Assertion: The goal of equity was fully served by abolition of intermediaries after independence.

Reasoning: The abolition of intermediaries after independence meant that some 200 lakh tenants came into direct contact with the government — they were thus freed from being exploited by the zamindars.

Assertion (A) is not true but Reasoning (R) is correct.

The abolition of intermediaries meant that some 200 lakh tenants came into direct contact with the government — they were thus freed from being exploited by the zamindars. The ownership conferred on tenants gave them the incentive to increase output and this contributed to growth in agriculture. However, the goal of equity was not fully served by abolition of intermediaries. In some areas the former zamindars continued to own large areas of land by making use of some loopholes in the legislation; there were cases where tenants were evicted and the landowners claimed to be selfcultivators (the actual tillers), claiming ownership of the land; and even when the tillers got ownership of land, the poorest of the agricultural labourers (such as sharecroppers and landless labourers) did not benefit from land reforms.