ગુજરાતી
English
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, 2 April 2025
The state of Saurashtra was formally established on 15 April 1948. Sardar Patel declared Jam Saheb Digvijay of Jamnagar as Rajpramukh and Uchchangarai Dhebar as Chief Minister. After India became independent, Sardar Patel and Gandhiji wanted Saurashtra to become a separate state. The Maharaja of Bhavnagar and Jam Saheb of Jamnagar agreed to form a unit of Saurashtra and agreed to form a joint state of Kathiawar.
After 75 years, the purpose for which the lands were given has completely changed.
Agricultural land is being converted into non-agricultural land. 500 crore kg of wheat is wasted every year due to non-cultivation on agricultural land
Farmers in Gujarat are selling their land and migrating to cities. The farmers who were divided into small pieces sold their lands and started working as farm labourers in the village. Villages are getting empty and cities are becoming bigger. Earlier there were 8 metros and now this year 9 more new metros have been announced. One thousand villages have been merged or are going to be merged in this city.
The purpose for which these lands were given to the farmers has been destroyed. Land transactions are taking place. New conditions have been changed in the law. Due to this, people are taking advantage of the government’s indecisive policy. Those who were Ganotiyas have become Garasdars. Which prosperous farmers are doing farming today? For 33 years, BJP and Mishra governments have been in power in Gujarat. BJP’s policy is linked with the capitalists. The land laws were changed and landlordism has come back again. A lot of land has gone to the industries. BJP has built capitalist big cities. In Gujarat, if the farmers have land in their name, then only they can buy land. Now the BJP government is changing this law and bringing a new law. By which anyone can buy land. If the law is left, then the land is going to be finished from the farmers and they will be turned into laborers. The prices that were available for agricultural products earlier, are not available today. Nowadays, negative farming is happening. The farmers are not getting the right price for their produce. This is the reason why once a large farming community like the Patels had to launch a movement demanding reservation.
Farmers have to go back 75 years to understand their history and the importance of agriculture.
After independence, farmers used to do farming even without land. The farmer became the owner of the land through the law of his land. Farm labourers became farm owners. Now after 75 years they are again becoming landless. Farmers are now selling their lands leaving quality farming.
The purpose for which the governments used to give land has changed. Farmers are losing their land due to increased land trading.
The purpose for which these lands were given to the farmers has been destroyed. Land transactions are taking place. Due to the new amended laws, people are taking advantage of the lax policy of the government. Those who were Ganotiyas have become Garasdars. Which prosperous farmers are doing farming today?
The prices that were earlier available for agricultural products are not available today. Nowadays, negative farming is being done. The produce is not getting the right price. This is the reason that once a large farming community like Patels had to launch a movement demanding reservation.
Now Patidar and Ujjaliyat farmers are selling land. Most of their land is barren.
Giving details of the agricultural census of 1970-71, an official of Krishi Bhavan said,
In 1971, farmers had 99 lakh 99 thousand 638 hectares of land.
In 2010-11, farming was being done on 98.98 lakh hectares of land. Which was 102.69 lakh hectares in 2005-06, a decrease of 3.61 percent was seen in 2010-11. The Department of Agriculture had announced at that time that this decline could be due to the conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural land.
Since then, agricultural land has been declining at the rate of 5 percent every 10 years. Now after 2020, farms are declining rapidly. Every year 1 percent of agricultural land is being built on industries or human settlements.
In 1970, there were 24 lakh 32 thousand farmers with 5 to 10 hectares of land. 30 lakh hectares of land was owned by 4 lakh 24 thousand farmers. Now the number of farmers is increasing and the land is decreasing. Most of the land that was once suitable for cultivation has now become non-existent. Therefore, pressure is increasing on forests, facility land and government land.
15 lakh 72 thousand 577 hectares of agricultural land will become barren in 2023-24.
If we calculate for 2024-25, it is possible that 16 lakh 75 thousand hectares of land will become barren.
In 7 years, 1 lakh 96 thousand 587 hectares of land has remained barren.
Every year, on an average, 28,083 hectares of land remains fallow.
If 10,000 square meters of land is considered in one hectare, then 1572 crore 58 lakh square feet of land has become barren. If this is calculated, it means that there will be a huge loss in agricultural production.
Therefore, it is very important to preserve agricultural land for the next generation.
Beans have been cultivated in 1572577 hectares.
Production loss per hectare
If only one crop is grown on the entire land, then considering the population of 7 crore, how much will be the loss in production per person per year in Gujarat?
Per capita loss
54 kg rice,
72 kg wheat,
22 kg beans,
60 kg groundnuts,
710 kg potatoes,
674 kg onions,
1,606 kg sugarcane.
Production per hectare – kg Production loss
Rice 2400 kg – 377 crore kg
Wheat 3200 kg – 503 crore kg
Jowar 1350 kg – 212 crore kg
Millet 1845 kg – 290 crore kg
Maize 1475 kg – 232 crore kg
Ragi 835 kg – 131 crore kg
Pulses 985 kg – 155 crore kg
Groundnut 2660 kg – 418 crore kg
Oilseeds 2425 kg – 381 crore kg
Potato 31600 kg – 4970 crore kg
Onion 30,000 kg – 4718 crore kg
Sugarcane 71,500 kg – 11243 crore kg
Cotton 506 kg (after removing cotton seeds)
If irrigation facility is available, then 2 to 3 crops can be harvested in a year Crops can be grown. Therefore, growing any two crops makes us realize how much we personally lose by leaving the land uncultivated.
Finding the market value of the land that has not been cultivated will tell farmers that their land is being sold at cheap prices. The land was sold to traders for Rs 10 lakh. Land worth Rs 1 lakh is sold for Rs 1 crore after 25 years.
The value of barren land at present is estimated at Rs 3,93,14,425 crore.
(If the average price of one square meter is considered to be Rs 25 thousand, then land worth Rs 400 lakh crore can be considered)
Urbanization is consuming land
Yes.
The area of the 31 cities is 3,191 square kilometres.
Area of the 30 largest cities in square kilometres
Ahmedabad – 505.00
Surat – 461.60
Vadodara – 454.33
Gandhinagar – 326.00
Rajkot – 170.00
Junagadh – 160.00
Jamnagar – 125.67
Bhavnagar – 108.27
Gondal – 74.48
Amreli – 65.00
Gandhidham – 63.49
Surendranagar – 58.60
Bhuj – 56.00
Anand – 47.89
Morbi – 46.58
Nadiad – 45.16
Bharuch – 43.80
Navsari – 43.71
Palanpur – 39.50
Veraval – 39.95
Porbandar – 38.43
Jetpur –
36.00
Mehsana – 31.76
Kalol – 25.42
Valsad – 24.10
Vapi – 22.44
Deesa – 20.81
Godhra – 20.16
Dahod – 14.00
Patan – 12.84
Botad – 10.36
Which is increasing at the rate of 10 percent every year.
111 DP-TPs were approved in the year 2020, while 100 TPs were approved for the third consecutive year. When a TP scheme is made, 50 percent of the agricultural land of the city is taken for roads and public facilities. Public facilities and 18 thousand square meters of gardens are built in an area of 100 hectares for the TP scheme. 2500 square metres of land has been provided for playgrounds and 35 thousand square metres of land for housing for economically weaker sections.
Due to urbanisation, water is being brought from 200 to 1,000 kilometres away. The land that was originally meant for farms is now being used for toilets. Water also comes from outside to rural areas.
By 2031, the city’s water demand will reach 4000 million litres per day. In 2050, we will need twice as much water as we need in 2031. Where will this water come from? The government will use Narmada water more for urban people rather than for irrigation.
After 2031, when people start moving from cities to rural areas, the value of agriculture will increase manifold.
What happened after independence?
Before Swaraj, Saurashtra was spread over an area of 25 thousand square miles.
At that time, there were 4415 villages and towns in Saurashtra. Its land was occupied by 222 kings. When these states merged into Saurashtra, their land was given to the Saurashtra state. But it was also occupied by 51,700 farmers. These farmers owned one-third of the land of Saurashtra.
The royal families had a lot of land and so they would give this land to their important courtiers or individuals. They became the owners of these lands and became landlords.
Before independence, the land of Saurashtra, where there were about 222 princely states, was considered state-owned. If the king wanted, he could snatch the land from farmers like Ganotia at any time. In terms of ownership, the land was divided into three parts. Khalsa, Garasdari and Barkhali.
The Chief Minister of Saurashtra at that time, Uchhangrai Dhebar, wanted that only those who cultivated the land should get the right to it. He ended the Ganot system by convincing the farmers and gave the farmers the right to cultivate their fields.
