Ill

CHAPTER IV

BHOODM MOWMTT. 19‘^1

1 . INTRODUCTION

1 Condition of Rural India, 19^7; Rural India, on the eve of Independence, presented a dismal picture of her economy in which majority of the people were engaged in agriculture having a low yield in relation to the manpower engaged in it and the area occupied,.* . A wide gulf spanned between the rural and the urban sectors of the economy of the country. To put in the words of J.P., " In reality the conditions in the villages were full of utter poverty, misery, inequality, exploitation, backwardness, stagnation, frustration and loss of hope ''J Further he stated, I must confess that the socio-economic reality in the villages is, on a o close examination, ugly and distressing in the extreme" It was an economy with primitive agriculture, a huge dependent rural population and a low agricultural productivity^. The lov; agricultural productivity combined with the near absence of other sources of employment and exploitation by zamindars and money lenders had kept them at an alarmingly low level of existence. Hence after Independence, there arose an acute land problem existing in the country. India had to face shortages of food production even with large government subsidised exports. 112

Steps were taken to solve it. The Grow More Food Campaign and the Five Year Plans sought to counteract the food shortages. The problem of the rehabilitation of land­ less agricultural labourers also lay before the country.*^

1. Percentage of Agricultural Workers to Total Population in 1 9 5 1 S r .No. States Percentage

1. Andhra Pradesh hi. 27 2. Assam 6h,21 3 . Bihar 60.37 Kerala 2 5 . 6 2 5 . Madhya Pradesh 51+. 0 1 6 . Madras 1+0 . 9 8 7 . Maharashtra & Gujarat ^1 . 0 3 8. Mysore 5 2 . 2 1 9 . Orissa 5 7 . 9 2 10. Punj ab 1 1 . Raj as than 61+. 56 1 2 . Uttar Pradesh 66.86 1 3 . West Bengal 3 6 . 3 2 Ih. Andaman & Nicobar Island 9.01+ 1 5 . Delhi 6.58 1 6 . Himachal Pradesh 87*22 1 7 . Manipur 7 8 .1+3 1 8 . Tripura 6 2 . 3 7

Ii Source : Census of India 1951• • 113

All over the world in different countries, the agrarian problem was the main economic problem in the 1 9 th and early 20th centuries, though in the West indus­ trialisation had set in and was engaging the attention of the governments there particularly for providing the infrastructure. The problem was solved in different countries in various ways. Jji Russia after 1917 and in China after 19^9 the revolutionaries adopted the path c: of force and violence."' The Soviet economic develop­ ment in the field of agriculture since 1917 passed through several stages beginning v/ith the collectivisa­ tion of land holdings culminating in complete state control over the agricultural sector including marketing, provision of machinery for cul­ tivation and collective farming^. But, India could not afford to copy China or Russia. The density in Russia was 21 persons per square mile with land-holding of 3 0 acres per head and unlimited natural resources. Nor could Iidia have emulated the U.S.A. way which had a density of only 5 7 persons per square mile and had 1 2 acres of land per head. The U.S.A. had also at its disposal one-half of the vjorld’s total industrial and raw materials production. On the other hand, India had on an average, only 9 7 cents acre of cultivable land per head and its population was increasing at the fastest rate in the world above 2 per cent per annum. •114

2. Land Reforms The pre-British land tenure rights rested on tra­ dition rather than on law. The Muslim rulers did not dispossess the local inhabitants, they simply, like the Hindu Kings, demanded a share of the produce, but a much bigger share, often to the limit of what the cul- tivators could bear. The revenue extraction by the governments in the Indian land tenure patterns was in­ tensified under the British, Just v;hen feudalism was being exterminated in Great Britain and Europe, it was reinforced in India. India's present land reform problems/originate inter-alia in the so-called ’perma­ nent settlement’ Imposed on the traditional peasant ownership system by the East India Company in 1793. The Permanent Settlement thus created a new class of landlords, the zamindars. Another system, ryotwari tenure, first introduced in Madras in 1792 and gradually extended to other provinces, recognised the ryot or peasant land-holder as holding the land directly from the government with no intermediaries. The land revenue was fixed for a 3 0 yeaj* period and collected by village headmen. All these types of tenures led to the dis­ integration of the village economy, permitted a parasi­ tic class of absentee-owners and reduced all cultivation- to subsistence farming and Impoverished the actual tiller of the soil. 115

In 1931j in British ]iidia, nearly 70 percent of the 1 0 0 nillion persons employed in agriculture owned no land, about 3 5 percent were tenants and 3 3 percent landless labourers. About 2 percent vere non-cultivating land owners and the balance 2 8 percent were cultivating owners. Even amongst this last group, 5 O- 8 0 percent possessed under 2 hectares and were thus only nominal owners, spending much of their time working as labourers on others* land. Moreover, both the number and the percentage of landless were increasing; 7 million in 1 8 8 2 and 3^ million in 1931. Agriculture had to absorb, not only an increasing number of persons , but also an increasing proportion of the total population : 6 3 per cent in 1 9 OO and 7 0 percent in 1 9 ^0 .

The provincial governments elected in the general elections in 1936-37 led by the Indian National Congress forumulated a land reform policy. Due to Gandhiji’s leadership the peasants participated in the national independence movement. The history of post-independence Indian land reforms broadly was marked by three phases: legislation to abolish intermediaries during 1 9 ^8-1 9 5 ^, tenanci'’ reform measurers implemented in many states, after 1 9 5 3 and finally legislation for imposing ceilings on land holdings since 1956.

The first land reform in Sidia was the abolition of zamindari and (other Jagirdari and Inamdari) inter­ mediary tenures, which had covered hO percent of India's ‘ IIG farmed area and subjected 20 million tenants to iniquit­ ous rental relationships. The zamindari system being localised in northern, central and south-eastern India, the legislation had a greater icipact in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Basically the legislation enables State governments to acquire all intermediaries rights, on payment of compensation and subject to certain exceptions-chiefly in respect of lands personally cultivated by the intermediaries. In all, 72 million hectares were acquired, while 2.6 million inter- ' -j mediaries had their interests abolished. Acquisition of rights over these lands brought the statutory tenants — but not necessarily the sub-tenants ^into direct relation­ ship with the State governments. Some tenants acquired full ownership rights over land without payment; others had to make some payments to the state for full occupancy rights, and remaining tenants of the state did not obtain these rights until these charges were paid. Having settled, at least on paper, the problem of the intermediaries, attention was focussed on the primarily 0 ryotwari 60 percent of India where land was cultivated mostly by tenants and share croppers, burdened by high rent and insecure tenure. Legislation aimed primarily ' * at (i) rent legislation, (2) security of tenure, (3) pur­ chase of land by tenants, and (^) preventing resumption of land, by landlords for direct cultivation. Generally, tenancy legislation was unsystematic, uncoordinated and 117 contradictory. Sometimes it did more social hai'ra than good.

Ceiling legislation v/as the third prong of the triple land reform movement of the 1950's. Proponents employed two main rationales. ]ji one, social justice required redistribution of existing land holdings both to satisfj^ land hunger and to reduce inequalities in control and use of land'resources. The second rationale focussed more on the economic argument namely, that the need of increased incentive and of the statistically - proven relationship between smallness of holding and land productivity, ceiling should be implemented to increase agricultural production.

Consolidation of fragmented holdings has long been a component part of the Indian agricultural development planning. Land consolidation is the particular pride of Punjab and Haryana, where it has been associated, officially at least, with rural development success stories. Most States now have legislation for conso­ lidation and also for preventing refragmentation, exception being Kerala and Orissa where the fragmenta­ tion problem is not severe.

