Question

When the A.P. Abolition of the Inams Act was introduced?
A. 1950
B. 1955
C. 1960
D. 1965

Answer 1

Hint: The Andhra Pradesh Abolition of Inams Act was introduced to regulate all the land that is seen as charitable or religious land. This was to be regulated under the government and no land can further be given to someone else as inam.

Complete answer: The Andhra Pradesh Abolition of the Inams Act was passed in the year 1955. This Act was aimed at regulating the charitable or religious land, also called as inam land, which was till then donated without any regulation from the government side. Inams, meaning gifts, by landholders, zamindars, jagirdars, Samantha etc., all those positions which had been abolished by the government were seen as belonging to the government in the absence of the due procedure to regulate the land through government proceedings.
This act was aimed at bringing all the uncultivated area, forest lands, barren lands, river and such territories under the government. This meant that the land received as Inam or charity cannot be sold to another party without its conversion to a freeholding land under the government. This process had to be taken through the district collector.
There have been various amendments in this Act up until 2011. The main motive of the abolition of inamdar was to extract revenue. Inam lands, traditionally, were not held under the revenue system. But post-independence, it was crucial to bring all such land under revenue and regulation to be able to make use of the resources and for equality and justice for all.

Note: The Inamdar system has been a characteristic of the Hyderabad region for a long time. The Patwaris or Patel who were the village revenue officers under the Nizams were given watans or such inam lands to extract their salary from there. This system was hereditary and dominated by the upper class, upper caste people.