Tahqiqāt-e Tārikh-e Ejtemā’i (Social History Studies)

Land Reform and Its Socio-Economic Consequences; A Case Study of Dorcheh, Isfahan (1962–1978)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Morteza Nouraei 1
Sedigheh Panahi Dorcheh 2

1 Professor of History. Department of History & Iranology. University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

2 M.A in Post-Islamic Iranian History, Oral History Studies Center, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

10.30465/shc.2026.54038.2678
Abstract
Land reform, implemented in Iran during the 1960s as part of the White Revolution, was introduced with objectives including transforming the traditional landlord–tenant system of land ownership and improving the livelihoods of rural communities. This program, which had previously been implemented in Maragheh, was gradually extended to other regions of the country following the national referendum and produced varying consequences.

The present study was conducted using library resources, archival materials, newly discovered documents, and active interviews within the framework of oral history. By evaluating the diverse perspectives of the interviewees, it examines, in a focused manner, the consequences of the implementation of the Land Reform Law in the Dorcheh region of Isfahan before and after the enforcement of this law In 1962.

This study seeks to answer, at the local level, the following question: How did land reform affect the economic conditions and social status of individuals, and through what process did the transition from the traditional system of land ownership to the new structure take place ?

The findings indicate that, unlike many regions of Iran, Dorcheh lacked a landlord–tenant system based on large-scale landownership. Consequently, the implementation of land reform in this region differed fundamentally from the prevailing national pattern. Small-scale landownership not only reduced the effectiveness of some of the reform's objectives but also, due to the large number of landowners and the overlap of property rights, created legal and social challenges in implementing the law and prolonged the implementation process.

Keywords

Land Reform
Small-Scale Landownership
Dorcheh
Isfahan
Rural Livelihoods
Subjects
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Interviews
ʿĀbidī, Ḥaydar. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 83. Farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
ʿĀbidī, Ramażān-ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 77. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
ʿAlījānī, Riżā. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 96. Farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
Barātī, ʿAbd ol-Ḥusayn. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 80. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Barātī, Ibrāhīm. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 49. Teacher. Durcheh. [in persion]
Darchehpūr, Qudrat Allāh. Interview, 1403/2024. Age 77. Retired teacher. Durcheh. [in persion].
Jazīnī, ʿAbbās-ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 70. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Jazīnī, ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 75. Farmer. Durcheh
  [in persion].
Jazīnī, ʿAlī-Akbar. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 80. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Jazīnī, Muḥammad A. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 85. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Jazīnī, Muḥammad B. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 82. Farmer.  [in persion].
Jazīnī, Riżā. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 77. Farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
Jazīnī, Taqī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 91. Farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
Ḥafīẓī, Ṣādiq. Interview, 1403/2024. Age 89. Retired teacher. Durcheh. [in persion]
Ḥusaynī, Sayyid Asad Allāh. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 86. Miller and farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Ḥusaynī, Sayyid Bāqir. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 86. Painter and farmer. Durcheh. [in persion].
Isḥāqiyān, Jaʿfar. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 75. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Isḥāqiyān, Ḥaydar. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 62. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Isḥāqiyān, ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 70. Farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
Isḥāqiyān, Mahdī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 72. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Isḥāqiyān, Muḥammad. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 85. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Karbāsī, Parvīz. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 71. