Land tenure system
In an agrarian economy the prime area in which political and
legislative changes can have dramatic effects on production and distribution is
in the sphere of land tenure[1].
In Nepal, land has traditionally been considered to be the
property of the state. This system of state landlordism is known as
Raikar….Traditionally, agricultural lands under Raikar tenure were cultivated
by private individuals, but within the limits required for subsistence and
withut the rights of alienation through sale or otherwise. Rights in Raikar
lands thus comprised only the right to its use and its fruits[2].
Land was originally owned by the state, which gave it out to the
people broadly in two ways. Firstly, the state alienated its ownership of land
to officials and officers for some meritorious performances. It also granted
land to priests for their religious and educational functions….The land thus
given out by the state to individuals is called Birta land. Birta land may,
therefore be defined as one whose ownership is alienated by the state to
individuals[3]. ..Birta land, though
entailed in the past some obligations to the state, was virtually free from any
taxes until abolished in 1959. Such a land system is known as Birta system in
Nepal[4]
Secondly, the state gave out land to tillers called Mohis or
tenants for cultivation. Such land is , however, subject to payment of certain
fixed revenue to the Government. Its ownership is also invariably retained by
the state itself. Such land is called Raikar land which may, therefore, be
defined as one which is subject to payment of some revenue to the state and
whose ownership is also retained by the state itself. This land system is known
as Raikar system[5]
If the state alienates its ownership of land to some charitable,
religious or philanthropic institutions, such land is called Guthi land, which
is administered by the state or by the institutions themselves. The incomes
from such land are used for religious and charitable purposes[6]
Before 1950, there are mainly two types of land tenure system in
Nepal. They are Raikar and Kipat. Raikar was the state’s land and Kipat was the
land of certain community over which the state had no authority. The use right
of the land in kipat system was given to a member of aKipat-owning ethnic group by the chief of
that group.
But after 1950, Raikar denoted a system in which individuals
privately land and he/she pays the tax to the government and has a full right
in terms of selling, using, inheriting, transferring, dividing, and leasing.
All other lands except the Kipat were the state’s property called
“Raikar”. All other tenured forms of land were derived from Raikar[7].
The government gave grants of its land(i.e. Raikar land) to people
in different forms. These grants were Birta, jagir, Guthi, Rakam, Rajya and
Sera.
Types of Land Tenure System
Raikar system
Birta System
Guthi System
Jagir, Rajya and Rakam Systems
Kipat System
Birta
Birta System: The land achieved by certain individuals(e.g.
religious teachers, priests, loyal soldiers etc) from the state (rulers) as a
reward is called Birta. This land is exempt from tax. Certain individuals in
the society would ingratiate themselves with the rulers. They would dedicate
themselves to the advancement of the interests of the ruling class. As a
result, they would receive certain amounts of land as a reward for their
allegiance to the ruling class. The land thus received from the state is called
Birta. But the state had the right to forfeit the grant. This system was
abolished in 2016 BS/1959[8]
Guthi System:
When
we talk about land tenure system in Nepal, we need to talk about present and
land tenure system. Now there are only two types or forms of land tenure system
in Nepal. They are raikar land system and guthi land system. But there were
many forms of land tenure system in Nepal between 1950 and … They included
Birta land system, Jagir land system, Rakam land system, Rajya land system,
Kipat land system, and khaikar land system.
These
various forms of land tenure system are discussed below:
Raikar
land system: Raikar land system is the system under which “the state holds
Raikar lands directly under its ownership and appropriates revenues from such
lands for its own use”[9]Raikar land is the land used by
individuals by paying tax to the state. The ultimate owner of Raikar land is
the state though individuals who use it have a full right in terms of selling,
using, inheriting, transferring, dividing, and leasing. Since Raikar land is in
fact owned by the state, the state can take it away from them by giving them
compensation if need be.
Guthi
land system: Guthi land is the land given by the state to certain community for
public religious and social use such as construction of temple, school etc.
Birta
land system: Birta land is the land that is given by the state to such
individuals who impress the rulers through their certain actions or behavior.
These people included loyal army personnel, priests, teachers, brave
individuals. They were rarely required to pay tax to the state for cultivating
the land thus achieved. If they were required to pay tax, the amount was
insignificant. Some types of Birta land
included Fikdarbirta(land given to the personnel who did great or praiseworthy
job), MakhkhanBirta(the land given to the soldier who was killed in a war or in
course of carrying out any assigned responsibility) and Sun Birta[10].
Jagir
land system: Jagir land refered to the land that was given to individuals for
their regular service to the government instead of salaries in the form of
cash. The government personnel who ran the administration were given land as
their salaries.
The
system of granting land to the government staffs partly emerged from the lack
of sufficient cash circulated in the then underdeveloped economy. It may be
argued that the emergence of Jagir land system was a product of a dearth of
enough cash to cover all the government expenses. For example, during the reign
of Prithivi Narayan Shah, a soldier would earn around Rs. 76 a year[11].
The size of the army in 1792 was estimated by Kirkpatrick to be between
7,500 to 9,000. The size of the army in 1802 was estimated by Hamilton to be
between 9,000 and 10,000. The strength of approximately nine thousand men in
1972 at the prevailing salary would cost about 45 lakhs rupees a year. The
total annual revenue at that time was between 25 to 30 lakhs rupees[12].
The
continuity of their right to cultivate the land thus granted depended upon the
continuity of their willingness and readiness to contribute unpaid labor to the
government. The state reserved the right to take such lands under its control
if they stopped providing unpaid service to the state. The right to cultivate
Rakam land could be transferred to their children if they continued to provide
a unpaid service to the state like their parents.
