SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN LAND OWNERSHIP IN LAND OWNERSHIP IN

INDIAINDIA

A STUDY WITH PARTICULAR A STUDY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO WEST REFERENCE TO WEST

BENGALBENGALAparajita BakshiAparajita Bakshi

Junior Research FellowJunior Research FellowIndian Statistical InstituteIndian Statistical Institute

Kolkata, IndiaKolkata, India

Objectives Objectives

Assess the inequalities in access to Assess the inequalities in access to land between the different social land between the different social groups, especially Dalits and groups, especially Dalits and Adivasis in rural India Adivasis in rural India

A case study of the impact of land A case study of the impact of land reforms in West Bengal, a State in reforms in West Bengal, a State in Eastern India on the land holding Eastern India on the land holding among Dalit and Adivasi householdsamong Dalit and Adivasi households

Secondary data sources on land holdings in India

National Sample Survey Land and National Sample Survey Land and Livestock Holdings SurveysLivestock Holdings Surveys

4848thth round (1992) round (1992)

National Sample Survey National Sample Survey Employment Unemployment SurveysEmployment Unemployment Surveys

5050thth round (1993-94) round (1993-94)6161stst round (2004-05) round (2004-05)

Definitions of land holdingsDefinitions of land holdings

• Land and Livestock Holding Land and Livestock Holding surveyssurveys

Ownership holdings of agricultural Ownership holdings of agricultural landland

• Employment Unemployment Employment Unemployment SurveysSurveys

Land cultivated by householdsLand cultivated by households

Households that do not cultivate land, India and States, 1993-94 and 2004-05 per thousand rural households

States 1993-94 2004-05

Dalit All Dalit All

Andhra Pradesh 604 495 747 607

Assam 444 294 272 243

Bihar 676 375 679 464

Gujarat 713 463 745 506

Haryana 886 515 945 593

Himachal Pradesh 140 133 225 189

Karnataka 516 383 622 461

Kerala 811 694 550 364

Madhya Pradesh 385 249 464 335

Maharashtra 597 430 676 480

Orissa 515 354 534 415

Punjab 949 615 941 683

Rajasthan 279 189 451 260

Tamil Nadu 770 634 845 718

Tripura 567 521 566 541

Uttar Pradesh 296 229 364 282

West Bengal 471 416 486 474

India 528 387 574 428

Index of AccessIndex of Access

Index of Access for the social group j, Index of Access for the social group j, denoted as Aj can be represented as;denoted as Aj can be represented as;

Aj = Percentage of total extent of Aj = Percentage of total extent of ownership/operational holdings ownership/operational holdings owned/operated by group j ÷ owned/operated by group j ÷ Percentage of households in group j Percentage of households in group j in total householdsin total households

Relative access index A = Ai/AjRelative access index A = Ai/Aj

Index of access to agricultural land by social groups, 1992

States Ownership holdings

ST SC Others

Andhra Pradesh 1.0 0.4 1.2

Assam 1.3 0.8 1.0

Bihar 1.7 0.2 1.1

Gujarat 0.5 0.5 1.2

Haryana 0.0 0.2 1.3

Himachal Pradesh 1.2 0.6 1.1

Jammu & Kashmir 0.4 0.7 1.1

Karnataka 0.8 0.6 1.1

Kerala 1.2 0.2 1.1

Madhya Pradesh 0.8 0.7 1.2

Maharashtra 0.7 0.5 1.2

Orissa 1.3 0.5 1.0

Punjab 0.0 0.1 1.6

Rajasthan 0.6 0.6 1.2

Tamil Nadu 0.7 0.4 1.3

Tripura 1.4 0.9 0.9

Uttar Pradesh 0.8 0.5 1.2

West Bengal 1.0 0.8 1.1

India 1.1 0.5 1.2

Relative Index of Access to agricultural land, 1992 State Ownership holdings

ND/Dalit ND/Adivasi

Andhra Pradesh 3.0 1.2

Assam 1.3 0.8

Bihar 5.3 0.6

Gujarat 2.5 2.2

Haryana 6.0

Himachal Pradesh 1.8 1.0

Jammu & Kashmir 1.7 2.9

Karnataka 1.8 1.4

Kerala 6.4 0.9

Madhya Pradesh 1.7 1.5

Maharashtra 2.2 1.6

Orissa 2.1 0.8

Punjab 13.0

Rajasthan 2.1 2.1

Tamil Nadu 3.4 2.0

Tripura 1.0 0.6

Uttar Pradesh 2.6 1.5

West Bengal 1.3 1.1

India 2.5 1.1

TENTULTALA

DALKATI

KALINAGAR & BIDYANIDHI

AMARSINGHI

THUTHIPAKAR

KALMANDASGURI

Social composition in the study villages, Social composition in the study villages, May June 2005May June 2005

