The United Nations Guiding Principles and Business and Human Rights in India* By Centre for Legislative Research and Advocacy (CLRA) Background L and in India is a scarce resource, but a source of livelihood for over half of its population. Agriculture is not a productive contributor to the econony, accounting for only 17.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but half of the country depends on agricultural activity for their means of livelihood. Therefore, agriculture either needs to be more efficient or land made more productive by utilizing it for other purposes. A large-scale governmental effort to modernize agriculture, combined with a massive drive to urbanize, was the prescription for India’s growth and development. Both cases require massive land acquisition. The Land Acquisition Law from 1894 dealt with fragmentation of land holdings to remove the problem of land-holdouts and disputed land-titles. Affecting almost 50 million people, more than six (6) percent of India’s total land has been acquired since 1947. Landowners were poorly paid, interests of farmers and peasants hurt. Very little rehabilitation was organized, and tribals were the most affected. The acquisition law failed to recognize the country’s geographical and economic diversity and specific local land cultures and histories. Overview of Land and Resource Conflicts in the Country Nature of the Conflicts Land acquisition in India is mainly done by government and the private sector to build public infrastructure or establish industries. But under the garb This is an abridged version of the paper prepared by the Centre for Legislative Research and Advocacy (CLRA) for Ekta Parishad (EP) for the regional initiative “Defending Land Rights and Human Rights Defenders.” For more details, contact ektaaneesh@gmail.com * Citation: Centre for Legislative Research and Advocacy (CLRA). (2018). The United Nations Guiding Principles and Business and Human Rights in India. In ANGOC (Ed.) Upholding Land Rights Amidst the Land Rush: A situationer on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in selected countries in Asia (pp. 43-52). Quezon City: ANGOC and KPA. ANGOC and KPA 43