India's land reform efforts show a wide gap between goals and achievements. Zamindari abolition, tenancy regulation, consolidation of holdings and land ceilings fixation have offered little solace to the marginal 118

farmers, tenants, and labourers. The importance of land reform in Indian politics had raised peasants’ e:-^ecta- tions, hut piecemeal and half-hearted implementation caused disappointment and disrupted rural life. India illustrates the practice of democratic land reforms actually helping to polarise land property relations. The upgrading of superior tenures and guaranteed tenure security enabled the relatively few rich and middle peasants to improve their position at the expense of the large absentee landlords and the zamindars. The lowest classes on the land, servants, hired labour, share-croppers have not been significantly affected except adversely. The Indian agrarian problem remains serious, basic and deep rooted. The prospect for future land reform is impossible to predict, but certain features are clearly important. The political conflicts are mounting. Uncontrolled explosions of rural discontent may produce either repression or more radical land reforms.

3• The Origin of the Bhoodan Movement, 1951: Bhoodan or gift of land v;as the new phase in the implementation of the philosophy of Gandhijl’s satyagraha and Sarvo- daya, a new vision of the same suited to the needs of free India. The pioneer of this new phase was Vinoba Bhave who was supported by Jayaprakash Narayan.

The Bhoodan movement v/as launched on l8 April 1951 in the village of Pochampalli in Andhra Pradesh. It - o was not a premeditated or preplanned movement . It would be a mistake to think the Bhoodan as a means to solve the issue of economic conflict in rural areas was applied as a result of independent and cool deliberations of the S-::rvodayaites. Its origin is very closely related to the specific situation in the districts of Telengana region^. The idea of launching it came to Yinoba’s mind when he along with his followers left for Hyderabad in March 19?1 to attend a Sarvodaya meeting.

After Gandhiji's death,Vinoba and his disciples were moving on foot (padyatra) from village to village to propagate the Gandhian Ideology for the solution of social and economic problems and also to acquaint them­ selves with the then existing situation in rural India. The purpose behind these tours was to create a favourable 1 2 0 atmosphere in the countryside for bringing about a social and economic change in rural India. He used to hold melas and address village gatherings for spreading the message of Sarvodaya 11 . In one of such meetings at Pochampalli village, as related earlier, tv;o Harijans asked Vinobaji for some land. They did not have any other source of liveSiihood except -working as labourers in the fields on a pittance of vage. Their economic 12 condition was very pathetic . A local deshmukh .Shri Ram Chandra Reddi offered 100 acres of his ovn land. Here is your choice”^^, Vinoba said turning to the suppliant Harijans. Thus began the land mission.

Its aim ! After the first land gift, Vinoba could not sleep the following night. He vas deeply thinking about Pochampalli land gift incident and its probable effects for the solution of the land problem. He thought that if all the landless families were provided with land through such gifts, there \^ould be no land­ less family left in the villages. With that aim, he assessed that there were in all 10 million landless families in India. So he set a target of collecting 5 0 million ’acres of land (which was estimated to be 1/6th of India's cultivable land), so that each landless family could get 5 acres of land^^. Having worked out his plan, he set out to work on his mission. At Vinoba's call, the Sarvodayaites all over the country pledged to collect 2.5 million acres of land by 195^- Later, 121 at the sixth annual conference held at Bodh Gaya in 1 9 5 ^ 5 J.P. and his associates resolved to collect the remainder of the set target by 1957^^.

(ii) Importance of Gifts : India is known for comt- less ages for her spirit of renunciation. The gift of land was the common practice in olden days either to gain the favour of God or in course of some religious deeds.The people used to recognise the importance of ’Dan’ or gift on all occasions - v/hether birth, marriage or death, in consonance with the demands of the age. The honour was shovm to those who offered wealth and not to.those who grabbed it. This spirit of goodwill was being encouraged through the process of ’Din' or gift by JP and his associates. They hoped that the people would listen to the call of humanity; however, the greater flow of their 'dan' would require a more brisk momentum as time passed on. Gift, accord­ ing to them, did not mean bounty. In the scriptural sense of the term, it signifies equitable distribution of property.Thus, 'Dan' or gift, according to them, was sharing together for the cause of mankind. The fundamental idea behind gifts like Bhoodan or Sampatti- dan was that whatever the individual possesses in reality, belongs to the society and should not be considered as personal wealth for personal enjoyment. It is a trust held on behalf of the society to be used for the social good* The message through such gifts, 122

as J.P. has put it, was that everyone should share what­ ever one had ; land, property, intellect etc., with his fellowmen “I R . .The way to do it, as M.P. Desai has stated, was to appeal to the sense of duty and social justice of the land-owning classes to donate in land which could be distributed among the landless."Land”, Vinoba noted,is the mother of all and everyone has a right to serve it. The landless have an equal claim to it.”' He further defined it as, "'free gift of nature which like air and water belongs to no individual but to God and everyone is entitled to share it and enjoy its yields”. The initial object of the Bhoodan movement was to secure voluntary donation of lands and then to distribute them t'o the landless.Vinobaji used to ask for land in accordance with the donor's land hold­ ing. If a family had 20 acres with V children then he would ask l/5th of the total land, say for the additional fifth member of the family. On this consideration he used to take gifts of land 21 . However, the movement soon came out with a demand for l/6th share of the land from all land owners.

h, J.P. plunges into Bhoodan Movement. Vinoba had traversed on foot hundreds of miles by 1 9 5 2 and had collected thousands of acres of land. J.P. was closely watching and analysing the prospects of the Bhoodan movement for solving the country's social, economic and political problems for which he was longing 123 from the beginning of his political career. He had, in the meantime, visited different Gandhian institutions- pp at Magan-wadi, Sevagram and Gopuri . He had gone to meet Vinoba on 30 May 1952, when he was in Banda District of Uttar Pradesh to discuss some problems about collec­ tion and distribution of land^^. During this visit a village Mangroth by name in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh had been declared Gramdan. J.P. made a special trip to that village to see for himself what had happened there. What he ©aw there opened before his' eyes a new vista into the future. ” It was thrilling to visualise*^, J.P. exdlaimed, "the great moral, econo­ mic, political and social revoliition that would sweep over the countrj'- if Mangroth were repeated in every 2li. village.In the beginning, J.P’s reaction towards the Bhoodan movement was that it would take hundreds of years in that manner to redistribute all the land ih the country. ^

(i) His Attraction for Bhoodan ; There were two factors, according to J.P., vjhich attracted his atten­ tion and forced him to give a serious tlQought towards this movement. One was the selfless devotion of Bhave and the other being the steady acceleration of the move­ ment. He had met Vinoba a number of times in the past and had also read some of his writings which had im­

pressed him.26 j q quote him, ” I saw that he (Vinoba) 124

•was serious about the problem and his economic act was revolutionary in a basic way. I decided to join Vinoba’s movement which supplied an answer to the,question that I had long been asking ; Could Gandhiji's philosophy offer a practical method to accomplish the social revolution".

(li) Establishment of Sekhodeora Ashram. 19*^^: J.P. set up his Ashram in 195^ at Sekhodeora, a village situated on the border of Gaya and I'^fonghyr districts and is at a distance of 100 kms from Gaya city. It remained his main centre of Sarvodaya activities for nearly two decades P Q . It was a sort of laboratory for rural develop­ ment and a training centre for village work on the lines 29 of Bhave's Wardha Ashram J.P. who, originally a vegetarian, had taken to non-vegetaj*ian|during his long stay in U.S.A. reverted to a vegetarian diet after establishing the Ashram. It had nothing to do with caste orthodoxy or any such obscurantist belief. It was here that he started observing a day’s fast on every 30th day of January (Gandhiji’s martyrdom day) , and also used to participate in the sacrificial spinning. (iii) J.P's Initial Land Collections; After setting up his Ashram, he made extensive tours on foot for land collection and to spread the message of Sarvodaya. His brief experience of getting land from Gaya district for a mere asking was quite exhilarating for him. Within 125 a week, nearly 7,000 acres of land was announced as gift during his padyatras^''. He himself had donated 2 5 blghas out of his own 50 bighas of land at Sitabdiara.

