gramdan
Quick Summary
Gramdan is a system that emerged from the Bhoodan Yajna, or "Land-Gift Movement," founded by Vinoba Bhave in India. This movement aimed to address rural poverty by redistributing privately owned land to the landless.12
Gramdan specifically involves villagers pooling their land, which is then reorganized under a cooperative system. Bhave conceived of the land-gift movement in 1951, inspired by a landholder's offer of acreage for landless Dalits. He traveled extensively, advocating for land gifts as an act of nonviolence and a means of achieving land reform through a change of heart rather than government action. While critics suggested this approach could lead to land fragmentation, Bhave emphasized the importance of unity over efficient land management.2
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- Vinoba Bhave
Later, however, he encouraged gramdan—i.e., the system whereby villagers pooled their land, after which the land was reorganized under a cooperative system.
Read MoreLater, however, he encouraged gramdan—i.e., the system whereby villagers pooled their land, after which the land was reorganized under a cooperative system.
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IndiaEconomic planning and development…expanded that program to include gramdan (“gift of village”), in which villagers voluntarily surrendered their land to a cooperative system, and jivandan (“gift of life”), the giving of all one’s labor, the latter attracting volunteers as famous as the socialist J.P. (Jaya Prakash) Narayan, who was the inspiration for the…
Read More…expanded that program to include gramdan (“gift of village”), in which villagers voluntarily surrendered their land to a cooperative system, and jivandan (“gift of life”), the giving of all one’s labor, the latter attracting volunteers as famous as the socialist J.P. (Jaya Prakash) Narayan, who was the inspiration for the…
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