Land Reforms in India: Invervention for Agrarian Capitalist Transformation in Punjab and Haryana

The sixth in a major series which examines the status of land reforms in India, this volume focuses on Punjab and Haryana. Comprising original essays by scholars, activists and administrators, it provides an in-depth understanding of the history, progress and current status of land reforms in these two states. Using both field-level primary data and official sources, such as land records and legal provisions , the contributors provide a detailed understanding of the implementation of tenancy and land ceiling legislations; the role of the government at various levels; and the intervention of peasant movements in the process of land reforms. The volume is divided into three parts. The first part discusses the status of land reforms in both states, the obstacles to their implementation, and the initiatives undertaken to overcome them. The next part contains a detailed discussion of the functioning of the Land Records Department and the misappropriation of surplus land. Against the backdrop of the Green Revolution, the last part analyses the transformations that have taken place in the system of cultivation, the emergence of capitalist modes of production, and the impact of these developments on peasant rights and patterns of land ownership. An important feature of this book is that it reproduces the Report of the Harchand Singh Committee which has been ignored by the Government. This Report is a telling commentary on the role played by the official machinery in circumventing both the spirit and the letter of land reforms legislation. It documents how evacueel land was misappropriated by politicians and senior officials; various flaws in official policy which allowed people with influence and resources to set up large farms; and the wrongful eviction of actual occupants with the connivance of officials. Overall, this important contribution to a debate of continuing importance will be of great value to administrators, revenue officials, activists, and economists and to students and scholars of development issues and agrarian studies.