What is the Bhoodan Movement? History, Philosophy, Aim and Key Points for UPSC 2021

Before starting the topic, you should know what the Bhoodan Movement is. Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan Movement (land gift movement), often known as the “bloodless revolution,” aimed to bring in a “non-violent revolution” in India’s land reforms plan. These integrated groups tried to accomplish land reforms by encouraging the landed classes to voluntarily give up a portion of their land to the impoverished. The Bhoodan first appeared in 1951. Vinoba Bhave was presented with the concerns of landless Harijans in Pochampalli, Telangana. Keep on reading to learn all the necessary key points for your UPSC preparation.

Bhoodan Movement UPSC Topic 2021

In the following sections, you will read about the history, philosophy, aims and objectives of the Bhoodan Movement. So, let’s start with the history section.

History

The Bhoodan movement was started by Indian religious icon Acharya Vinoba Bhave. He became a follower of Mohandas K. Gandhi while studying Sanskrit in Varanasi. In 1940, at Gandhiji’s insistence, Bhave defied British Wartime restrictions and spent nearly five years in prison.

Bhave was largely recognised as Gandhi’s heir after his death. He started the Bhoodan Movement, or land-gift activism, in 1951, since he was more interested in voluntary land reform than in politics. He walked hundreds of kilometres soliciting land contributions for redistribution to the landless. It had amassed almost 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) of land for distribution by 1969.

The Principle and Philosophy

All Comprehensive Program I

Bhoodan Yajna is an all-inclusive reform movement aimed at all aspects of life. Nowadays, everyone thinks and feels just about themselves. But Bhoodan causes individuals to think and act exactly the opposite of what they do today; it causes them to look around and exclaim, “I will first think of my neighbour, and if he has no land, I must consider it Is my duty to provide him with” The allocation of land is not the only issue in Bhoodan.

In reality, it seeks to morally regenerate the entire nation. Bhave stated that “We hope to solve the economic difficulties in our society.” This movement aimed to improve the status of the countryside’s most marginalised and disadvantaged segment, the totally landless.

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All Comprehensive Program II

Considering that India has 50 million landless farmers. Vinobaji assigned himself the aim of collecting land contributions totalling 50 million acres so that one acre could be distributed to each landless farmer family of five members on aggregate. It was intended that each such household would end up with 5 acres.

In Gandhian words, he urged landowners to feel sympathy for the suffering of the landless and to express their solidarity by donating one-sixth of their properties to it. Given that India has around 300 million acres under production, such contributions, if made throughout the country, would reach the requisite 50 million acres.

These presents would subsequently be disbursed appropriately under the supervision of Bhoodan workers. “Bhoodan movement is a challenge to communism in that through non-violent and persuasion, landlords can be urged to give their surplus to the landless without any compensation…….. ” – Dr. B.R.Mehta

Bhoodan Movement Picture

“The Bhoodan movement historically originated with the dissolution of primitive communist society and the rise of class society, when as a result of the private ownership of the social means of production, exploitation and economic inequalities came into existence in the social world.” – C.G. Shah

The ideology-like distribution of affluent and poor has been discovered at every stage of human history. This idea has taken hold of the few good-hearted humanists. They have attempted to reach the emotions of society’s wealthy individuals in a variety of ways. Gandhiji gave the objective a new shape in contemporary Indian history, providing it with the form of socio-political and moral philosophy.

Aims and Objectives I

The Gramdan sought to encourage landowners and tenants in each village to relinquish their land rights, with all lands becoming the property of a local association for equal redistribution and cooperative cultivation. Gramdan is proclaimed when at least 75% of its people with 51% of the land express their agreement in writing for Gramdan. Magroth, Haripur, Uttar Pradesh, was the first hamlet to be included in Gramdan.

Aims and Objectives II

It gained a lot of political support. Several state governments enacted legislation against Gramdan and Bhoodan. During 1969, the movement reached its zenith. Gramdan and Bhoodan lost prominence after 1969 as a result of the transition from a total volunteer movement to a government-supported initiative. After Vinoba Bhave withdrew from the campaign in 1967, it lost its mass support. Later on, landlords usually gave property that was in the dispute or unsuitable for agriculture. Rather than integrating with existing institutional mechanisms, the whole campaign was viewed as something distinct from the overall development programme. This divergence from the mainstream plan has a significant impact on its ability to continue as a policy.

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Bhoodan Movement Evaluation

Bhoodan Movement environmentalist Vinoba Bhave was inspired to write Bhoodan while exploring the Telangana regions around Hyderabad in 1951. This was the region where the communists had just called off an “activist” agricultural campaign that had resulted in the loss of both lands and life. Vinobaji hoped that through Bhoodan, he could demonstrate to the peasants that there was an effective alternative to the communist agenda.

From 1952 to 1954, it had a strong start. During these times, more than 3 million acres of land were granted as Bhoodan. However, due to several flaws, the movement was unable to maintain its energy and success.

Its basic flaw was that it appealed to the affluent and landowners rather than the impoverished and landless. When the activists marched into the wealthy community, they made a big show of handing out a few plots of land.

Positive Side of Bhoodan Movement

# It is a big step toward peacefully resolving the concerns of landless labourers.

# It aids in the ploughing of more land. Even uncultivable terrain is farmed.

# It contributes to the reduction of the tax burden. When no recompense is to be given, less money is required on that account, resulting in a lower burden. In an Indian culture where people are already overstretched, this implies a lot.

# It aids in the reduction of exploitation of impoverished farmers by wealthy zamindars.

In the midst of urgent transformation, the Bhoodan movement takes on new significance. “It underlines traditions that are Implicit in the Indian way of life. It recaptures the idea of the social order as the family writ large” says Radhakrishnan.

Bhoodan Movement Notes for UPSC Preparation

# The Bhoodan movement was initiated by Indian religious icon Acharya Vinoba Bhave.

# Bhoodan literally translates to “land donation.” Landlords willingly give up land under this movement, as suggested by the name, to be allocated to landless peasants, who would then farm the land.

# This is intended to narrow the gap between the affluent and the poor. The landowners are not compensated in this case.

# Vinoba Bhave started this at Pochampally.

# This campaign lasted 13 years, during which period Bhave travelled throughout India. He gathered 4.4 million acres of land to give to landless farmers.

# He founded the Gramdan movement in 1954, which involved the voluntary gift of entire villages.

# These campaigns drew international acclaim as shining instances of selfless social justice.

Conclusion

With this, we wind up the Bhoodan Movement UPSC topic. We hope that you have read it thoroughly and noted down all the key points in your notebook or notepad. Similarly, you can read some more historic topics here, which will help you be a step ahead of the others in the UPSC exam.

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