UPSC Mains 2013 GS Paper 1 Q6: model answer
Critically discuss the objectives of Bhoodan and Gramdan Movements initiated by Acharya Vinoba Bhave and their success.
What the question wants
Objectives of both, then a two-sided verdict on success.
How to structure it
Critically discuss: give both the achievements and the shortfalls, then a verdict.
- Objectives of Bhoodan
- Objectives of Gramdan
- How far they succeeded (and failed)
How to think it through
Start by asking why a Gandhian would ask landlords for land in 1951 instead of waiting for the law. Telangana was in revolt; land hunger was real; ceiling laws were slow. Vinoba offered a third path between the gun and the statute: a change of heart. Hold that idea and the answer writes itself. The objectives flow from Gandhi's trusteeship; the success is moral and political; the failures are practical (bad land, weak follow-up). End by asking what the movement teaches the state today. (And no, writing Vinoba's full biography does not count as 'critically'. The examiner has read it before.)
Model answer
On 18 April 1951, at Pochampalli in Telangana, a landlord answered Vinoba Bhave's appeal by gifting land to landless families. The Bhoodan (land-gift) movement was born; Gramdan (village-gift) followed in 1952 at Mangroth (Hamirpur, UP).
Objectives
- Bhoodan: voluntary redistribution of land to the landless, aiming at 50 million acres (about one-sixth of cultivated land).
- Gramdan: collective village ownership of land, with cultivation and decisions by the village community (Gram Swaraj).
Success
- Over four million acres were pledged; thousands of villages declared Gramdan.
- It created a moral climate for land reform and gave dignity to the landless.
Limitations
- Much donated land was barren or disputed, and a large share was never distributed; follow-up was weak.
Way forward
Moral appeal must be backed by institutions: land records and ceiling enforcement.
Where it worked
- Koraput in Odisha saw hundreds of villages declare Gramdan; Bihar received the largest pledges, with Jayaprakash Narayan joining the movement (1954).
- Bhoodan Acts in states such as Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh gave the donated land legal backing.
Critique
- Landlords often donated poor land to avoid ceiling laws; Gramdan rarely changed actual ownership.
- Charisma-driven, it faded once Vinoba stopped walking.
Conclusion
Bhoodan and Gramdan fell short of their targets, but they proved that social change in a new democracy could be sought through persuasion rather than violence.
Draw: T-chart: objective vs outcome.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Sarvodaya; target 50 million acres; state Bhoodan Acts.
Where most answers lose marks
- A Vinoba biography. 'Critically' wants failures too.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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