Chotanagpur Tenancy Act 1908
Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908
The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act of 1908 is the law the Ulgulan produced. It recognised tribal tenures in writing and restricted the transfer of tribal land to outsiders, and it remains the single most important land law of Jharkhand.
Enacted — 1908 | Area — Chotanagpur division districts | Purpose — protect tribal land from transfer
Why the Act came
- The Ulgulan forced the government to accept that land loss was the real grievance
- The Sardari movement had already produced a documented record of dispossession
- Earlier laws had recognised bhuinhari rights in the 1869 survey and register work
- Customary tenures had no clear protection against sale, mortgage and lease
- The state chose a legal remedy because military remedies had solved nothing
What the Act does
- Restricts transfer of land held by a member of a Scheduled Tribe to a non-tribal
- Gives statutory recognition to khuntkatti and bhuinhari tenures
- Recognises other special tenures such as bhutkheta and pahnai land
- Provides for restoration of land transferred in breach of the law
- Places disputes before revenue authorities rather than ordinary civil courts
- Recognises tribal custom in matters of succession to holdings
Sections most often named
| Provision | Subject |
|---|---|
| Section 46 | Restriction on transfer of a raiyat's right in land |
| Section 49 | Transfer permitted for specified purposes with official sanction |
| Section 71A | Restoration of land illegally transferred to a non-tribal |
| Ninth Schedule | The Act is placed in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution |
Why it still matters
- It is the legal basis on which tribal land in Jharkhand is protected today
- Any proposal to amend it becomes a major political issue in the state
- The parallel law for Santhal Pargana is the SPT Act of 1949
- Together the two Acts cover most of the state's Scheduled Areas
- Land acquisition, mining and industry all run into these two laws first
CNT and SPT compared
| Point | CNT Act 1908 | SPT Act 1949 |
|---|---|---|
| Area | Chotanagpur division districts | Santhal Pargana districts |
| Origin | Follows the Ulgulan | Follows the long Santhal land agitation |
| Tenures | Khuntkatti, bhuinhari and others | Santhal customary holdings |
| Transfer rule | Restricted, with limited exceptions | Even stricter restriction |
Tenures the Act protects
- Khuntkatti — land held collectively by the descendants of the clan that first cleared it
- Bhuinhari — privileged holding of the original settler families, recorded in the survey register
- Bhutkheta — land attached to the worship of village spirits
- Pahnai — land attached to the office of the village priest, the pahan
- Rajhas or majhihas — land attached to the office of the headman, not personal property
- All of these are office or clan tenures, which is why ordinary sale law does not fit them
CNT का पूरा नाम है छोटानागपुर काश्तकारी अधिनियम (Chotanagpur Tenancy Act) 1908 और SPT का पूरा नाम है संथाल परगना काश्तकारी अधिनियम 1949।
Memory hook — Do adhiniyam, do ilake, do saal — CNT 1908 Chotanagpur, SPT 1949 Santhal Pargana. Aur do jad — CNT ki jad Ulgulan, SPT ki jad Hool ki lambi virasat.
Yahan confuse hote hain — Dono adhiniyam ke saal aur kshetra ulat jaate hain.
✗ CNT Act 1949 aur SPT Act 1908 | ✓ CNT Act 1908 aur SPT Act 1949
✗ CNT Act poore Jharkhand par lagu hai | ✓ CNT Act Chotanagpur ke zilon par; Santhal Pargana me SPT Act lagu hai
Exam pointer — JPSC me CNT Act ka Ulgulan se rishta, Ninth Schedule ka zikr aur sanshodhan ka vivad — teeno aate hain, Prelims aur Mains dono me. JSSC CGL aur JKCE me seedha — CNT Act kis saal ka, kis kshetra par lagu. Polity chapter me bhi yahi Act dobara aayega, isliye ise ek baar me pakka kar lo.
Ek nazar me
- Full name — Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908
- Produced by the Ulgulan of 1899-1900
- Restricts transfer of tribal land to non-tribals
- Recognises khuntkatti and bhuinhari tenures
- Section 46 — restriction on transfer
- Section 49 — transfer for specified purposes with sanction
- Section 71A — restoration of illegally transferred land
- Placed in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution
- Parallel law — SPT Act, 1949 for Santhal Pargana
- Any amendment proposal becomes a live political issue