With reference to land reforms in independent India, which one of the following statements is correct?

With reference to land reforms in independent India, which one of the…

The ceiling laws were aimed at family holdings and not individual holdings.
The major aim of land reforms was providing agricultural land to all the landless.
It resulted in cultivation of cash crops as a predominant form of cultivation.
Land reforms permitted no exemptions to the ceiling limits.

Answer

(a) Ceiling laws in India were not uniformly aimed only at family holdings; in the earlier phase many states fixed ceilings on individual holdings, and only later some shifted to family as the unit. So this statement is too absolute. Incorrect.
(b) A central objective of post-independence land reforms was redistribution of land to the landless through abolition of intermediaries and ceiling-surplus distribution. Among the given options, this is the best statement. Correct.
(c) Land reforms did not primarily result in predominant cash-crop cultivation; that trend is more linked to commercialization, irrigation, markets, and the Green Revolution. Incorrect.
(d) Land ceiling laws did provide several exemptions in practice, such as plantations and certain specialized farms in many states. Incorrect.