20110228 515Lawoflandless2 En.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
LAW OF THE LANDLESS THE DALIT BID FOR LAND REDISTRIBUTION IN GUJARAT, INDIA Topher L. McDougal INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GROUP MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY CAMBRIDGE, MA MAY 2007 © 2007 Topher L. McDougal. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to the Navsarjan Trust permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................... VII ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. IX 1. LAND REDISTRIBUTION IN THE GUJARATI CONTEXT............................................... 1 1.1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY ...................................................................................... 1 1.2. THE ORGANIZATION AND METHODS OF THIS STUDY ............................................... 4 1.3. A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAND REDISTRIBUTION IN GUJARAT SINCE INDEPENDENCE ................................................................................................... 9 1.3.1. THE ADMINISTRATION OF POST-INDEPENDENCE GUJARAT ................................ 9 1.3.2. GUJARATI LAND REFORM LEGISLATION .............................................................. 12 1.3.3. NAVSARJAN’S PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION ..................................................... 18 1.3.4. A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE ALCA AND GOVERNMENT LANDS PROGRAM19 1.4. THEORETICAL MODELS FOR ASSESSING LAND REDISTRIBUTION INITIATIVES .. 24 1.4.1. RANKED AND UNRANKED SOCIETIES ................................................................... 25 1.4.2. THE CASTE SYSTEM................................................................................................. 28 1.4.3. TODAY’S DALIT STRUGGLE.................................................................................... 29 1.4.4. NAVSARJAN’S IDEOLOGY AND GOALS.................................................................. 32 2. LAND REFORM IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................................. 37 2.1. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS & THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES .......................................... 38 2.1.1. DISTRICT OFFICIALS ................................................................................................ 39 2.1.2. TALUKA-LEVEL OFFICIALS..................................................................................... 42 2.1.3. VILLAGE-LEVEL OFFICIALS.................................................................................... 45 2.1.4. THE BUREAUCRATIC SYSTEM AT WORK .............................................................. 46 2.2. A SIMPLIFIED ANALYSIS OF GOVERNMENT’S IMPACT ON REDISTRIBUTION ...... 47 2.2.1. GENERAL TRENDS IN REGRESSION RESULTS FOR BREAKDOWN PREDICTORS51 2.2.2. GROUND-LEVEL BREAKDOWNS............................................................................. 51 2.2.3. VILLAGE-LEVEL BREAKDOWNS............................................................................. 59 2.2.4. TALUKA-LEVEL BREAKDOWNS ............................................................................. 63 2.3. DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF ALCA AND GOVERNMENT LANDS...................... 67 2.4. SOCIAL OUTCOMES OF LAND REFORMS ................................................................... 69 2.4.1. POSITIVE SOCIAL OUTCOMES ................................................................................ 69 2.4.2. NEGATIVE SOCIAL OUTCOMES .............................................................................. 73 3. ACTIVISM AND INTERVENTION.................................................................................... 77 3.1. NAVSARJAN’S THREE-PRONGED STRATEGY ............................................................ 77 3.2. IMPLICIT CRITIQUES OF QUANTITATIVE LAND REFORM OUTCOME MODELS .... 86 3.3. AVENUES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH.......................................................................... 88 3.4. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................... 90 3.4.1. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE STATE..................................................... 90 3.4.2. POLICY RECOMMENDATION FOR NAVSARJAN .................................................... 93 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................. 95 LIST OF TERMS......................................................................................................................... 99 APPENDIX A: COMPARATIVE LAND REDISTRIBUTION EFFORTS ................................103 APPENDIX B: LAND REFORM IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIGRAMS..............................105 APPENDIX C: REGRESSION RESULTS FOR SECTION 2 ....................................................107 iii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.3.1-1. MAP OF PRESENT-DAY GUJARAT AND ITS ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRICTS.................. 