Who were Zamindars?

Before independence the land tenure system was characterized by the intermediaries known as Zamindars, who merely collected rent from the actual tillers of the soil without contributing to improvements of the farm. After independence this Zamindari System was abolished to make the tillers the owners of the land. The abolition of Zamindari System resulted in some 200 lakh tenants coming into direct contact with the government. They were free from the exploitation of Zamindars.