Bhoodan

The Bhoodan Movement (Hindi: भूदान, Urdu: بھودان), or $6-Land Gift Movement, was a voluntary land reform movement in India, started by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at Pochampally village in Telangana which is now known as Bhoodan Pochampally.

The mission of the movement was to persuade wealthy landowners to voluntarily give a percentage of their land to the landless people. However, this land could not be sold. In effect, landless labourers were being given a small plot of land on which they can settle, as well as grow some of their own food. The Government of various Provinces, passed Bhoodan Acts which generally stipulated that the beneficiary had no right to sell the land or use it for a non-agricultural purpose- including forestry. For example, under section 25 of Maharashtra State Bhoodan Act, the beneficiary (who must be landless) should use the land for agricultural cultivation to secure his own and family's daily bread. If he/she fails to cultivate the land for over a year or tries to use it for some other non-agriculture activities, the government has the right to confiscate it. Vinoba Bhave walked across India on foot, to persuade landowners to give up a piece of their land. He also wanted peasants to give up using bullocks or tractors or other machines for agricultural purposes. This was called 'rishi-kheti'. He also wanted everybody to give up using money, this was called 'kanchan-dan'. By constantly keeping on the move, he escaped defamation (obloquy). He was followed by crowds nearly everywhere he went. Philosophically, Vinoba Bhave was directly influenced by the Sarvodaya movement of Gandhi of whose he was the spiritual heir. The movement was started on 18 April 1951 at Pochampally village in Nalgonda district when Telangana peasant movement on the land issue reached the peak. It was a violent struggle launched by poor peasants against the local landlords. Bhave said that rural rich must participate in voluntary distribution of land.

The movement though independent of government had the support of congress. JP Narayan withdrew from active politics to join Bhoodan movement in 1953. By 1960s the movement had lost its flame despite its considerable initial promise. The Sarvodaya Samaj, however, on the whole failed to build an active large scale mass movement that would generate irresistible pressure for social transformation in large parts of country.

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