11 FIGURE 1.3.2-1. LORENZ CURVES OF LAND ASSET OWNERSHIP AMONG VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IN INDIA (1982-1992)......................................................................................................... 16 FIGURE 2.2.2-1. MAP OF SURENDRANAGAR DISTRICT DEPICTING VILLAGES, TALUKA HEADQUARTERS, AND DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS....................................................... 55 FIGURE 2.2.3-1. HISTOGRAMS OF DALIT LAND RECIPIENTS SURVEYED AND SURENDRANAGAR DISTRICT AS A WHOLE. .................................................................................................... 63 FIGURE 2.3-1. BREAKDOWNS BY LAND TYPE AT THE TALUKA, VILLAGE, AND GROUND LEVELS. 69 FIGURE 2.4.1-1. POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SOCIAL OUTCOMES OF THE LAND REFORMS BY LAND TYPE.................................................................................................................................... 70 FIGURE 3.1-1. A COMPARISON OF SURVEY RESPONSES FOR SELECTED QUESTIONS FROM 1996 AND 2006. .................................................................................................................. 85 FIGURE B-1. ORGANIGRAM OF THE ASSESSMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS FOR LAND REDISTRIBUTION UNDER THE ALCA............................................................................ 105 FIGURE B-2. ORGANIGRAM OF THE ASSESSMENT AND SELECTION PROCESS FOR LAND REDISTRIBUTION UNDER THE ALCA............................................................................ 105 FIGURE B-3. ORGANIGRAM OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS FOR LAND REDISTRIBUTION UNDER BOTH THE ALCA AND GOVERNMENT LANDS PROGRAMME....................... 106 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1.3.2-1. PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF OWNERSHIP HOLDINGS AMONG VULNERABLE POPULATIONS. .......................................................................................... 15 TABLE 1.3.2-2. GOVERNMENT LANDS IN THE SOUTHERN SUB-DISTRICT OF SURENDRANAGAR DISTRICT DISTRIBUTED FROM 1960 TO DECEMBER 2006, CATEGORIZED BY RECIPIENT CASTE.............................................................................................................. 18 TABLE 1.3.2-3. GOVERNMENT LANDS IN THE SOUTHERN SUB-DISTRICT OF SURENDRANAGAR DISTRICT DISTRIBUTED SINCE 1960, CATEGORIZED BY TALUKA. ............................. 18 TABLE 1.3.4-1. LOCATION QUOTIENTS FOR GUJARAT’S REDISTRIBUTION MEASURES SORTED BY ACRES, NUMBER OF BENEFICIARIES, AND AVERAGE PARCEL SIZE. .......................... 21 TABLE 2.1-1. GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS KEY TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LAND REDISTRIBUTION LEGISLATION. .................................................................................................................... 39 TABLE 2.1.4-1. iv SELECTION PROCESSES FOR LAND RECIPIENTS UNDER THE ALCA AND GOVERNMENT LANDS PROGRAMME.............................................................................. 47 TABLE 2.1.4-2. THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING LAND REFORMS IS SHARED BY BOTH THE ALCA AND THE GOVERNMENT LANDS PROGRAMME...................................................................... 47 TABLE 2.2-1. LEVELS OF SUB-DISTRICT GOVERNMENT AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR IMPLEMENTATION BREAKDOWN.................................................................................... 49 TABLE 2.2-2. CONTROL VARIABLES AND THEIR SOURCES................................................................. 49 TABLE 2.2.2-1. DETERMINANTS OF BREAKDOWNS IN REDISTRIBUTION IMPLEMENTATION AT THE GROUND LEVEL IN DECREASING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE. ........................................ 53 TABLE 2.2.3-1. DETERMINANTS OF BREAKDOWNS IN REDISTRIBUTION IMPLEMENTATION AT THE VILLAGE LEVEL IN DECREASING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE. ........................................ 60 TABLE 2.2.4-1. DETERMINANTS OF BREAKDOWNS IN REDISTRIBUTION IMPLEMENTATION AT THE TALUKA LEVEL IN DECREASING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE (EASEMENT DIFFICULTIES EXCLUDED)........................................................................................................................ 66 TABLE 2.2.4-2. DETERMINANTS OF BREAKDOWNS IN REDISTRIBUTION IMPLEMENTATION AT THE TALUKA LEVEL IN DECREASING ORDER OF IMPORTANCE (EASEMENT DIFFICULTIES INCLUDED)......................................................................................................................... 67 TABLE A-1. LAND REDISTRIBUTION EFFORTS IN VARIOUS INDIAN STATES, WITH SCHEDULED CASTE RECIPIENTS EXTRACTED. .................................................................................. 103 TABLES C-1. REGRESSION RESULTS FOR DETERMINANTS OF BREAKDOWNS AT