LAND REFORMS IN AN INDIAN STATE: LESSONS FROM THE EXPERIENCES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

Until the shift of developmental policy in India in 1990s the state used to play an instrumental role India’s development. By the time India attained independence it was widely regarded that semi feudal landlordism was the main obstacle in the way of national economic regeneration. In this paper an attempt has been to capture the processes of land reforms in India’s West Bengal under the Left Front rule and to critically review impact of this programme on village society. This paper also seeks to identify reasons with the help of empirical studies why it has not been possible for the Left Front Government to achieve the declared objectives of the programme. Major transformations in economic, social and political fields during the first two decades of the Left Front rule characterized by the successful implementation of land reform programmes but failed to produce sustained benefits to the poor beneficiaries of land reforms. The panchayat institutions were unsuccessful in making the poor realize that the existing social situation was not conducive for meeting their basic needs. The concluding part of the paper tries to bring together the lessons that the other countries or states in a federal system can learn from the experiences of implementation of land reforms programme in West Bengal.