Arrange the land reform measures in the correct sequence (oldest to most recent):
(A) Land Ceiling Act.
(B) Raiyatwari System.
(C) Removal/Abolition of the Zamindari system.
(D) Zamindari System.
(E) Tenancy abolition and regulation Acts.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (D), (B), (C), (E), (A)
(D) Zamindari System. — when the British colonised India, in many areas they ruled through the local zamindars and granted them property rights over land.
(B) Raiyatwari System. — the other colonial land settlement, in areas under direct British rule, where the ‘actual cultivators’ paid the tax.
(C) Removal/Abolition of the Zamindari system. — after independence, the first important land reform legislation was the abolition of the zamindari system, which removed the intermediaries between the cultivators and the state.
(E) Tenancy abolition and regulation Acts. — among the other major land reform laws; they tried to outlaw tenancy or to regulate rents to give the tenants some security.
(A) Land Ceiling Act. — the third major category of land reform laws, imposing an upper limit on the land a family can own.
Note: NCERT gives no dates for the zamindari and raiyatwari systems (items D and B); it describes both as systems of colonial India. The zamindari system of the Permanent Settlement was introduced in Bengal in 1793, and the raiyatwari system was set up across the Madras Presidency from 1820, so D comes before B.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Colonial Period … When the British colonised India, in many areas they ruled through these local zamindars. They also granted property rights to the zamindars. Under the British, the zamindars were given more control over land than they had before.…” “…Many districts of colonial India were administered through the zamindari system. In other areas that were under direct British rule had what was called the raiyatwari system of land settlement (raiyat means cultivator in Telugu). In this system, the ‘actual cultivators’ (who were themselves often landlords and not cultivators) rather than the zamindars were responsible for paying the tax.…” “…The first important legislation was the abolition of the zamindari system, which removed the layer of intermediaries who stood between the cultivators and the state. Of all the land reform laws that were passed, this was probably the most effective, for in most areas it succeeded in taking away the superior rights of the zamindars over the land and weakening their economic and political power. This did not happen without a struggle, of course, but ultimately the effect was to strengthen the position of the actual landholders and cultivators at the local level.…” “…Among the other major land reform laws that were introduced were the tenancy abolition and regulation acts. They attempted either to outlaw tenancy altogether or to regulate rents to give some security to the tenants.…” “The third major category of land reform laws were the Land Ceiling Acts. These laws imposed an upper limit on the amount of land that can be owned by a particular family.…” |