109

and cultivation. Land may have been so owned as a
result of distribution, which in its turn is a result of social
and economic forces operating for a number of years,
that the average unit may fall very short of the economic
holding. But, if it is so cultivated that the average farm
is greater in size than the economic holding, or at least
equal to it, the situation need not be regarded as a very
serious one from the wider standpoint of agricultural pro-
duction for the villages as a whole.1 In plain language,
use is more important than legal title. The cultivated
holding is of greater importance than the hold-
ing owned. We have, therefore, divided this chapter into
two sections : the first embraces the distribution of land
as it is owned ; the second considers land as it is cultivated.

SECTION I.
DISTRIBUTION OF LAND AS IT IS OWNED

Introductory : Distribution of land as it is owned, is a
result of social and economic forces working over a series
of years. It is, therefore, necessary to study the history
of the distribution of land in the village under survey with
a view to better appreciate the significance of the present
state of'affairs.

Historical aspect of distribution of land in Atgam : It
is unfortunate that no records supplying information about
the period prior to 1900 are available. We have, there-
fore, had to make the best of what inadequate material
we could obtain. In studying this aspect only four things
are noted, namely

(i) the total number of land-owners,

(ii) the total area owned,

(iii) the size of the average farm or holding as we shall
henceforth term it, and

"Who holds the land, is, from the point of view of production, a
matter of no importance;—the vital matter is as to who cultivates it."

iCf.
ma
Land and Labour in* a Deccan Village, Study No. II, p. 48.