systems

Land Tenure – Meaning:

Land tenure refers to the way in which land is held by an

History of Land Tenures in India:

In ancient times, the State of India claimed a share of the

The institute set up by Timur represented the first systematic

Malik Amber of Ahmednager made similar improvements in the

In the declining days of Mughal Empire, the control over the

The revenue farming system even came to the Deccan. In

The disorders in the revenue administration resulted in many

Land Tenures under British Rule:

i. Zamindari: This system was introduced by Lord

ii. Mahalwari: The Regulation IX of 1833, which was passed

iii. Rayatwari: It was introduced by Sir Thomas Munro first

Though we have discussed the above three main systems of land

i. all intermediary interest should be abolished and land

ii. leasing of land should be prohibited except in case of

v. The agrarian economy should provide an opportunity

Abolition of Zaminari and Intermediaries Acts;

It has been said that in implementation of land reforms, this first

As a result of abolition of Zaminari and intermediaries, about 26

ii. security of tenure, and

iii. confirment of ownership on tenants.

Bombay State promptly enacted the legislation as early as in

It was found that there were large scale evictions of tenants on

As reported in the draft fourth five year plan, as a result of

Protection of tenants and regulation of rent is the first step in the

It could be said that the land reform measures adopted by the

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