page_title: East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950
hierarchical_section_title: East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950
caption_attribution_description: English: Charles Cornwallis, First Marquis of Cornwallis (1738-1805)
context_page_description: The East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 was a law passed by the newly formed democratic Government of East Bengal in the Dominion of Pakistan. The bill was drafted on 31 March 1948 during the early years of Pakistan and passed on 16 May 1951. Before passage of the legislature, landed revenue laws of Bengal consisted of the Permanent Settlement Regulations of 1793 and the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885.
  The 1793 legislature created a landed aristocracy which was supposed to be loyal to the British Empire. The Act of 1885 defined the rights and liabilities of the peasants in relation to their superior lords. After the fall of the British rule in 1948, the law abolished the Zamindari system in the region, after which the lands of the state were under the federal government. It was seen as a democratic move to a people's state rather than a feudal class system. India adopted a similar law in 1953 in the Constitution of India. In modern Pakistan, such reforms were never carried out, which is why the effects of feudalism has perpetrated national politics and governance.
context_section_description: The East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 (also known as the East Pakistan Estate Acquisition Act 1950) was a law passed by the newly formed democratic Government of East Bengal in the Dominion of Pakistan (present day Bangladesh). The bill was drafted on 31 March 1948 during the early years of Pakistan and passed on 16 May 1951. Before passage of the legislature, landed revenue laws of Bengal consisted of the Permanent Settlement Regulations of 1793 and the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1885.
  The 1793 legislature created a landed aristocracy (see: Zamindars of Bengal) which was supposed to be loyal to the British Empire. The Act of 1885 defined the rights and liabilities of the peasants (ryats) in relation to their superior lords (Zamindars). After the fall of the British rule in 1948, the law abolished the Zamindari system in the region, after which the lands of the state were under the federal government. It was seen as a democratic move to a people's state rather than a feudal class system. India adopted a similar law in 1953 in the Constitution of India. In modern Pakistan, such reforms were never carried out, which is why the effects of feudalism has perpetrated national politics and governance.
caption: Lord Cornwallis made the Permanent Settlement Act of 1793 in Bengal which led to the zamindars gaining influence as the ruling class.
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