Like other Sarvodayaites he also applied the philan­ thropic approach for getting land. ''Land is*> the mother of one and all and each one has equal right upon it. He, who labours to produce from the land, has the first right”.T h i s was his way of appealing to the land­ owners. Like Vinobaji, he used to ask the landov/ners to donate l/6th of their land for the Bhoodan movement. But, when the response began to decline after 1955? Vinobaji reduced the requirement to l/20th of the land possessed. J.P. was reportedly most unhappy with this modification but accepted Vinobaji's decision.--^

Civ) His views on Land Holdings; Even before the emergence of the Sarvodaya movement, J.P. was not in favour of big land holdings with the farmers. This could be judged from the Socialist Party manifesto of 1 9 ^ 6 which reads thus ; '* No peasant family will be allowed to possess land more than three times the size of an economic holding or roughly 3 0 acres of' land of average productivity and no one who does not personally participate in the process of cultivation would be allowed to possess land.”' J.P. was once asked as to how much land an individual should keep and how much he should donate. He replied that a landowner should keep only that much land \-}h±ch 12G is sufficient to meet his minimum requirements^^. He wanted that land beyond that limit should be donated. Vinobaji also held a similar views. They did not want much disparities in land holdings of different land holders. Some differences in land holdings they had allowed but not much disparities. As J.P. remarked, "But when the disparity is out of all proportions, it becomes unconscious able and has got to be removed."' The Sarvodayaites had put some limit on land holdings.

According to J.P. a farmer should have only that much land which is sufficient to meet his basic needs. Land beyond that limit should be donated. The Sarvo­ dayaites had put the limit upto 5 acres of land with a farmer. Beyond this, they felt it as a kind of exploita­ tion. Vlnobajl had certain reservations in some cases regarding limits on land holdings. But, the differences in land holdings, according to him, should not be much. To quote him, "The needs of different persons vary no doubt. But, they vary like the status of man within a limited margin. If the differences in the acreage of land held by different persons varies from 5 to 10 acres it would not matter and similarly of wealth."^®

5. Land collection by J.P. With J.P's association and leadership, the Bhoo- dan campaign became a dynamic movement. He started touring extensively in Bihar and other parts of India 127 for land collection and for the propagation of Sarvodaya ideology. For this he used to organise public meetings in rural and urban areas. For many years, he put in sustained efforts for implementing the ideas of bringing about political, social and economic transformation through Bhoodan. His main aim behind such meetings was to eradicate poverty and to bring about social and economic equality by 1957> as Gandhiji and Vinobaji had dreamt of. For this, he appealed to the people of all classes; the politicians, intellectuals, doctors, engineers, lawyers and businessmen. Some of them res­ ponded to his call and helped the movement-in their respective fields-^^. They moved with him and other Bhoodan workers in the interior rural areas and thus helped the mass movement in their own way. Some of the teachers moved with him in small groups from village to village for spreading the message of Sarvodaya and Bhoodan ideology. For this, they organised meetings, held seminars and discussions at the village level. During their tours, they distributed Bhoodan literature, gave talks and thus awakened the masses, rich as well as poor.^^ The doctors rendered free medical service to the villagers by opening dispensaries in the villages, especially in Gaya district and other parts of Bihar. The engineers likewise helped in building bunds, canals and houses for the labourers on the donated waste land. 128

The same waj the lawyers took up the cases of the poor tenants against the big zamindars who had grabbed their lands in one way or the other. The big businessmen like Tata, Biria, Dalmia and others on J.P's call had donated lakhs of rupees fbr the improvement of fields, construction of wells, ponds, roads and houses for the small tenants and labourers.

J.P. urged the people of all religions, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Sikhs for creating a f^avourable atmosphere in order to strengthen the move­ ment. He also appealed to all communal organisations like Hindu Mahasabha, Swami Sewak Sangh etc. Later, on Vinoba's Jaunpur tour in 1952, the R.S.S. had donated U-1 2000 acres of land . Not only did he appeal to small tenants and labourers but also to the big landlords and the old Nawabs. The Nizam of Hyderabad gave some of his land to the movement. The largest single gift-of 1,00,000 acres was from some Maharaja and the smallest gift of 1/ifOth of ^.ntha was from a Telengana peasant kp who owned only one acre of land . -Besides this, J.P. asked all the Gandhian institutions and. organisations like Gayo Seva Sangh, Harijan Seva Sangh, Hindustani Prachar Sangh, Khadi Gramodyog Sangh, Kasturba Seva Sangh, Adivasi Seva Sangh, to work harder in order to bring success to the movement. 129

(i) His Call to the Students : Gandhiji was not in favour of the present pattern of the education system ■which has given rise to the acute unempl03rment problem, anger and frustration among the educated youths. It led to a colossal wastage of youth's energy in India. He wanted to utilise their mental and physical strength for national reconstruction work through the construc­ tive programmes which consisted of basic education'^ khadi and small scale industries etc. In that way the students could get theoretical and practical experience which would further help them in earning their liveli­ hood independently. Yinoba and J.P. had also favoured a type of educational system on the lines of the Nai Talim programme.. On similar lines, Rabindranath Tagore had opened a university at Shanti Niketan where students could do physical work. As in China, where the students are expected to work compulsorily in the fields for some years, the Sarvodayaites wanted the students to work in the fields and villages during their summer and winter vacations. kh

With that aim in mind, J.P. visited various edu­ cational institutions and had appealed to the students in Allahabad University, Calcutta University, Delhi and Nagpur Universities to dedicate a year’of their studies to Bhoodan work.^^ On his call, students from various colleges gave up their studies for some time and joined 130

the movement. "Give up your students", he urged, "go and -wander about in the villages and make vhat con­ tribution you can to the Bhoodan movement and try to make this revolution success.He himself had worked in farms and factories for sometime while studying in the U.S.A. Recalling his University days, he said, "it does not appear to me that I lost anything by losing a year at the college. I have never felt that what I learnt at fields and factories was inferior or negligible hn instructions."' ' He further said, "Similarly the educa­ tion you will receive from the villages can never be got from schools and colleges. Everyone should dedicate himself to Bhoodan Yajna for a year." h8

From the beginning of his political career i.e. 193^? J.P. gave a special place to the youths and students in the Socialist Party programme. They had assisted him in the freedom struggle movement and had fought shoulder to shoulder against the Britishers, especially, during the Quit India Movement of 19^2. The students had a great love, affection and faith in J.P. After joining Sarvodaya, he tried to utilise their energy and services for the national reconstruction programmes li.O like Bhoodan, Gramdan and Gram Swarajya.

On his call, students and youths from all parts of the country, especially from Bihar, had worked for Bhoodan during their summer and winter vacations. 131

He, along witb other Sarvodayaites like Ram tothi used to organise camps at various districts in Bihar. He held camps at Monghyr, Muzzaffarpur, Gaya and Purnia districts, for imparting training to students and youths in Bhoodan work. Thereafter, he used to direct them to v/ork in villages for Bhoodan in order to spread the message of Sarvodaya^^. He used to accompany them for other such programmes.

(ii) Gall to Political Parties ; Hallam Tennyson, the grandson of Poet Lanreate of Britain Lord Tennyson, rightly -wrote in an English m.agazine entitled. The Encounter, dated 7 December 195^> that, if Vinoba and J.P. -would have directly sought the help and coopera­ tion of the government and the parties for Bhoodan work, it would have progressed tremendously and much of the land problem in India would have been solved-^ . In that case, the government would have lent financial and other types of help.^^ Regarding this, once Nehru had asked Vinobaji in 1953 to take the help of Government. But, he declined it on the ground that the government and politicians might take advantage of the movement for their own political ends. But, Gandhiji, as Hallam Tennyson further stated, would have utilised the services of government and political parties in strengthening the movement.5^ jjis idea-was that, the

Government and Sarvodayaites would work on parallel lines; one from above through the government machinery 1 3 2 and the other from below by working amongst the poor rural masses in the villages. Concerning that, once Meerabehn had asked Gandhiji, "How will land be distributed after Swaraj?"’ Bapu had replied, " A majority of zamin- dars will give up their land willingly. Those who do not do so will have to do under legislation".^^ If both the forces of government and Sarvodayaites had utilised their total strength and worked in close cooperation, the face of rural India would have probably changed. The Sarvodayaites were hardly ^-0,000 in number as compared to the large population of India with as many f;S 7 lakh v i l l a g e s . I n that case, in view of their meagre numbers the Sarvodayaites should have taken the help of government and political parties. Hov/ever, later on, J.P. appealed to the government and political parties for help on a non-political basis. To put in the words , of Nargolkar, '''The Bhoodan, Gramdan movement under Vinoba's leadership had been politically neutral in the sense that it did not identify itself with any political party. So far as the work of securing Bhoodan or Gram­ dan was concerned, it invited and accepted the coopera­ tion of any or all parties, J.P. took a very note­ worthy position in this matter and asked the workers of political parties to work “on non-party basis.

