A state passes a land ceiling law. A big landlord challenges it in the courts and, during the delay, registers part of his land in the names of close relatives. What does this case show about land reforms in India?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Land ceiling laws faced hurdles, and loopholes let big landholders keep land.
The case shows the hurdles faced by land ceiling laws. Big landlords challenged the law in the courts, used the delay to register land in relatives’ names, and used loopholes to keep their land.
Option (1) Land ceiling laws faced hurdles, and loopholes let big landholders keep land. — Correct. Every step in the case is one of these hurdles.
Option (2) Tenants were evicted when landowners claimed to be the actual tillers of the land. — Incorrect. This happened under the abolition of intermediaries. The case here is about the land ceiling.
Option (3) The abolition of intermediaries freed tenants from being exploited by the zamindars. — Incorrect. This is true of abolition, but the case is about a landlord escaping a ceiling law.
Option (4) Land ceiling succeeded because the courts made the landlords give up their land. — Incorrect. Court cases delayed the law; they helped landlords escape it.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.3 Agriculture … The land ceiling legislation also faced hurdles. The big landlords challenged the legislation in the courts, delaying its implementation. They used this delay to register their lands in the name of close relatives, thereby escaping from the legislation. The legislation also had a lot of loopholes which were exploited by the big landholders to retain their land. …” |