Zamindari Abolition Act 1950 and Delay of its Implementation DR. S. M. REZAUL KARIM Professor, Department of History, University of Dhaka.

https://doi.org/10.59815/bhs.vol2606

Abstract: From  ancient times to the colonial period, the traditional rights of the peasants in the land, i.e. the right of possession of the land from generation to generation in return for payment of rent, were maintained. But the traditional rights of the peasants were extinguished when the state declared the zamindars as the owners and proprietors of the land under the Permanent Settlement of 1793. Although land reforms were carried out several times during the colonial period, the ownership and proprietorship of the land by the peasants was not established. Moreover, exploitation and oppression of the disenfranchised peasantry by the zamindars continued. The Zamindari Abolition Act was enacted in 1950 after the establishment of independent Pakistan at the end of colonial rule. In this Act, the Permanent Settlement was abolished and the peasant's right to land ownership and proprietorship was legally established. Due to the delay in the implementation of this act, the people were deprived of these benefits. This article will review the obstacles that arose in its implementation after the enactment of the Zamindari Abolition Act. Based on a qualitative methodology, data gathered from archival documents and other sources was used to write this paper. The historical research approach has been used to analyse the sources. It employs primary—such as government reports, assembly proceedings, newspapers, etc.—as well as secondary—such as books and scholarly articles. The paper concludes that because of the long time spent in implementing the Act due to the various obstacles and its impacts, mostly negative, on the state and society, an exploitation-free society dreamed by the people of East Bengal could not be established.

Keywords: Zamindari Abolition Act, Land Revenue Commission, East Bengal Provincial Legislative Council.