On J.P's call, the Bhoodan movement drew the attention of government and important political parties in the country. In 1952, some of the Congress Pradesh 133

Committees had passed resolutions pledging their support to the movement^®. The Communists also -welcomed it in the beginning but later they opposed it. On his initia­ tive, the Praja Socialist Party and the earlier Krishak Ms.zdoor Praja Party had also resolved in their conventions to actively support the movement.They had even integrated its agrarian programme -with Bhoodan and had actively participated vjith the Bhoodanites in getting - land. They had done so in Pardi village of Surat district.^®

At the All India Conference of the Socialist Party held at Pachmarhi in May 19^2,J.P, advised the party workers to participate in the Bhoodan movement and help distribute land among the landless labourers. Speaking at the Bodh Gaya Sarvodaya Conference held in 195^, he spoke, "'I want all of them (parties) “ should abandon all activities for at least one year and devote them- 61 selves to Bhoodan Yajna.”' On his appeal, nearly 600 delegates resolved to dedicate their life for the move­ ment. Then, at the Asian Socialist Conference held in \ Bombay in 1956 where fraternal delegates from Europe had also come, he boldly placed before all the delegates ^2. his concept of Bhoodan and Socialism. At the second Bihar State Sarvodaya Conference held at Darbhanga on 30 May 1957, he said, "I appeal with all firmness at my command, to all such parties and individuals as swear by socialism to demonstrate their socialist convictions 134 by pledging to surrender their ovmership of land."^^ In response to his appeal some 85 workers immediately announced their pledge to surrender their ovm land to the village community. He further asked them to make padyatras, hold meetings, seminars and to propagate for 6k the movement.

In April 1958, he was invited by his Socialist friends in Europe to visit various countries in and around Europe. He spent about l8 weeks abroad visiting and giving talks to intellectuals, socialists and members of Pacific Organisations. On most occasions, he chose to speak on Bhoodap, Gramdan and Gram Swarajya^^ On his appeal, a 'x^riends of Bhoodan’ association was organised in London, J.P. was nominated its President. Likewise, in the U.S.A. also, some such organisations were set up to propagate the Bhoodan and Sarvodaya ideology. The people in America and European countries appreciated this -movement. Some of the political leaders like Radharaman, Acharya xiripalani, Smt.Sucheta Kripalani, Krishna Nayar, etc. had contacted ^members of Parliament in Delhi to secure land donations from them. Similarly, in State legislatures also, efforts were made by J.P. to secure their cooperation and also to collect land from them.^^ In Raipur district of Madhya Pradesh the loQal Congress leaders actively participated with the Bhoodan workers in collecting land. 135

In Bihar also, some of the local political leaders actively participated with the Bhoodan leaders and helped them in getting land. .Tiiitially, this movement had the backing of government and all political parties. But, after 1955 j when this movement started declining, \ 'the Central Government v;as hesitant to extend her ^ helping hand. (Dn this, J.P. appealed to the Government of India to render their fullest cooperation. He also appealed to the State government? to donate their waste lands for distribution^^. He urged the Chief Minister of Madras, Shri Kamaraj , to distribute one lakh acres of surplus government land, but in vain. Ee had appealed in these words, "'The Government should begin to share the responsibilit}?- of offering their own lands for Bhoodan."’’^^ In the year I960, some Bhoodan land in Rajanh village of Orissa was given to the landless. That land belonged to a State Government Department and was lying waste. So, the Bhoodan Committee took it and wanted to distribute it to the landless. It also wanted to start some construction programmes over it. In 1961, the permission was granted to 'the Bhoodan Committee to distribute it. There were many villages around Manfar in Bihar where the condition of the people was worse. During hot season, the people in those villages did not have any work. Moreover, they were in dire need of money 136 during such periods. There were some forests there under the Government. If these forests had been taken over by the Gramsabha the labourers would have benefited. The trees of those forests could be utilised for the poor peasants. There were also peasants who were not having woods even to cook their food. J.P. appealed to the Bihar Government to distribute such forest land to those poor labourers so that they could earn their liveli- hood by selling the woods during the idle time. 6Q ^ He had urged the Bihar Government to donate that waste land so that it could be distributed. 70

(iii) Land Collection in Bihar and Other States: The following are some of the collections by J.P. during his meetings in Bihar and other parts of India to reach the target of collecting acres of land by 1957*

In one of his meetings held in May 195^ near Kapsia village in Gaya district in Bihar, a Mahant had donated MDO acres of land on J.P's call. J.P. along with some of his Sekhodeora Ashramites had called upon some landless labourers from nearby villages and got them settled there. This new village was named Gandhi- dham with 32 families. The land vas equally distributed to them.^^ Similarly, on his call, 126 farmers of Sekhodeora village had donated 26o bighas of land towards the Bhoodan Yajna in October, 195^. 137

Situated 6h miles awaj east of Gaya in the Thana of Ko-wakol, intercepted with hills and jungles, the Bhoodan work was begun in Sekhodeora village in 1953. With the active participation of J.P. it had almost contributed its full quota in acquiring land. This work was started in May 195^* In this Thana, ^8 villages out of 60 had contributed to this movement though the contributions differed largely. The number of donors in all were 1,555 who had donated a total of 2 , 6 7 7 acres. Eight villages had contributed less than 3 bighas of land. 7^ Similarly, he had collected land in different districts of Bihar. In Saharsa district, he had collected 309 acres in one of his tours on 17K 8 November, 1953* Si Purnia district he got 2 8 acres.

He toured Madurai, Coimbatore, Tanjore, Chingleput, North Arcot and Tirunelvelli districts of Tamil Nadu. During his 1 5 days tour there, he had collected 5218.05 acres of land.^^ Similarly, he had conducted an exten­ sive tour of Kerala from 2 3 September to 7 October 195^ in ^-3 out of i+9 Talukas and covered 1^-00 miles. During this tour he had collected 8 0 0 0 acres of land. Then, while at Tehri in Uttar Pradesh he got a donation of 1+9 acres on 17 September, 1956.^^

6 . Organs of Bhoodan. For facilitating the work of Bhoodan and to meet the land targets set for each State, the Sarva Seva Sangh 138

and State Governments established some organisations and committees like Bhoodan Yajna Committees, Bhoodan Yajna Parishad, Bhoodan Yajna Boards, Sarvodaya Mandals and Sarvodaya Committees at the State, district and village levels. There were no miform rules and regula­ tions regarding the formation of these organisations ' and committees at the districts and local levels.

In the larger states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Gujarat v;here there was heavy pressure of Bhoodan work, She Sarvodayaites had constituted more committees and organisations at the higher and lov;er levels. For ezample, in Maharashtra, they had constitu­ ted two types of organisations and committees, namely, the Sarvodaya Mandals and Bhoodan Yajna Committees. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, they established two such kinds of committees, namely, Bhoodan Yajna Committees and Sarvodaya Mandal Committees at the State and lower levels.

