Abolition of the Zamindari System in India: A Legal Analysis

Abolition of Zamindari System was the most important agrarian reforms after the Independence. The introduction of various Zamindari Abolition Bills had begun even before the Constitution of India was enacted. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Bombay introduced Zamindari Abolition Bills and all the States used the report of Uttar Pradesh abolition Committee but the zamindars opposed the bills and delayed the agrarian reforms. Thus, the Constitution came with its First Amendment Act by which the right to property was amended. The zamindari system was abolished in Independent India soon after the Constitution of India amended the right to property under Article 19 and 31 and after the various legislations were formed in regard to the abolition of zamindari, the zamindars challenged the constitutionality of the laws. Zamindars were allowed to keep land in certain places for their personal cultivation and this made a huge number of zamindars to retain their land. The Abolition of zamindari system aims to remove the zamindars or intermediaries between the government and peasantry. After the abolition of zamindari system many peasants and share croppers acquired the land ownership title. And compensation was paid to the zamindars by the State on acquiring the land ownership title back from them. The major objective of agrarian land reform was to bring a change in the revenue system that would in turn be favorable to the cultivators. The abolition of zamindari made bonded labour a punishable offence, hence the concept of zamindar was abolished. About 20 million former tenants became owner by that time and the compensation was paid to the zamindars.