An Economic History of Nepal (1846-1901) – Mahesh C. Regmi

Landownership in Nepal
By
Mahesh C. Regmi
University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 1976.
In his foreword, Leo E. Rose describes this work as a “defini- tive study, which is, in my view, the most important volume yet published on Nepal.”
In this work, Regmi makes three contributions. First, he des- * cribes and analyzes the traditional sepali landholding system. This was complex, ever-evolving and variable with respect to the rights and obligation of the state, of the beneficiaries of state land bequests, and of tenants and cultivators. Regmi delineates his subject in ne detail, and explains how the system contained with- in itself the seeds of its own demise. Second, he analyzes the present state of land reform, achieved through the 1957 and 1964 Land Acts, the outstanding features of which involve ceilings on individual landholdings, security of tenancy rights, controls on land rents, and compulsory savings and credit provisions. Finally, he offers proposals for future action. Regmi believes that existing reforms have neither converted the agricultural surplus into pro- ductive capital nor sufficiently benefited the peasant class. To achieve these goals, he proposes “a new form of landownership under which every local Panchayat is the owner of lands used for agriculture and other productive purposes in the areas under its jurisdiction.”
Others Books by Mahesh C. Regmi
Land Tenure and Taxation in Nepal, University of California Press, 1963-68, 4 vols, reprinted in one volume by Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Kathmandu, 1978.
A Study in Nepali Economic History, Manjusri Publishing House, New Delhi, 1971.
Thatched Huts and Stucco Palaces: Peasants and Landlards in 19th Century Nepal, Vikas Publishing House (Pvt, Ltd., New Delhi, 1978.

An Economic History of Nepal (1846-1901) – Mahesh C. Regmi