CHAPTER—VII
LAND AND ITS DISTRIBUTION.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
Though we have studied certain aspects of agricultural
life in this village, we have not yet considered the relation
of the people to the land. In this chapter, we propose
to consider this relation, or the way in which land is dis-
tributed among the people. Distribution of land in agri-
culture means two things :
(i) division of land as between rent-receivers, cultivators
who may be partly tenants and partly owners, and mere
tenants; or
(ii) division of land into separate farms owned by differ-
ent individuals.
In a region where peasant proprietors dominate the
situation, the first meaning is out of consideration. The
object of the chapter is, therefore, to study the distribu-
tion of land into separate farms owned by different indi-
viduals.
It is well-known that one of the essentials of success-
ful farming and agriculture is the suitable size, shape and
constitution of a farm. However industrious, intelligent
and well-equipped a farmer may be, his labour and capital
will be lost if he possesses an unsuitable farm or what is
generally called an uneconomic holding. This shows
how the division of land into several farms, or in other
words, the distribution of land, is an important condition
of success in agriculture.
We are now in a position to appreciate the true nature
of the distribution of land and its importance in the eco-
nomy of a village like the ont under study. We have
treated this problem from two stand-points: ownership