Village District As percentage of total households

Muslim Non-Dalit

Dalit Adivasi

Tentultala North 24 Parganas

59.4 1.2 39.0 0.4

Amarsinghi Malda 0.0 66.4 32.7 0.9

Thuthipakar

Uttar Dinajpur

0.0 7.9 36.2 55.9

Kalmandasguri

Koch Bihar

39.8 8.6 46.1 5.5

Bidyanidhi Barddhaman

18.3 33.8 47.9 0.0

Kalinagar Barddhaman

0.0 28.4 32.8 38.8

Dalkati West Medinipu

r

30.73 69.27Source: Survey data

Land reform benefits - Share of different social groups in agricultural land distributed in the study villages,

May June 2005 Village Percentage of total agricultural land

distributedTotal land

distributed (in acres)Muslim Non-

DalitDalit Adivasi

Tentultala 29 0.0 71 0 6.5

Amarsinghi 95 5 0 11.64

Thuthipakar 46 8 45 9.72

Kalmandasguri

40 17 19 25 19.01

Bidyanidhi 18 0.0 82 2.8

Kalinagar 11 39 50 4.52

Dalkati 27 73 476

Source: Survey data

Index of access to agricultural land in study villages, by social groups, May June 2005

Village Access Index - ownership holdings

Muslim Non-Dalit Dalit ST

Tentultala 0.6 2.3 1.5 5.8

Amarsinghi 1.3 0.5 0.0

Thuthipakar 1.4 1.3 0.8

Kalmandasguri 0.5 1.1 1.4 1.2

Bidyanidhi 0.4 2.4 0.2

Kalinagar 2.8 0.3 0.3

Dalkati 1.8 0.6

Source: Survey data

Land reform benefits – Share of different social groups in homestead land distributed in the study villages, May June

2005

Social group Number of households that gained

homestead

As percentage of

all househ

olds

Extent of land

acquired (in acres)

As percentage of total land

acquired

Muslim 50 23.8 5.1 21.5

Non-Dalit 20 9.5 2.28 9.6

Dalit 44 21.0 3.93 16.6

Adivasi 96 45.7 12.38 52.3

All 210 100.0 23.69 100.0

Source: Survey data

Net purchase of land in the last 15 years (1990 – 2005) in the survey villages, by social groups, in acres

Caste Tentultala

Amarsingh

i

Thuthipakar

Kalmandasguri

Bidyanidhi

Kalinagar

Dalkati

Muslim 6.3 0.0 0.0 15.8 2.6 0.0

Non Dalits

1.0 -9.6 -3.4 -1.8 -0.8 -2.5 4.2

Dalit 11.0 -0.6 14.9 14.3 8.6 0.2

Adivasi -0.5 0.0 -20.9 0.0 0.0 0.9 5.8

All 17.7 -10.2 -9.3 28.3 10.3 -1.5 10.0

Source: Survey data

Dalits in rural India have far less access to land than any other social group. There is an increase in landlessness among Dalits in India in the previous decade.

Secondary data show the Dalits in West Bengal have better access to land compared to other Indian States. This is indicated by the fact that the proportion of landless Dalit households is lower in West Bengal than the national average and the Index of Access is higher.

The increase in the incidence of landlessness among Dalits in West Bengal in the previous decade is lower than that in India. Also, the increase in the incidence of landlessness in West Bengal is higher for non-Dalits than Dalits.

Village level data show that Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim households have been major beneficiaries of land reforms in West Bengal. These social groups have gained access to agricultural and homestead land through the process of land reforms. The direct policy of land reform implemented by the Government of West Bengal, though in a limited way, have contributed to lowering inequalities among the deprived social groups in the State and that is also reflected in the secondary data.

Increased purchasing power among the poor in Bengal facilitated by land distribution has increased the participation of Dalit and Muslim households in land markets.