Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900 - Revision history

ChristinTrickett: small updated details as per guidelines additionally and corrected details as per guidelines

2026-03-25T17:49:21Z

small updated details as per guidelines additionally and corrected details as per guidelines

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:19, 25 March 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	{{Use Indian English\|date=November 2018}}		{{Use Indian English\|date=November 2018}}
	{{Infobox legislation		{{Infobox legislation
	\|short_title = ~~The~~ Punjab Alienation of Land Act 1900		\|short_title = Punjab Alienation of Land Act, 1900
	\|repealed_by = A.O. 1950		\|repealed_by = A.O. 1950
	\|status = repealed		\|status = repealed
	}}		}}
	The '''Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900''' was a piece of legislation introduced by the [[British Raj]] with the aim of limiting the transfer of land ownership in [[Punjab Province (British India)\|Punjab Province]]. It created an "agricultural tribes" category, the membership of which was almost compulsory to buy or sell land.<ref>[http://pseweb.eu/ydepot/semin/texte0910/CAS2010BRI.pdf British law and caste identity manipulation in colonial India: the Punjab Alienation of Land Act., Guilhem Cassan, Paris School of Economics (PSE), Laboratoire d’Economie Appliqu´ee (LEA-INRA) and Centre de Sciences Humaines de Delhi (CSH), 12 January 2010]</ref><ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/special/why-dera-sacha-sauda-draws-followers/20170828.htm Why Dera Sacha Sauda draws followers, Sanjeev Nayar, Rediff, 28 August 2017]</ref>
			The '''Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900''' was a piece of legislation introduced by the [[British Raj]] with the aim of limiting the transfer of land ownership in [[Punjab Province (British India)\|Punjab Province]]. It created an "agricultural tribes" category, the membership of which was almost compulsory to buy or sell land.<ref>[http://pseweb.eu/ydepot/semin/texte0910/CAS2010BRI.pdf British law and caste identity manipulation in colonial India: the Punjab Alienation of Land Act., Guilhem Cassan, Paris School of Economics (PSE), Laboratoire d’Economie Appliqu´ee (LEA-INRA) and Centre de Sciences Humaines de Delhi (CSH), 12 January 2010]</ref><ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/special/why-dera-sacha-sauda-draws-followers/20170828.htm Why Dera Sacha Sauda draws followers, Sanjeev Nayar, Rediff, 28 August 2017]</ref>

	== Background ==		== Background ==
	The advent of [[Company rule in India\|British rule in India]] had led to a trend whereby ownership rights to land were increasingly concentrated in the hands of urban moneylenders and other commercial communities ~~among the Hindu population~~. They were assigned the property previously held by poor peasants, who either sold or mortgaged for the short-term benefit derived from the increasing values of land caused by improved agricultural methods, irrigation and communications. Such transfers were enforceable under law but, in British eyes, potentially damaging to their colonial administration because they might ultimately result in a disaffected rural peasant population. British law was effectively supporting the growth of a class of people — the new owners — that might prove detrimental to its own purpose. In addition, historian Kenneth Jones says that the transfers were contrary to British sentiments: "Not only did this development threaten the stability and peace of the Punjab, it also struck at the British self-image of benevolent and paternalistic protectors of the lowly peasant".{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|pp=182-183\|ps=}}		The advent of [[Company rule in India\|British rule in India]] had led to a trend whereby ownership rights to land were increasingly concentrated in the hands of urban moneylenders and other commercial communities. They were assigned the property previously held by poor peasants, who either sold or mortgaged for the short-term benefit derived from the increasing values of land caused by improved agricultural methods, irrigation and communications. Such transfers were enforceable under law but, in British eyes, potentially damaging to their colonial administration because they might ultimately result in a disaffected rural peasant population. British law was effectively supporting the growth of a class of people — the new owners — that might prove detrimental to its own purpose. In addition, historian Kenneth Jones says that the transfers were contrary to British sentiments: "Not only did this development threaten the stability and peace of the Punjab, it also struck at the British self-image of benevolent and paternalistic protectors of the lowly peasant".{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|pp=182-183\|ps=}}

