Land Reforms

 

·      According to a World Bank study, (Daily Times, 5 February, 2007), Pakistan has extreme inequality in land ownership and the enforcement of severe laws on tenants. The study says that sharing of crop outputs and costs between a landowner and tenant is practically non-existent. The WB Policy Research Working Paper says the fraction of tenanted land is high. More than one third of the land is tenanted and about two-thirds of land is under sharecropping, a form of farming where outputs are shared by the landowner and tenant. Sharecropping is the predominant form of tenancy in our province of Sindh where the land ownership distribution is particularly skewed. According to this study nearly 80 percent of the share-tenants are landless farmers. Big landlords in the province often employ labor supervisors (kamdars) to manage their tenants.

·      These hundreds of landlords who own thousands of acres of fertile cultivable land are doing more bad than good. Occupation of huge pieces of land by lesser number of land lords creates numerous problems. Revolution will not come till the time we get rid of these so called big shots. A green revolution will realize oour dream for our beautiful Pakistan. Why they are the biggest hurdle:

o      Firstly, they do not cultivate all land and most of their land remains unutilized which results in the economic problems like lesser crop production, fewer exportable items, more import requirement of the local industry.

o      Secondly, these landlords hire (or enslave) hundreds of poor landless farmers along with their families as mazarains. These poor people generally live below the poverty lines with complete families enslaved to their masters. They do not have basic amenities of life, no or very less education and scarce health facilities. They do not enjoy the freedom of speech and have to obey their masters they like it or not.

o     Thirdly, our state is not earning anything from these vast acres of land as these landlords belong to the powerful lobby which always remains part of the ruling elite. Agricultural tax has never been imposed on them because of their political influence.

·          These huge lands are the source of their political strengths as well; they make and break the governments. The feudal lords are virtually the rulers in their estates where only their rules are applicable and no police or government authority can challenge their sweet wish and will. These lords occupy important political positions in very political party and hence do not let any government (which they are themselves actually) to take any step towards land reforms. These reforms will be the end of their KUSHI time and will be the beginning of the awakening of our masses.  

         How to carry out Land Reforms?

·           All landlords owning lands more than 25 acres will be ordered to release their lands to the government.

·           These lands will be divided and distributed into agricultural and able youth (both men and women) for cultivation with 25 acres per head. A crop policy will dictate what will be harvested in which area.

·           Soft loans will be provided to help the youth start their farming.

·           All lands based incomes will be taxable.

·           Strict monitoring will be done by the police to stop hoarding and market monopoly by anyone.

·           Commodity prices for the consumers will be announced by the government on season basis of 6 months.

·           Other young people will be given micro credit to establish tube wells, tractors, threshers and transportation facilities at town level.

·           NGOs will be facilitated to provide schools, hospitals, farm to market roads, small dams and irrigation system.

·           Local and international industrialists will be offered 5 year tax free industrial area to establish new food processing and export industry in the vicinity of the farms.

         Advantages

·           First and foremost advantage that it will be the people themselves and not the landlords will be owners of their fate. Right of basic education, health and freedom of speech will be provided to the farmers and their families.

·           Overall cultivated land will increase many folds resulting into a green revolution for the poor in general and farmers in particular.

·           Huge employment opportunities will be created as youth will be distributed the land, youth will be processing the food, new industry will be established for manufacturing food goods. Young women will have the 50% of the quota in the distributed land.

·          Government will earn good foreign exchange as well local money in terms of taxes from the farmers.

       
        Land reforms alone can turn the fate of our country single handedly. This will be the fastest way to extend the benefits to the poorest people of our society. In the longer run this will spread the light of education to the farthest. Only educated middle class can bring those changes in our societies which we have always dreamt of for our Beautiful Land of Pure.