In Bihar also, Bhoodan Yajna Committees and Sarvo­ daya Mandals'^'^ were constituted in some villages, thanas'^®(Taluka) and districts'^^. J.P. had suggested the formation of 'Sarvodaya workers associations' at all the thre'e levels i.e.,' at the State, District and Thana (Taluka) levels. The head office of Bhoodan Yajna Committee was opened at J.P's Patna residence which he had donated to it. Here, sometime later, a Mahila Ashram headed by Prabhavati Devi (^^rs.J.P. Narayan) was also run to conduct Sarvodaya activities. 139

At one of the meetings of the Bihar Bhoodan Yajna Committee held at Patna on 8 April 1962, J.P. and other Bhoodan participants had appealed to the Bihar Govern­ ment to set up Bhoodan Yajna Sub-Committees and Prakhand Advisory Gotamittees at the State level. Likexv^ise, at the district levels also they had decided to set up 8o Advisory Committees. ^ But, later on, it was felt that this was not possible since the State Government had raised the districts from 17 to 31 and the Bhoodan workers were quite less in number^^. J.P. and his asso­ ciates had also suggested for opening of Bhoodan offices and Ashrams at the village level at a meeting of Bihar Bhoodan Yajna Committee held in July, 1955* For this, they had appealed to the Gram panchayats to accommodate them either at their Gram panchayat offices or at some other place in the village. They had also pleaded to the Gram panchayats to assist them in their work. For this, they had appointed a Sarvodaya worker at each Panchayat level to guide them in Bhoodan work. These Ashrams and Bhoodan offices at the village level were to act as the main centres for Bhoodan activities. It was also a resting place for them after the day's hard work. Here, the Bhoodanites used to hold grass-root level meetings, chart out further Bhoodan programmes Op and worked for the spread of the Bhoodan ideology. At the village level, J.P. suggested the constitution of Sarvodaya Krishak Sangh or Sarvodaya Gram Sangh for the Sarvodaya workers. 140

Likewise, in Gujarat also, Bhoodan Yajna Committees and Sarvodaya Mandals were formed. In some States, where there was not much pressure of work the Bhoodanites had established some committees. In indhra Pradesh and Orissa, they had constituted Bhoodaji Yajna Committees only, and in Madras, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh they had set up Bhoodan Yajna Boards. In Delhi, where the work was quite less heavy as compared to Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar they had set up Sarvodaya Mandals only.

In Assam and Kerala where the work did not gain much momentum the Sarva Seva Sangh did not establish any such committees. In these States, they had only employed some Sarvodaya workers for carrying out the Bhoodan work on the guidelines framed by the Sarva Seva Sangh. In Mysore, Kerala, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, they had 8*3 entrusted the work to a few Bhoodan workers.

(i) Bhoodan Ya.ina Acts ; Prior to the setting up of these committees and organisations, the State governments had promulgated Bhoodan Yajna Acts thereby authorising the Bhoodanites to.collect land. In 1952 the Uttar Pradesh government passed the Bhoodan Yajna Act, and in the following year Orissa, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra also passed it. In 19^k Bihar and Eajasthan governments passed it, followed by Madhya Pradesh which passed it in 1 9 5 5 . In 1 9 5 8 Madras government promulgated it. 141

The Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir governments •did it in late I960 and, lastely, Mysore and Bengal governments adopted it in 1962 and 1963 respectively.

(ii) Bhoodan Ya.ina Committees _; (a) Its coEiposition ; There \^ere no hard and fast rules frajned by the Sarva Seva Sangh regarding the composition, functions and tenure of the Chairman, Secretary, Members and Administrative staff of Bhoodan Yajna Committees at the higher and lower levels. At the State level, the Committees were headed by a Chairman and some members ranging between four to nine as the State governments determined from time to time with the consent and approval of Vinoba Bhave. Similarly, the members at the district level were approximately eleven, and at the local levels there used to be around seven members. The Chairman and members of the state Committees were appointed by the State governments on the recommendation of Acharya Bhave. In case he failed to recommend their names before the appointed date or extended time, the State governments had the power of appointing them at their o\m discretion. Their naines were then published in the official g a z z e t t e B e s i d e s the Chairman the Committees had a Secretary also. 8^5

(b) Functions ; The Bhoodan Yajna Committees at the State level were vested with the authority of supervision, guidance and inspection over the work of district and 14 local level committees. 8 6 Their powers were extended over all donated land within the State's jurisdiction. A3.1 the movable and immovable donated properties were vested in its name, and it had the power to acquire, hold and dispose them of. It had also the power of collecting land gifts and of distributing them to the landless.

(c) Financial DOwers; The Committees at the State level had own funds. They used to get funds from Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh, Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, Central Government, State Governments, Public institutions, private institutions, business enterprises and indivi­ dual donors, which were utilised for constructive purposes. The annual income and expenditure of the Committees were discussed and finalised by the Chairman, Members and Secretary. The Chairman exercised much authority concerning the expenditures of the Committee. 8 7^

7• Methods of collecting- Land Gift Deeds • The gift deeds were prepared in duplicate, each of which was duly signed by the donor in presence of the Revenue officer of the concerned area and attested 00 by the witnesses. Such gift deeds were then entered in the register of the Revenue Officer. He then pub­ lished them and affixed them at some public place and also brought them to the notice of the concerned pancha- yat. The purpose of such ^jublic exhibition was to bring the land gift deeds to the notice of the inhabitants of the respective areas. In case the danapatras were 143 filed \iTongly, then this could be brought to the notice of the Bhoodan Yajna Committees and the inhabitants of those locaJ.ities. If there were any objections to these ihey could be enquired, investigated and brought to the notice of the concerned parties and authorities. Thus, no fraud could be played in regard to the danpatras.

( i) Language used on gift deed forms ; The gift-deeds v^ere printed in Hindi as well as in other regional languages. For the Hindi speaking areas like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the lan­ guage used was in Devanagari script. For the non-Hindi speaking regions like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, the regional languages were used. The donor and withesses were supposed to sign either in Hindi or in regional languages. Afterwards, the Committee members used to fill in the names and addresses of both, the donors and xvitnesses, and other details in Hindi so that it could be understood by others.

Several persons had indicated their desire to donate money for purcha.sing land and then to distribute it to the landless. Vinobaji declined such donations and asked the'intending donors to purchase lands themselves and then offer theci.®^

According to the Committee rules, no person could donate the land which fell under the follo\.jing categories: 144

1. Cremation or burrial ground, tank or pathway. 2. Land recorded in the records of rights as Gai^muzna. 3« Land held under service. h. Forest land notified under any of the provisions of the Hiidian Forest Act 1927 (XVI of 1927) or State Governments' Private Forests Act, 19^-7. 5* Land containing mines and minerals whether dis­ covered or undiscovered or whether being worked or not; and,

6 . Any other land which the State Government by regulation in the Official Gazzette, specified.^®

When sufficient gift-deeds were collected by the Bhoodan Committees at the lower levels they were then sent to the State Bhoodan Yajna Committees. They then \ sent these (glft-deeds) to the Sarva Seva Sangh, Seva- gram, under registered post to eliminate a chance of being lost in transit. The Sarva Seva Sangh would then return Itiese to their respective regions after obtaining the signature of Acharya Vinoba Bhave.-^91

8 . Distribution of Land. Along with the collection of land,J.P. and his associates had taken up the work of distribution also with the help and cooperation of government, political parties and the panchayats. There were 10 million land­ less families at the time of independence and so they had planned to provide land to all by the end of 1957.°^

As there was not much culti*vable land in India as compared ■ • 145 to its population, they decided to allot sone acres of land to each landless family. In the allotment of land, they did not observe any hard and fast rules. Hovjever, there v/ere several considerations in it. The allotment v/as done basically on moral considerations. In the first place, they argued that as the children of the soil all men had moral right to possess some land to cultivate it by its own labour.As M.P. Desai related, ” We persuade everyone to realise they should receive land and that is the basic concept of Bhoodan Yajna. ... to my mind, the most significant of all of these is the fundamental moral idea underlying it. I believe that of the fundamental rights of man one is his right to have land that would come to his share if he wants to serve it... oil He has a right to demand whatever it is."- The Sarvo- dayaites believed that a close contact with the mother earth is essential for the balanced development of human personality^^. During the process of distribution,the basic reasonableness of the people came to the fore. The existing differences in the standard of living in the villages were also taken into account. The distribu­ tion process \i/as a graded and a human process, not a mechanical one. The human consideration was the key note of it. The real meaning of equal distribution, according to Sarvodayaite s,‘was that each man's minimum needs should be fulfilled. The needs of different 146 people, they felt, might vary. The apostle of the up- liftment of all did not fail to take these differences 96 into consideration^ . For example, if one man has weak digestion and requires only a quarter of a pond of flour then both, he and another -with a larger need, should he able to satisfy their wants. According to them the entire social order had to be rebuilt. They felt that it may not be achieved at once but the aim should always be kept in mind. The first step towards the goal was to bring about a necessary change in per- son’s own life.^*^97 Man should reduce his wants to a minimum, remembering the poverty of India.