	==Legal framework==		==Legal framework==
	=== Legislation ===		=== Legislation ===
	Concern about developments turned to serious debate in the 1890s and on 27 September 1899 the future [[List of governors of Punjab (British India)\|Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab]], [[Charles Montgomery Rivaz\|Charles Rivaz]], presented the [[Imperial Legislative Council]] with a proposal titled the Punjab Alienation of Land Bill.{{efn\|Kenneth Jones says that Charles Rivaz was Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab in 1899 but this is incorrect. He succeeded [[William Mackworth Young]] in that office in 1902.}} The measure was viewed by educated Hindus in the province as ~~being~~ another example of Raj discrimination against their interests. In classifying people as being either "agriculturalist" or "non-agriculturalist" and limiting the transfer of land between those two groups, they saw the measure as preventing free investment of capital and reducing their opportunity to acquire the status traditionally associated with land ownership. ~~More~~, with the majority of those classified as agriculturists being Muslim,{{sfnp\|Nair\|2011\|p=13\|ps=}} the educated elite saw it as being anti-Hindu, just as their diminishing ability to gain government employment, which was once their preserve, was considered to be such.{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|pp=182-183\|ps=}}{{efn\|Hindus had traditionally been dominant in government offices but competition for such jobs became tougher from the 1880s for a variety of reasons rooted both in policy and in demographic changes. The [[Aitchison Commission]] was significant in this development.{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|pp=182-183\|ps=}}}}		Concern about developments turned to serious debate in the 1890s and on 27 September 1899 the future [[List of governors of Punjab (British India)\|Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab]], [[Charles Montgomery Rivaz\|Charles Rivaz]], presented the [[Imperial Legislative Council]] with a proposal titled the Punjab Alienation of Land Bill.{{efn\|Kenneth Jones says that Charles Rivaz was Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab in 1899 but this is incorrect. He succeeded [[William Mackworth Young]] in that office in 1902.}} The measure was viewed by educated Hindus in the province as another example of Raj discrimination against their interests. In classifying people as being either "agriculturalist" or "non-agriculturalist" and limiting the transfer of land between those two groups, they saw the measure as preventing free investment of capital and reducing their opportunity to acquire the status traditionally associated with land ownership. Moreover, with the majority of those classified as agriculturists being Muslim,{{sfnp\|Nair\|2011\|p=13\|ps=}} the educated elite saw it as being anti-Hindu, just as their diminishing ability to gain government employment, which was once their preserve, was considered to be such.{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|pp=182-183\|ps=}}{{efn\|Hindus had traditionally been dominant in government offices but competition for such jobs became tougher from the 1880s for a variety of reasons rooted both in policy and in demographic changes. The [[Aitchison Commission]] was significant in this development.{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|pp=182-183\|ps=}}}}

	Rivaz's proposed legislation reignited the interest of elite Hindu Punjabis in the [[Indian National Congress\|Congress]] and [[Indian Association]] political movements, which had waned during the decade. When the Congress delegates at the 1899 gathering in [[Lucknow]] supported opposition to the proposal, it created a rift between the organisation and Punjabi Muslims and peasants.{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|pp=247-248\|ps=}} However, factional disputes among the Punjabi elite — notably, between the [[Arya Samaj]]ists and the [[Brahmo]]s — meant that this revived enthusiasm for Congress was short-lived.{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|p=249\|ps=}}		Rivaz's proposed legislation reignited the interest of elite Hindu Punjabis in the [[Indian National Congress\|Congress]] and [[Indian Association]] political movements, which had waned during the decade. When the Congress delegates at the 1899 gathering in [[Lucknow]] supported opposition to the proposal, it created a rift between the organisation and Punjabi Muslims and peasants.{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|pp=247-248\|ps=}} However, factional disputes among the Punjabi elite — notably, between the [[Arya Samaj]]ists and the [[Brahmo]]s — meant that this revived enthusiasm for Congress was short-lived.{{sfnp\|Jones\|1976\|p=249\|ps=}}
Line 43:		Line 44:
	== Further reading ==		== Further reading ==
	*{{cite journal \|journal=Indian Economic and Social History Review \|date=April 1965 \|volume=2 \|issue=2 \|pages=145–165 \|doi=10.1177/001946466400200203 \|title=The Formulation and Enactment of the Punjab Alienation of Land Bill \|first=Norman G. \|last=Barrier\|s2cid=145411052 }}		*{{cite journal \|journal=Indian Economic and Social History Review \|date=April 1965 \|volume=2 \|issue=2 \|pages=145–165 \|doi=10.1177/001946466400200203 \|title=The Formulation and Enactment of the Punjab Alienation of Land Bill \|first=Norman G. \|last=Barrier\|s2cid=145411052 }}
	*{{cite journal \|journal=Modern Asian Studies \|volume=29 \|issue=2 \|date=May 1995 \|pages=271–291 \|title=The Punjab Land Alienation Act and the Professional Moneylenders \|first=M. Mufakharul \|last=Islam \|doi=10.1017/S0026749X00012737}}		*{{cite journal \|journal=Modern Asian Studies \|volume=29 \|issue=2 \|date=May 1995 \|pages=271–291 \|title=The Punjab Land Alienation Act and the Professional Moneylenders \|first=M. Mufakharul \|last=Islam \|doi=10.1017/S0026749X00012737\|s2cid=145793221 }}
	*{{cite book \|title=Law and the Economy in Colonial India \|first1=Tirthankar \|last1=Roy \|first2=Anand V. \|last2=Swamy \|publisher=University of Chicago Press \|year=2016 \|isbn=978-0-22638-764-2 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5mspDQAAQBAJ}}		*{{cite book \|title=Law and the Economy in Colonial India \|first1=Tirthankar \|last1=Roy \|first2=Anand V. \|last2=Swamy \|publisher=University of Chicago Press \|year=2016 \|isbn=978-0-22638-764-2 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5mspDQAAQBAJ}}
	*{{cite book \|title=The Garrison State: Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849-1947 \|first=Tan Tai \|last=Yong \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2005 \|isbn=978-0-76193-336-6 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5ZiMV7rqWUC}}		*{{cite book \|title=The Garrison State: Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849-1947 \|first=Tan Tai \|last=Yong \|publisher=SAGE \|year=2005 \|isbn=978-0-76193-336-6 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5ZiMV7rqWUC}}
Line 52:		Line 53:
	[[Category:Legislation in British India]]		[[Category:Legislation in British India]]
	[[Category:Land law]]		[[Category:Land law]]
	[[Category:~~History of~~ Punjab]]		[[Category:Punjab Province (British India)]]
	[[Category:1900 in India]]		[[Category:1900 in India]]

