In defense of land rights: A monitoring report on land conflicts in six Asian countries 22 land reforms were legislated and implemented by the States with guidance from the central government. Reforms came in three phases: (a) abolition of zamindars and ryotwari systems (giving proprietary rights to 20-25M tenants); (b) tenant protection acts (benefitting some 12.8M tenants, although many tenants were also evicted); and, (c) land ceilings and land redistribution. By the end of 2005, about 2.63 million hectares (6.5 million acres) of surplus lands had been redistributed to 5.6 million households, representing only one percent of India’s agricultural lands and four percent of rural households. State-level land reforms were deemed most successful in West Bengal and Kerala, but reforms were poorly implemented in other States. Social legislation. India today has some of the region’s most progressive legislations, as many anti-discrimination and social protection acts were passed. In relation to land, these include among many others, the Forest Rights Act of 2006 and the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. But with earlier structural adjustment programs in the 1990s, and later State-led interventions to support the growth of private investments under market liberalization, the gap between rich and poor has been growing. This exacerbates existing land inequalities and divides, including discrimination against women and Dalits. Land conflicts. Current drivers of land conflict include: State-led development projects (for infrastructure, Special Economic Zones, etc.) which has led to the displacement of an estimated 60 million people between 1947-2004, of which 40 percent are tribals; continuing land conversion of forests to other uses; and, privatization of community lands that are under common property use and tenure. Indonesia ANGOC Colonial land policies. After 347 years, the Dutch left three main colonial land policies in Indonesia: First, all lands were divided into two categories of ownership through the domein verklaring (declaration of domain) principle. In one category land was recognized as being individually owned, known as eigendom (ownership), and in the other category all land was owned by the State. Second, land was allocated for the development of big plantations, particularly on State-owned land. Third was a policy on the formation of “stateforests” (Bachriadi, 2009). This created a dichotomy and division between small rice peasants and large plantations for export based on hired labor. State lands. After independence in 1949, most of the Dutch colonial land and agrarian policies continued under the Indonesian State in a new form. The State