The first preference was given to those who did not have any land at all and whose main source of liveli- hood was agriculture.98 The second preference was given to those who had leery little land and did not have any other source of income. The preference was also given 99 to the depressed classes, especially to the Earijans. ^ In the beginning, J.P. and his associates had planned to allot 5 acres of land to each family. Later on, they abolished this criterion and distributed it ' according to the availability of land, type of land and needs of the people. For example, in some of the villages of Bihar and Orissa where land v;as less as compared to the population there, the people were unable to receive even the bare minimum land for their living.in some 147 villages of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh where land was fertile and the people were less in number,the people got sufficient land for their livelihood.

(i) Methods of land distribution : All the adult members of the village were expected to be present at the time of distribution. Usually, the announcement was made seven days in advance by the beat of drums. Again, the announcement was made one day before the actual distribution. The CollectorRevenue Officer and other concerned officials and patwaris v;ere also informed so that they could be present at the time of distribution^®"^. Later, the recipients' names were recorded in the official register of the patwari.

The distribution was done by the unanimous consent of all adult members of the village. The prominent residents of the village like Sarpanch, Mahajans, big zaraindars and other social workers were also called upon for their active help and cooperation. They were expected to render some financial help to the recipient of small pieces of land. In case the Bhoodan land was less and the landless labourers were more in number, the allotment was. done through a lottery system. The remaining landless labourers were given land in the next distribution programmes.1 0? Ih some of the villages, some surplus land was left after the distribution woi^k. In such cases, the landless people from around the villages were called and given land.^*^^ 148

After the allotment of land, the recipient could not sell his land for ten years. He was required to cultivate it within two jears. If he failed to culti­ vate it within two years, the Bhoodan Committees had the right to confiscate and distribute it to other deserving landless villagers (ii) Land distribution work in Bihar: The Sarvodayaites simultaneously took up the work of distribution in every State. Vinoba entrusted the work of distribution in Bihar to J.P. Bihar collected 23 lakh acres of land out of the total collection of 1+3 lakh acres of land. With the dynamic leadership of J.P., Bihar distributed 2,13,150 lakh acres of land by December, 1957* The following was the progress of land distribution upto December, 1957* ( In acres ) 2i Bhoodan Figures Upto December 19^?7

Province Land Land Collection ______Distribution A?sam 23,196 225 Andhra Pradesh 2,^2,950 83,090 Orissa 3,81+,589 1,11,361 Uttar Pradesh 5 ,8 7 , 6 1 5 77,671+ Kerala 29,021 2,126 Tamil Nadu 70,823 5,3^9 Delhi 396 1 5 7 Punjab 1 9 , 9 2 9 3,653 Bifeiar - 21,68,857 2,13,150 Gujarat if 7, ^ 8 6 11,527 Nag Vidarbha 85,265 38,220 Maharashtra 6i+,210 10,561 Saurashtra 31,237 8,185 Bengal 12,681 3,^63 Madhya Pradesh 1 ,7 8 , 8 1 6 1+9,881 Mysore ll+,l61+ 1,152 Rajasthan 1+,20,068 35? 8 9 6 Himachal Pradesh 1.568. ______21 ^ . 7 6 , 8 7 1 6,55,691 Source: Akhil Bharat Sarva Seva Sangh, Secretary, Khadigram. 149

The land distribution vjork in Bihar was mostly carried out with the help of Government officials, political parties, panchayats, social workers and Gandhian institutions On J.P’s call the masses gave a good response. He organised the Sarvodaya workers in groups and sent them to different villages for dis­ tribution work. Likewise, .the youths and students from schools and colleges were also called for help. Thus, with their active help and cooperation the work of dis­ tribution was accomplished in Bihar.

Reactions about the Bhoodan movement. The Bhoodan movement has been subjected to a lot of criticism by leading economists, philosophers, pol­ itical thinkers, journalists and social workers. Even some of the disciples of Mahatma Gandhi have come for­ ward with their vote of dissent on this important issue. The philosophy behind the movement and the results of its working have come in for sharp criticism from various quarters. It would therefore, be desirable to assess this criticism for v/hatever it is worth and to examine its validity.

(i) Absence of clarity; A line of argument against Bhoodan is the supposed absence of clarity regarding the objectives of the movement. It was said that although I a lot of things were claimed about the potentialities of the Bhoodan movement regarding the creation of a . t

i 150 stateless society through a non-violent social revolu­ tion, no one apparently seemed to know hov; far the movement was going to really benefit the people. To bring in Gandhi's name and to claim that the movement was born of the Gandhian idea of a thorough social awakening was one thing, but to visualise concretely the objectives of the movement was quite another.

The protagonists of the movement, on the other hand, have said that the Bhoodan aimed at the greatest good of all. As it vms based on the Gandhian ideals of non-violent social revolution, i.e., on love and innate goodness of man, its aim was the welfare of the common man especially the down-trodden and the proletari^. In the context of the colossal poverty of the Indian agrarian population any scheme for the well-being of the people, howsoever slight its contribution, should be welcomed.

(ii) The lop-sldedness; One of the major drawbacks of the movement is said to lie in its lop-sided approach to the agrarian problem. Bhoodan aimed to help and provide land only to the landless villagers. It left out the semi-landless or those villagers v;ho possessed some land but still worked as cultivating labourers and depended wholly or partly on wages. If the movement confined only to the landless labourers and neglected the bulk of the rural population having tiny plots of 151

■land, nothing very remarkable the movement was going to achieve. According to Jayaprakash Narayan and Vinoba, how­ ever, the problem of the landless labourers was rather \ baffling and urgent. First things came first, and hence the Bhoodan movement stood for the landless. But that v;as not all. There should -be no landless in the village was the first step of Jayaprakash Narayan and Vinoba and their last was that there would remain no land ovmer. The movement., therefore, should not have been taken merely as a mercy mission for the landless. In fact, it had been developed into Gromdan where all the persons cooperated for the common cause and the distinctions like the landless and the landowner were wiped out. i (iii) Insufficient land ; It is argued that the move­ ment provided insufficient land to the landless. That would neither be able to provide him with employment for whole of the year, nor would be able to raise his income level to an appreciable extent. It is further argued that the movement within a short period would mean a fall in the acreage under cultivation (as transfer of land took some time to be finalised) and thereby worsen the already bad situation of food production in the country. But this contention was based on the plausible assumption that cultivable■ land received in donation, 15.

if not distributed iraraediately among the landless labourers, remained idle for some time. This is not true. The land received in gifts continued to be cul­ tivated by the donors until it had been redistributed and legal formalities were completed. As to the insufficient land* given to the landless, it can easily be said that provision of five acres of land is not a paltry one when about sixty two percent of the holdings % in the country are below five acres of land.