->Qwerfjkl (bot): Removed link(s) to title (CW Error #48) (via Bandersnatch)

2021-10-01T15:52:09Z

Removed link(s) to title (CW Error #48) (via Bandersnatch)

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox legislation
|short_title = The Punjab Alienation of Land Act 1900
|repealed_by = A.O. 1950
|status = repealed
}}
The '''Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1900''' was a piece of legislation introduced by the [[British Raj]] with the aim of limiting the transfer of land ownership in [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]]. It created an "agricultural tribes" category, the membership of which was almost compulsory to buy or sell land.<ref>[http://pseweb.eu/ydepot/semin/texte0910/CAS2010BRI.pdf British law and caste identity manipulation in colonial India: the Punjab Alienation of Land Act., Guilhem Cassan, Paris School of Economics (PSE), Laboratoire d’Economie Appliqu´ee (LEA-INRA) and Centre de Sciences Humaines de Delhi (CSH), 12 January 2010]</ref><ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/special/why-dera-sacha-sauda-draws-followers/20170828.htm Why Dera Sacha Sauda draws followers, Sanjeev Nayar, Rediff, 28 August 2017]</ref>

== Background ==
The advent of [[Company rule in India|British rule in India]] had led to a trend whereby ownership rights to land were increasingly concentrated in the hands of urban moneylenders and other commercial communities among the Hindu population. They were assigned the property previously held by poor peasants, who either sold or mortgaged for the short-term benefit derived from the increasing values of land caused by improved agricultural methods, irrigation and communications. Such transfers were enforceable under law but, in British eyes, potentially damaging to their colonial administration because they might ultimately result in a disaffected rural peasant population. British law was effectively supporting the growth of a class of people — the new owners — that might prove detrimental to its own purpose. In addition, historian Kenneth Jones says that the transfers were contrary to British sentiments: "Not only did this development threaten the stability and peace of the Punjab, it also struck at the British self-image of benevolent and paternalistic protectors of the lowly peasant".{{sfnp|Jones|1976|pp=182-183|ps=}}

==Legal framework==
=== Legislation ===
Concern about developments turned to serious debate in the 1890s and on 27 September 1899 the future [[List of governors of Punjab (British India)|Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab]], [[Charles Montgomery Rivaz|Charles Rivaz]], presented the [[Imperial Legislative Council]] with a proposal titled the Punjab Alienation of Land Bill.{{efn|Kenneth Jones says that Charles Rivaz was Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab in 1899 but this is incorrect. He succeeded [[William Mackworth Young]] in that office in 1902.}} The measure was viewed by educated Hindus in the province as being another example of Raj discrimination against their interests. In classifying people as being either "agriculturalist" or "non-agriculturalist" and limiting the transfer of land between those two groups, they saw the measure as preventing free investment of capital and reducing their opportunity to acquire the status traditionally associated with land ownership. More, with the majority of those classified as agriculturists being Muslim,{{sfnp|Nair|2011|p=13|ps=}} the educated elite saw it as being anti-Hindu, just as their diminishing ability to gain government employment, which was once their preserve, was considered to be such.{{sfnp|Jones|1976|pp=182-183|ps=}}{{efn|Hindus had traditionally been dominant in government offices but competition for such jobs became tougher from the 1880s for a variety of reasons rooted both in policy and in demographic changes. The [[Aitchison Commission]] was significant in this development.{{sfnp|Jones|1976|pp=182-183|ps=}}}}