Rajya
land: It was the land given to the rulers in the defeated principalities by the
state. In course of unification of small principalities by PN Shah many small
principalities were defeated. The state provided the deafeated former rulers in
these principalities with land as an effort to ensure their allegiance to the
state in a new political context.
Kipat
land system: It was the land owned by the Limbus of eastern Nepal. The right to
use the land was given to a member of a Kipat-owning ethnic group. It was the
land over which the state had no authority.
Khaikar
land: It referred to the land registered under the name of a single person and
divided among and cultivated by other individuals by paying the tax to its
owner. Those who cultivate the land pay tax to the person under whose name the
land is registered. This land system came to an end when cultivators became
owners of the land on account of their having cultivated the land, i.e. when
they enjoyed their tenancy right.
What is land tenure system?
According to Mahesh Chandra
Regmi, great economic historian of Nepal, there were only two types of land
tenure system in Nepal before 1950. They were Kipat system and Raikar system.
Raikar was the crown-land or
state’s land but after 1950 Raikar denoted individual’s private property in
which he/she pays the tax to the government and has a full right in terms of
selling, using, inheriting, transferring, dividing, and leasing. Kipat was a
type of community ownership on the land under which certain groups used to
control it jointly and state had no authority. The land initially could not be
sold or purchased but its use right was given to a member of that group by the
chief of that group[13].All other lands except the
Kipat were the state’s property called “Raikar”. All other tenured forms of
land were derived from Raikar[14].
The government gave grants
of its land(i.e. Raikar land) to people in different forms. These grants were
Birta, Jagir, Guthi, Rakam, Rajya, and Sera[16].
The various land tenure
sytems that came into existence in Nepal are described as follows:
Kipat system: it is land owned by the
community and only members of the particular community could use it through
their traditional rules. Landownership under the Kipat system was limited to
certain communities of Mongoloid origin such as the Limbu, Rai, Danuwar, Sunuwar,
and Tamang mostly living in the eastern and western hills of Nepal. This was
abolished in 2023BS(1966 AD).
Raikar system: Under this system the state
controlled the land but allowed private use of it for agricultural production
if taxes were paid. The state also sold land to individuals and this led to the
emergence of the private landownership system. Individual citizens can
privately own the state land as Raikar land. As owners, they can sell or
transfer the title to others. [17]
The state gave out land to
tillers, called Mohis or tenants for cultivation. Such land is however subject
to payment of certain fixed revenue to the government. Its ownership is also
invariably retained by the state itself. Such land is called Raikar land which
may therefore be defined as one which is subject to payment of some revenue to
the state itself. This land system is known as Raikar system[18]
Under this system which was
known as Raikar peasants cultivated the land in the capacity of tenants and
made payments directly to the state. Frequently, the state granted Raikar lands
to individuals or temples and monasteries thereby entitling the beneficiary to
appropriate the payments made by the cultivator[19]
Birta system: Under this system, the
system rewards individuals with land exempt from the tax. The Rana rulers and
to some extent the Panchayat system gave an immense amount of land to the
people close and loyal to the ruling class. As a result, elites of the society
who served and helped advance the ruling class interests were entitled to such
privileges.
Land Act 1964 has been
amended five times.
[1]
Piers Blaikie, John Cameron, and David Seddon, Nepal in Crisis: Growth and
Stagnation at the Periphery, (New Delhi: Adroit Publishers, 2007), p 57
[2] Mahesh
C. Regmi, Land Ownership in Nepal(New Delhi: Adroit Publishers,1999), 16
[3]Badri
Prasad Shrestha, An Introduction to Nepalese Economy(Kathmandu:
RatnaPustakBhandar, 1966), 67
[4]Badri
Prasad Shrestha, An Introduction to Nepalese Economy(Kathmandu:
RatnaPustakBhandar, 1966), 68
[5]Badri
Prasad Shrestha, An Introduction to Nepalese Economy(Kathmandu: RatnaPustakBhandar,
1966), 68
[6]Badri
Prasad Shrestha, An Introduction to Nepalese Economy(Kathmandu:
RatnaPustakBhandar, 1966), 68
[7]Regmi,
1976, 1978 quoted in Jaganathadhikari…
[8]Jaganathadhikari,
p 23-24
[9] Mahesh
C. Regmi, Land Ownership in Nepal(New Delhi: Adroit Publishers,1999),
123
[10] Book
on Rural sociology and development by …not sajjal, not chakrapani but…
[11]
Stiller, quoted in Ram SharanMahat, In Defence of Democracy: Dynamics and
Fault Lines of Nepal’s Political Economy, (Kathmandu: Adroit Publisher, 2005),
p 22
[12]
Stiller, quoted in Ram SharanMahat, In Defence of Democracy: Dynamics and
Fault Lines of Nepal’s Political Economy, (Kathmandu: Adroit Publisher,
2005), p 9-10
[13]Adhikari,
Jagannath. 2008. Land reform in Nepal: problems and Prospects. Kathmandu:ActionAid,
p22
[14]Mahesh
Chandra regmi. 1976, 1978 quoted in Adhikari, Jagannath. 2008. Land reform in
Nepal: Problems and Prospects. Kathmandu:ActionAid, p22
[15]
Adhikari, Jagannath. 2008. Land reform in Nepal: problems and Prospects.
Kathmandu:ActionAid, p22-23
[16] Ibid,
p 23
[17] Ibid,
p
[18]
Shrestha, Badri, 1966. An Introduction to Nepalese Economy.
Kathmandu:Ratna Pustak Bhandar, p 68
[19] Regmi,
Mahesh Chandra. 1999. A Study in Nepali Economic Histroy, Delhi: Adroit
Publishers, p 26
[20] Ibid,
p 23-24
0 Comments