(iv) Fragmentation and Sub-division ; Another ground on which the Bhoodan movement and its working were criticised was that it led to the division and fragmenta­ tion of already small and scattered farms. As it happened, the land gifts from every type of o\^ner - big or small - were accepted. The donations by small farmers of little pieces of land out of their miniature holdings tended to accelerate the sub-division and fragmentation of land. The economic disadvantages of this unhealthy trend were too well-known to be emphasised. On behalf of the movement, it was claimed that the land donations from small land owners v/er© accepted in order to create the right type of atmosphere for converting the big land owners. Vinobaji had said, I am more worried about the fragmentation of human hearts than the fragmentation of land. Fragmented land can be easily consolidated later with mutual goodwill and cooperation, but fragmentation of hearts owing to the social and 153 economic inequalities is full of dangerous possibilities in a state like India. "

Admittedly, this argument may not appeal to a professional economist. But the fact is that before distribution an attempt was made to consolidate small plots of donated land as far as possible. As regards the sub-division of land it may be pointed out that in the majority of cases only those lands had been donated which formed complete units by themselves. Bhoodan thus had not entailed any further fragmentation of holdings; only already divided and small pieces of land had come into its fold. Ho land had been further divided merely for the sake of donation in Bhoodan movement.

(v) The uneconomic holdings; Another contention of the critics had been that Bhoodan created uneconomic holdings. As poor persons joined the movement by donating small pieces of land from their already tiny plots,the holdings were reduced to unecoijomAc units.

In answer to this, it i’s necessary to look upon the size of holdings of cultivable land per family in India. About 20 percent of holdings in the country are of below an acre, contributing to only a little over one percent of the total area operated, and about ^0 percent holdings are below 2.^ acres contributing to only 6 . 7 1 percent of the total area operated. More than 7^ percent of the agricultural holdings were below 7*5 acres comprising of 2 9 . 7 6 percent of the total area operated. The 154

•» inescapable fact here to note is that 62 percent of the land holdings v/ere below 5 acres of land. The average size of land holding in India is only 6 . 6 3 acres of land.

In view of the above facts, it must be admitted that holding of 5 acres of land which Bhoodan provided was certainly an improvement over the then existing situation. Moreover, the concept of 'economic holding' was quite relative. ]ji Japan the average holding was of 2 . 5 acres and yet her average produce from land was three times that of India. A small holding does not necessarily show a fall in production or become an un­ economic unit. The intensive cultivation practices with the help of better manur.es, seeds and irrigation facilities can turn even a small plot of land of 2.5 acres into an economic unit. The Japanese method of intensive cultivation could be practised by the peasants, and with this land of five acres each in Bhoodan they could have quite sufficiently maintained a tolerable standard of living.

(vi) Target not achieved ; The target of land-gift was set at fifty million acres which was to be achieved by the end of 1 9 5 7 * It was too high an ambition for a voluntary movement depending almost entirely on moral persuasion. Upto the end of 1957 only one-tenth of the target fixed was achieved. 155

One has to confess that the Bhoodan plan to achieve • the land revolution by 1957 had failed. This -was perhaps because many unrealistic and exaggerated claims were raised on behalf of the movement. May be, also the movement relied rather too much on the goodness of human nature and the Godhead in man.

(vii) Collectivisation or a misgivings It was claimed by the protagonists of Bhoodan that they were not enam- oured of collectivisation and they intended rather to give land to the millions of landless labourers in the countryside on an individual or family basis to begin with. Later on, of course, the idea wai? to welcome the cooperative endeavour, not so much for the pooling of land as for the pooling of various agricultural opera­ tions. Subsequently, however, there was a significant shift from the earlier views.. Collectivisation demands abolition of the right of ownership in land. Under it land becomes the property of the state or the village and the peasant becomes a mere worker on land.

In the Gram Swaraj of Vinoba and J.P's conception, it is feared, the peasant, under a more or less communised system of land management, may become a pawn in the hands of village community. The authority having control over the lands may not be far removed from him and may be more amenable to his desires and demands. But he loses his individuality, a large part of his freedom and becomes 156 absorbed in that collective order. His initiative is curbed with obvious consequences.

It was contended on behalf of the Bhoodan movement that it was incorrect to suggest that there had been any shift in the Bhoodan thought. Bhoodan did not begin with any prior theory about individual or collective agriculture. It pooled the lands and then gave some lands to the dispossessed land labourers and eventually brought about a redistribution of land. Land was given to individuals but the right of ownership ceased to be conditional.

The most important unit in Bhoodan was the indi­ vidual. He had to be wide awaken and realise clearly that the joy of life and sense of achievement came only when the offer of land v/as made with real goodwill, whatever one may have for the social good. Bhoodan wanted the people to come together, to think together and work together for the common good of all. The people as a whole and not tiny elite, or a group, or a party should have the initiative. It was thus a revolutionary effort to create an egalitarian society of J.P's dream in which every individual had the sense of being the centre and where all participated actively in the social process. It was an attempt on the part of the indivi­ dual to become harmonious with the whole of which he was a part. It naturally wanted to create a society 1 5 7

In -which evei’y one -would have a role to serve the -vjell- being of all. So the bonds that would bring people to­ gether would neither be those of self-interest nor those of enforced collective order of suppression and serfdom.

(viii) Why land to the landless ? The slogan 'Land to the Landless' seemed to emphasise the indispensable character of land for those vho did not have it. But the ideology of Bhoodan can by no means be justified on the ground that the land • is as indispensable as air, water and sun.

The approach of Bhoodan v/as quite different. Land is as free a gift of nature as air, water and sun. It is, therefore, nobody's property. Vinoba and

That is why J.P. emphasised the provision of implements and other facilities to the landless of the villages. J.P. wanted to raise a number of Dans like Sampattidan, Shramdan, Buddhidan etc. It is interesting here to note the objectives and methods of sampattidan which in general combined all the allied Dans of the Bhoodan movement. J.P. himself admitted that only Bhoo- dan or Gramdan could not bring about any change in the economic life of the people unless their other possessions like labour, capital and the ability were shared by all for the good of the society as a whole.

(ix) The legitimate ob.lection ; The only legitimate objection to the working of Bhoodan was that its machinery vjas not efficient and the distribution process was very slow. Upto 3 1 March, 196? only 11,90,718 acres of land could be distributed to about 16 lakh population. Besides, it was feared that the redistribution of land would obstruct subsequent reform of the land system.

On the other hand, it vjas hoped that the Bhoodan movement through the liquidation of vested interests and creation of socio-economic equality, would go a long ' way in, furthering the cause of cooperative farming in India. Moreover, judging from the ultimate aim of the Bhoodan movement, naciely ^the greatest good of all’ , there would be no objection, in principle, to make plots sufficiently large, if all the villagers agreed and it 159

did not infringe the basic principles of Sarvodaya. Similarly, there was not much scope for mechanised farming in liidia, yet there would be no objection to consider its adoption for increased aggregate efficiency • if it did not in any way endanger the stability of the village economy.