Three laws were made in Saurashtra. One law was made for the Garasdari type of land there, the Saurashtra Land Consolidation Act (1951), and another law was made for the Badkhali Abolition Act (1951).
Both laws were related to granting rights over agricultural land. While the third law, the Saurashtra Jagir Acquisition Act, was made for the acquisition of non-agricultural matters of Garasdars and Badkhalidars.
Under this law of 1952, non-agricultural assets of farmers and cattle keepers like rivers, canals, lakes, trees, waterfalls etc. were acquired. No compensation was given for this public property. For other properties, compensation was provided by the state on a per square foot basis.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, in a letter to all Chief Ministers on 4 October 1951, directed them to follow Uchchhangrai Dhebar in this matter. The lands of the Anavilas and Parsis were also taken away and given to the Kolis, Kanbis and Adivasis.
According to the Saurashtra law, if a peasant did not own land or did not have enough land for cultivation, he could first take a certain amount of land from the Ganotia and only then could the Ganotia become the owner of his remaining land. Thus the law was built on the principle of equal share and as a result the abolition of land led to less gratification.
When Gujarat was a sub-part of Bombay State, Bombay State found it necessary to abolish this type of land-lease in order to impose a single land administration system and methodology throughout the state.
Land ownership systems in India were created for political purposes during Hindu, Muslim and Maratha rule.
Bombay State abolished many forms of land ownership through legislation between 1949 and 1960, that is, until the formation of Gujarat State.
This eradication program continued even after the formation of Gujarat in May 1960.
Due to the Ganottadhara and Land Ceiling Act, the kings lost their lands and the agricultural labourer became its owner.
He cultivates his own land.
The agricultural labourer used to do farming for a living and was forced to migrate frequently.
The first cabinet meeting of the Saurashtra state was held on 15 April 1948.
The principle of “the farmer is the owner of his land” was effectively implemented by the first Chief Minister of Saurashtra, Uchchhangrai Dhebar. Slavery was abolished and the peasants became the owners of the land.
Khalsa land was what the kings had acquired through conquest in the region and then through hereditary succession. It is known as Khalsa land.
The land was given to the farmers to cultivate. The farmers paid land revenue directly to the state. Only the Gondal state gave full land ownership rights to the farmers.
Garasdari lands were given to small talukdars, native Garasis and partners.
The produce of their land in Badkhali was kept outside the barn instead of putting it in the barn (place for cleaning grains). So they were called outside the barns and they did not have ownership rights over the land but had rights over the produce.
The feudal-Girsdari or Badkhali system ended due to the law of Uchchhangrai Dhebar because one third of the villages of Saurashtra were Girsdari or feudal. In which farmers were made to work as laborers. Uchchhangrai Dhebar ended this practice and made agricultural laborers or farmers landowners.
The farmers of all Khalsa lands were given rights over the land. Apart from land revenue, more than 90 unfair, unjust and ridiculous taxes were abolished and the practice of forced slavery was completely abolished.
Yo.
It was best implemented in Saurashtra and the Patidars or Patels benefited the most from it. This land was mostly owned by Rajputs.
Rajputs lost their lands in Saurashtra, but not the lands of the landlords in North Gujarat, Central Gujarat or South Gujarat.
In Central Gujarat, the lands of Amin and Patel landlords should have been given to OBC Kshatriyas or Thakors, but they did not get it. People used to call those who collected taxes on behalf of the British as Patels and were also called Desai. Perhaps because of them, it was not implemented systematically in North and Central Gujarat.
In the Charotar region, the lands of Patels were given to Kshatriyas or Thakors. Patidars suffered losses due to that law. During the Gaekwad rule, the Thakors and Patels also got the lands of the Subedars of Amreli and Idar. The lands of the Nawab of Sachin near Surat were given to the Kolis.
Thus, the lands of the Rajputs in Saurashtra went to the Patels and where the Patels were landowners, their lands were not distributed to others on a large scale.
However, the Patels of central Gujarat are not ready to accept this.
Not ready
The land that was to be given to the tribals or the Kanbi Patels, who were untouchables, in south Gujarat was not given. Under this law, many landowners were not given their lands to others on the pretext of horticulture cultivation. The Anavilos had Chikuwadi and Ambawadi. There was no cultivation there. There was no calculation in it. The Anavilos themselves were in charge of horticulture. So such lands were saved. It is not that the lands of the Anavilos have not been finished. Their lands have also been allotted to the tribals.
Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai worked to ensure that the lands of the untouchables were not taken away. Morarji Desai was a man of rules. In contrast, Anavilo opposed the reverse quota system and due to this he lost the 1952 Mumbai Legislative Assembly election from the Valsad seat to Amul Desai.
Hard work of farmers
As land became available and irrigation increased, the Patels started cultivating cash crops. As the number of agricultural labourers and workers decreased, the Patidars worked hard in agriculture and started producing more. The farmers had savings as they had money and grain left to give to the king. They invested the money earned from this in various industries. They also settled abroad. Due to which the economic, social and political influence of the Patels increased in Gujarat.
Hinduism and Casteism
Patels were not happy with the Rajputs due to the atrocities of the kings. As the land of Rajputs was allotted to Patels on a large scale, the gap between the two castes kept on increasing. But due to the Hindutva policy of BJP, all the castes came under one umbrella. Caste system and casteism have increased after the formation of BJP government.
The implementation of Ganotha Dhara was not easy.
Outside
Some farmers opposed the revolutionary decision of Dhebarbhai’s government and some even resorted to violence. Some Garasdars nurtured the Baharwatia people and even conspired to kill the Karmasheels who were working to provide land to the Ganotia people.
Murder of Swami
Swami Shivanand, the head of the ashram located in Munjpur, Jhalawar, campaigned against the landlords and in support of the farmers. They killed him. The Ganotia people had to apply to get their cultivable land. An atmosphere of fear was created to prevent the petitioners from filing this petition.
Many farmers were also murdered. Patidars were injured by cutting their noses in the fields.
In the 1950s, Bhupat Bahrawati became notorious in Gujarat and Rajasthan. It is said that Bhupat’s gang killed 82 people from July 1949 to February 1952. Bhupat cut the noses of thousands of Patidar people. Hundreds of Patidars had to leave the village and migrate.
Some farmers were accused of supporting Bhupat Bahrawati.
A king named Bhupat Bahrawati created an atmosphere of fear against the Ganotia people who had occupied the fields. He also had the support of some farmers.
Then he had to flee to Pakistan and become a Muslim. After conversion, he changed his name to Amin Yusuf.
Apart from Bhupat, other dacoits also created terror among the people. Dacoits named Ram Basio, Kalu Vank, Lakhu Manjario, Mangal Singh, Devayat, Mesor, Bhagu Parmar, Washram Kala and Mavji Bhana opposed the land being given to the Patidars. Pat
The Garasdars were tortured.
Once upon a time, during the assembly elections, the gangsters created a massacre. Due to this, Chief Minister Dhebar decided to withdraw from the election. But his friend and family member Devendra Kumar Desai, who was the Talukdar of Vasavad, persuaded him.
The attempts of this gang of bandits to murder Rasikbhai Parikh (the then Home Minister) and Dhebarbhai also failed. Bhupat also got adequate shelter in Jhalawar. He was taken there in a court motor car of Jhalawar.
The plan to kill Chief Minister Dhebarbhai, the life-man of Somnath temple, in the train failed.
A series of cruel and ruthless criminals due to the unholy alliance with the Garasdars not only created a dreadful atmosphere of terror in the entire region but also caused loss of life and property of hundreds of farmers and put the public and the state to a severe test.
Many unscrupulous feudal elements of Saurashtra, some courtiers, brothers and princes played an important role in creating and maintaining the long-term black war of the Bahrawatis. Eventually the state suppressed such elements and the ghost of antisocial rebellion ended.
Although some land was saved, it was not exploited and many Kshatriyas became poor. It became difficult for them to make a living.
Today Patels and Rajputs live in harmony, Patels have nothing in mind.
The purpose for which these lands were given to the farmers has been destroyed. Land transactions are taking place. New conditions have been changed in the law. Due to this people are taking advantage of the government’s lax policy. Those who were Ganotiyas have become Garasdars. Which prosperous farmers are doing farming today?
The prices that were received for agricultural products earlier are not available today. Nowadays negative farming is being done. The right price is not being given for the produce. This is the reason why once a large farming community like Patels had to launch a movement demanding reservation. (Google translation from Gujarati)