Rivaz's proposed legislation reignited the interest of elite Hindu Punjabis in the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] and [[Indian Association]] political movements, which had waned during the decade. When the Congress delegates at the 1899 gathering in [[Lucknow]] supported opposition to the proposal, it created a rift between the organisation and Punjabi Muslims and peasants.{{sfnp|Jones|1976|pp=247-248|ps=}} However, factional disputes among the Punjabi elite — notably, between the [[Arya Samaj]]ists and the [[Brahmo]]s — meant that this revived enthusiasm for Congress was short-lived.{{sfnp|Jones|1976|p=249|ps=}}

=== Aftermath ===
The [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|National Unionist Party]] was established as a consequence of the 1900 legislation to protect the interests of agriculturists.{{sfnp|Nair|2011|p=71|ps=}} The subsequent Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1907 further restricted the transfer of land ownership between various groups.{{sfnp|Nair|2011|p=6|ps=}}

==Amendments==

===2019 Haryana amendment===
{{See also | Aravalli_Range#Green_wall_of_India | l1 = The Great Green Wall of Aravalli | Forests Department, Haryana#Leopards | l2= Leopards of Haryana}}

In 2019, Haryana government passed [[Forests_Department,_Haryana#Flora_and_forests_of_Haryana|the amendment]] to the Punjab Land Alienation Act, 1900 (PLPA), which had obtained ascent from the governor but has not yet been notified by the Haryana government, hence it is in limbo and has not become officially become a law. This amendment will reduce the Haryana’s Natural Conservation Zones (NCZs) by 47% or 60,000 acres from 122,113.30 hectares to only 64,384.66 hectares. This is in violation of multiple guidelines of the [[Supreme Court of India]] as well as "[[National Capital Region (India)|NCR Planning Board]]" (NCRPB) notification which states the original 122,113.30 hectares ecologically sensitive forest of [[South Haryana]] is a forest, ''"The major natural features, identified as environmentally sensitive areas, are the extension of Aravalli ridge in Rajasthan, Haryana and NCT-Delhi; forest areas; rivers and tributaries... major lakes and water bodies such as [[Badkhal Lake|Badkhal lake]], [[Surajkund|Suraj Kund]] and [[Damdama Lake|Damdama]] in Haryana sub-region"''.<ref name=pollute1>[https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/law-changes-bring-aravalli-conservation-to-the-fore/story-0PKgcgblRjSoVkuJIZuu0O.html Law changes bring Aravalli conservation to the fore], Hindustan Times, 22 December 2019.</ref> This area, as part of [[Aravalli_Range#Northern_Aravalli_leopard_and_wildlife_corridor|Northern Aravalli leopard and wildlife corridor]], is an important habitat for the [[Forests_Department,_Haryana#leopard|leopards in Haryana]].

== See also ==
* [[Sindh Land Alienation Bill, 1947]]

== References ==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{citation |title=Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-century Punjab |first=Kenneth W. |last=Jones |publisher=University of California Press |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-52002-920-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RpvXCtNzrz8C}}
*{{citation |title=Changing Homelands |first=Neeti |last=Nair |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-67406-115-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sbqF0z3d7cUC}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite journal |journal=Indian Economic and Social History Review |date=April 1965 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=145–165 |doi=10.1177/001946466400200203 |title=The Formulation and Enactment of the Punjab Alienation of Land Bill |first=Norman G. |last=Barrier|s2cid=145411052 }}
*{{cite journal |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=29 |issue=2 |date=May 1995 |pages=271–291 |title=The Punjab Land Alienation Act and the Professional Moneylenders |first=M. Mufakharul |last=Islam |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00012737}}
*{{cite book |title=Law and the Economy in Colonial India |first1=Tirthankar |last1=Roy |first2=Anand V. |last2=Swamy |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-22638-764-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5mspDQAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book |title=The Garrison State: Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849-1947 |first=Tan Tai |last=Yong |publisher=SAGE |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-76193-336-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5ZiMV7rqWUC}}

== External links ==
*[http://punjablaws.gov.pk/laws/18.html Text of the Act]

[[Category:Legislation in British India]]
[[Category:Land law]]
[[Category:History of Punjab]]
[[Category:1900 in India]]