Acharya Vinoba Bhave received the first donation of land under the Bhoodan Movement at
- (a)Ramgarh
- (b)Garhwa
- (c)Hyderabad
- (d)Pochampally
Answer
Why
Correct — D, Pochampally. While walking through Pochampalli village (then in Hyderabad State, now Telangana) on 18 April 1951, Vinoba Bhave was approached by landless families seeking land; in response to his appeal, the local landlord V. Ramachandra Reddy donated 100 acres. That first gift of land launched the Bhoodan (land-gift) movement, so Pochampalli is where the first donation was received.
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Ramgarh — Ramgarh is associated with the 1940 Congress session (presided over by Maulana Azad), not with the Bhoodan movement; no Bhoodan donation began there.
- (b)Garhwa — Garhwa (in present-day Jharkhand) has no connection with the start of the Bhoodan movement.
- (c)Hyderabad — This is the tempting near-miss: the first donation was in Pochampalli, a village in the then Hyderabad State, not in the city of Hyderabad itself.
Concept
The Bhoodan (land-gift) movement, launched by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1951, was a Gandhian, voluntary approach to land reform: instead of legislation, landowners were persuaded to gift a share of their land to the landless. It began at Pochampalli and later broadened into Gramdan, the donation of whole villages.
The trap is scale: 'Hyderabad' names the princely-state capital near which Pochampalli lies, so a hasty reader picks the famous city. But the donation happened in the village of Pochampalli. Remembering that the movement's origin is tied to a specific village — later renamed Bhoodan Pochampally — fixes the answer.
Key facts
- Bhoodan movement launched by Acharya Vinoba Bhave; first donation on 18 April 1951 at Pochampalli (then Hyderabad State, now Telangana).
- Landlord V. Ramachandra Reddy donated 100 acres for landless families.
- Vinoba Bhave had been Gandhi's chosen first individual satyagrahi (1940).
- The movement later extended into Gramdan — the donation of entire villages.
- Pochampalli is also renowned for its Ikat 'Pochampally' silk weaving.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing 'Hyderabad' (the city) instead of Pochampalli (the village).
- Confusing the voluntary Bhoodan movement with state-led land-reform legislation.
Where and by whom the Bhoodan movement began.
Related PYQs
Which one of the following was associated with Acharya Vinoba Bhave's Bhoodan Movement at the beginning of the movement?
- (a) Udayagiri
- (b) Rapur
- (c) Pochampalli
- (d) Venkatagiri
Answer(c) Pochampalli
Almost the same question — UPSC also asked where the Bhoodan movement began, with Pochampalli as the answer.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who launched the Bhoodan (land-gift) movement in 1951?
- (a)Jayaprakash Narayan
- (b)Acharya Vinoba Bhave
- (c)Mahatma Gandhi
- (d)Jamnalal Bajaj
Answer(b) Acharya Vinoba Bhave. - practice — not a real PYQ
The extension of the Bhoodan movement that called for the donation of entire villages was known as
- (a)Gramdan
- (b)Sampattidan
- (c)Shramdan
- (d)Jeevandan
Answer(a) Gramdan.