Legislation Concern about developments turned to serious debate in the 1890s and on 27 September 1899 the future
Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab,
Charles Rivaz, presented the
Imperial Legislative Council with a proposal titled the Punjab Alienation of Land Bill. The measure was viewed by educated Hindus in the province as another example of Raj discrimination against their interests. In classifying people as being either "agriculturalist" or "non-agriculturalist" and limiting the transfer of land between those two groups, they saw the measure as preventing free investment of capital and reducing their opportunity to acquire the status traditionally associated with land ownership. Moreover, with the majority of those classified as agriculturists being Muslim, the educated elite saw it as being anti-Hindu, just as their diminishing ability to gain government employment, which was once their preserve, was considered to be such. Rivaz's proposed legislation reignited the interest of elite Hindu Punjabis in the
Congress and
Indian Association political movements, which had waned during the decade. When the Congress delegates at the 1899 gathering in
Lucknow supported opposition to the proposal, it created a rift between the organisation and Punjabi Muslims and peasants. However, factional disputes among the Punjabi elite — notably, between the
Arya Samajists and the
Brahmos — meant that this revived enthusiasm for Congress was short-lived.
Aftermath The
National Unionist Party was established as a consequence of the 1900 legislation to protect the interests of agriculturists. The subsequent Punjab Land Alienation Act of 1907 further restricted the transfer of land ownership between various groups. ==Amendments==