J.P. had repeatedly stated that the distribution of land under Bhoodan movement would not obstruct the agrarian reforms. As it is, our laws of inheritance and transfer required amendment to prevent fragmenta­ tion and transfer of land into the hands of non- cultivators or giant cultivators or combines. The land ceiling Acts are welfare measures. But, J.P. went further and demanded that all landholders should shed off their right of ownership and pool their hands for common use and benefit. But one should not think that the cause of land reforms was hampered by the Bhoodan movement. It did not seek exemption for the donors and the donees from the operations of any of the land reform laws. In fact, the movement created a better understanding among the villagers for adopting the land ^ reform measures as were announced by the government from time to time. 160 References & Motes 1 . Brahinanand, Total Revolution, Vol.1 , P. 2 3 6 . 2. Ibid. 3 . Misra B.R., V. for Vinoba : The Economics of Bhoodan Movement, P. 1 . Mamorla G.B., Op. Git., P.2. 5 . Ibid., P.2 . 6 . Misra, B.R. Op. Git., P. 1 . 7 . Narayan Jayaprakash, Jeevandan, Op. Git., P.7 . 8 . Masani R.P., Op. Git., P. 1 &6 . 9 . Truiiibul Robert, Op. Git., P.6 . 10. Bhave Vinoba, "All Wealth belongs to God", HARIJiUT, Vol. XVI- No. VO, 29 November, 19^2. 11. Mushrawala K.G., "Shri Vinoba's Telengana Tour- VI'-'', H A R I J M , Vol. XI- No. 37? 10 November, 1951 • 12. Bhoodan or La.nd through Gift, Department of Information and Public Relations, Government Press, Hyderabad, 195^? P*5* 1 3 . Ibid., P.8 . Desal M.P., ‘“The Bhoodan Anniversary^, H A R U M , Vol. XIX- No. 8 , 2 3 April, 1955* 1 5 . Nargolkar Vasant, Op. Git., P. 56. 1 6 . Mamorla G.3., Op. Git., P.3* 1 7 . Masani R.P., Op. Git., P. 153* 1 8 . Narayan Jayaprakash, A Picture of Sarvodaya Social Order, Op. Git., P. 82, 1 9 . Desai M.P., “The Bhoodan Anniversary”, HARIJM, Vol. XIX- No.8 , 2 3 April, 1955- 20. Mushrawala K.G., '‘Bhoodan Yajna**, H A RIJM, Vol. XV- No. 1+1, 8 December 1951* ■ 1 fi 1 21. Oomen T.K., Op. Cit., P.27. 22. Brahmand, Total Revolution, Vol. II, P.1V-. 2 3 . Warayan Jayaprakash, A Picture of Sarvodaya Social Order, Op. Git., P. lU-. 2h, Gupta Ramchandra, J.P. : From Marxism to Total Revolution, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, 1 9 8 1 , P. ^6. 2 5 . Narayan Jayaprakash, A Picture of Sarvodaya Social Order, P. 1 3 1 . 2 6 . Nargolkar Vasant, Op. Git., P. 51 • 2 7 . Narayan Jayaprakash, A Picture of Sarvodaya Social Order, P . 1 3^+. 2 8 . Narayan Jayaprakash, “Kov/akol Ki Janata Se Nivedan KiOODAI-I YAG, (Hindi), N 0 .I1-, 28 October,’ 1 9 5 5 . 29* Narayan Jayaprakash, "‘Sekhodeora Ashram Ka Prayoj'jn our Swarup'*, B H O O D M YAG (Hindi), No. hh, 1 9 August, 1955* 3 0 . Nargolkar Vasant, Op. Cit., P. 57. 3 1 . Narayan Jayaprakash, A Picture of Sarvodaya Social Order, P. 13^+. 3 2 . Bhattacharjee Ajit, Op. Cit., P. l!+8 . 3 3 . MasaniR.P., Op. Git., P . 1 9 1 3I+. Bhattacharjee Ajit, Op. Cit., P. 1 8 3 . 3 5 . Narayan Jayaprakash, Communitarian Society and Panchayati Ra.1, Navchetna Prakashan, Varanasi, 1 9 7 0 , P.5 3 . 3 6 . Narayan Jayaprakash, A Picture of Sarvodaya Social Order, P. 1-f.

3 7 . Ibid., 3 8 . Ibid., 1 fi 2 39. Narayan Jayaprakash, "Vitran Ki Samasya”', BHOODM YAG (Hindi), No. 33, June, 1955.. i+0. . File No. -:16 (a ). P. 2^. >-:1. Desal M.P., '"Vinoba’s progress'% H A R U M .Vol. ra- Wo. 19, 5 July, 1952. !+2. Trumtiul Robert, Op. Git., P.2. ^3. Mushrawala K.G., “The Progress of Bhoodan Yajna’S H i ^ I J M . Vol. XVI, No. 2, 26 July, 1952. M+. Rambhai Suresh, “Chandil Sarvodaya Conference", H A R I J M , Vol. XVII- No. h, h- April, 1953. if5. Nargolkar Vasant, Op. Git., P. 56. ^6. Masani R.P. , Op. Git., P. 95. 1+7. Ibid., P. 9V. i+8. Ibid., ^9. N.M.M.L., File No. 299, P. 37- 50. Narayari Jayaprakash, “Chhatron Se Ahwan'*, m O O D M YAG (Hindi), No. l5, 13 January, 1956. 51. N.M.M.L., File No. 290, P. 17- 52. N.M.M.L., File No. 299, P. 37. 53. Desai M.P., '^Gandhi, Nehru and Vinoba'% HARIJiST Vol. XIX- No. 11, Ilf May 1955. 5h. Ibid. 55* Nayar Sushila, “Bapu on land distribution'^ HARIJAN, Vol. XV- No. 20 December, 195l. 56. N.M.M.L.. File No. M-26. 57. Nargolkar Vasant, Op. Git., P. 59. 58. Mushrawala K.G. , '^The progress of Bhoodan Yajna’% H A R I J M , Vol. XVI - No. 22, 26 July 1952. 59. Desai M.P. , '•’’Th e Bhoodan Anniversary''^', HARIJM , Vol. XIX- No.8, 23 April, 1955- 5.63 60. Nargolkar Vasant, Op. Git., P. ^0. 61. Masani R.P., Op. Cit., P. 92. 62. Nargolkar Vasant, Op. Cit., P. 5 7 . 6 3 . Narayan Jayaprakash, “Charity begins at home'» Vol. XII- No. 2h, 1 I+ July, 1957. 6^. Ibid. 6 5 . Nargolkar Vasant, Op. Cit., P.57. 6 6 . N.M.M.L.. File No. 277 (I). P. l52. 6 7 . Narayan Jayaprakash, A Picture of Sarvodaya Social Order, P. 5 9 . 6 8 . Ibid. 6 9 . N.M.M.L., File No. ^12. P. 17. 7 0 . Ibid File No. 2^0, P. 2h, 71. Ibid. File No, 277 (II), P. ^93. 7 2 . Bharti Rabindra, J.P. Jameen Par, P. 3 6 . 7 3 . N.M.M.L., File Mo. 277 (II) P. U-93. 7^1-. Ibid, File No. 200, P. 68. 75- Ibid.. File No. 277(II), P. ^6 3 . 7 6 . Majumdar Dhirendra, *'^Tehri mein Jayaprakash"', BHOODAIT YAG, No. 2, 5 October, 1956. 7 7 . N.M.M.L., File No. 290, P. 2h, (Also see N.M.M.L.

. ^f) • File 2 8 9 , P 6 > 78. Ibid., File No. 277 (II), P 79. Ibid., File No, 2 9 1 , P. 8 0 . Ibid., File No. 3 0 7 , P. Ul. 8i. Ibid., File ■No. 7 6 , P. 67. 8 2 . Ibid., File No. 2 9 0 , P. 2h, 164 83. Ibid., File No. ^,09. P. 229. 8h, Ibid., File No. 290. P. 2h, 85. Ibid. 86. Ibid. 87. Ibid. 88. Bhave Vlnoba, “Distribution of Gifted land"®, HARLTAN, Vol. XVI- No. 23, 26 July, 1952. 8 9 . Ibid. 9 0 . N.M.M.L.. File No. 280. P. 79. 9 1 . Bhave Vlnoba, '"Distribution of gifted land"', H A R I J M . Vol. XVI- No. 23, 26 July, 1952. 9 2 . Narayan Jayaprakash, '’‘Significance of 1957'% JMATA, Vol. XII- No. 2^ February, 1957. 9 3 . Ibid. 9^-f. Desai M.P., "Land and Man**, H ARIJM, Vol, XIX- No. 1 6 , 1 8 June, 1955. 95‘ Desai M.P. , “In search of Sarvodaya'*', JANATA Vol. X- No. 2 3 , 7 July, 1 9 5 7 . 9 6 . Masanl R.P., Op. Git., P. 156. 9 7 . Ibid. 9 8 . N.M.M.L., File No. 290, P. 57. 9 9 . Ibid., File No. 291. P. 32. (Also see File No.290, P. ^0). 100. Ibid., File No. 309, P. 15- 101. Ibid., File No. 290, P. 6 3 . 102. Ibid., File No, 291, P. 32. (Also see Mamorla C.B. Op. Git., P. h.) 1 0 3 . N.M.M.L., File No. 290, P. 2k, • 165 10V. File lo. 291, P. 32, (Also see Bhave Vlnoba, ‘‘Distrl'bution of gifted land^*, HARI.TM, Vol. XVI- No. 23, 26 July, 1952. 1 0 5 . N.M.M.I., File No. 280, P. 21.

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