Land reforms constituted one of the most significant structural interventions undertaken in India after independence with the objective of transforming agrarian relations, promoting equity, and enhancing agricultural productivity. At the time of independence, the agrarian structure was marked by intermediaries such as zamindars, absentee landlordism, exploitative tenancy, unequal land distribution, and widespread insecurity among cultivators. The Indian state viewed land reforms as essential not only for social justice but also for laying the foundation of democratic rural development. The abolition of intermediaries was the first major step in land reforms. Laws were enacted in different states to eliminate zamindars, jagirdars, and inamdars and to transfer ownership rights to actual cultivators. This measure succeeded to a large extent in dismantling feudal structures and bringing millions of tenants into direct relationship with the state. It enabled the expansion of the state’s revenue base and removed layers of rent-seeking intermediaries. However, the implementation suffered from loopholes, such as compensation clauses that favored landlords, delayed execution, and manipulation of land records. In several regions, especially where intermediaries were politically powerful, benefits accrued more to richer peasants than to landless laborers. Tenancy reforms aimed at regulating rent, providing security of tenure, and eventually conferring ownership rights on tenants. States enacted laws fixing fair rent, protecting tenants from arbitrary eviction, and in some cases granting ownership after payment of compensation. While these measures improved the conditions of tenants in states like West Bengal, Kerala, and parts of Jammu and Kashmir,