In all regions of India villages are changing in respect of economic institutions, power structure and inter caste relationships. A major source of economic change is land reform, which has created a great sociological impact on village social structure, even though its economic impact may be subject to controversy.

Land reform in villages has been introduced through the abolition of intermediaries, tenancy reforms, ceilings on land holdings and redistribution of land, consolidation of holdings and prevention of holdings from deteriorating to an uneconomic size, emphasis on the development of cooperative farming, and a religio economic movement for the gift of surplus land by the rich to the poor as bhoodan.

These measures have been implemented differently in different states, but they have created broadly uniform sociological consequences.