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Since Bhutto had a long agenda which he wanted to complete as quickly as possible before he was forced to lift the Martial Law, he was always in haste. On March 1, 1972, he addressed the nation and announced the most talked about reforms — the land reforms. He appeared on the national network of broadcasting and addressed the peasants as “Pakistan’s citizens and haris”.
He told them: “Today is your night as I am speaking to you about land reforms. The reforms I am introducing … will bring dignity and salvation to our rural masses who from today will be able to lift their heads from the dust and regain their pride, their self respect and honour.” He said that the majority of our peasantry have, since time immemorial, been suspended in the vicious web of abject poverty and servitude, and pledged that “…we shall not allow this abominable status quo to continue”.
The land-related issues in Pakistan are deep rooted in the past. Since the jagirdari and feudal system took roots in the subcontinent, it has become a source of economic imbalance in the society. It also created the need to adopt a policy wherein everyone could have an opportunity to live with dignity. But sadly whenever such an attempt was made the ruling clique, by virtue of being the decision makers, opposed it.
In 1946, an ICS officer, Haider Bakhsh Jatoi, moved by the miserable condition of the peasants, quit his government job and started a movement, called Hari Haqdar Committee, for the protection of the rights of the peasants. It struggled and managed to achieve some success despite strong opposition from the feudal class.
A little before Independence, in March 1947, the government of Sindh formed the Hari Inquiry Committee to review land status and tenure system. The report declared that the landlords were friends of peasants and that the reforms were undesirable. But an ICS officer Mohammad Masud, known as Masud Khadarposh, noted that the condition of peasants was deplorable, hence the zamindari system needs to be abolished and the state should take control of the land.
In February 1948, the All Pakistan Muslim League, the then ruling party, formed a five-member committee called the Agrarian Reform Committee with the aim to examine the land tenure system and recommend appropriate improvements. It made history when, in June the same year, it recommended that all jagirs and lands rewarded by the British government be taken over by the government without compensation. Regarding land holding, it recommended that 150 acres of irrigated, 300 acres of semi-irrigated and 450 acres of barani land could be retained by the owner and the rest be taken over by the government against compensation and distributed among tenants. Legal ownership of the tenants was recognised. Farm tax was proposed to be levied as on other incomes. The share of tenant from the produce was raised from 50 per cent to 66 per cent.
These recommendations, as feared, were rejected when presented to the lawmakers to be made into a law. Only a few nominal recommendations were implemented in Sindh, Punjab and Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa (NWFP).
Again in 1957, the National Planning Board (now Planning Commission) recommended land ceiling but nothing came out of it.
Two years later on February 7, 1959, Ayub Khan brought land reforms under Martial Law Regulation 64, which fixed a maximum land holding of canal irrigated land to 500 acres and 1,000 acres for unirrigated land. Explaining the flaws in previous reforms, he pointed out the shikargahs or hunting reserves, orchards and lands gifted to relatives.
Announcing the cancellation of all such shikargahs he ordered that they be taken over by the state. Ayub Khan’s reforms were a failure in practice as they provided ample loopholes — the ceilings were meant for individuals, not families; landlords were allowed to transfer land up to a special limit before calculations of their entitlement; gifts were allowed and exemptions were granted to orchards and livestock farms.
The government servants managed to acquire land in Sindh and Punjab at exceedingly low prices and, using the lever of officialdom, increased their assets. A number of serving and retired army officers had obtained land on easy terms due to which a new class of landlords emerged on the virgin lands of the newly-constructed barrages. All this happened during the 17-year tyrannical period of One Unit. Although it was claimed that 2.5 million acres had been regained, only 650,000 acres were distributed among the haris defeating the whole purpose of the reforms. Ayub Khan used to enjoy the hospitality of these landlords who escaped his reforms.
Bhutto was aware of all this and now it was time to make his contribution towards the largest segment of his constituency — the peasants.
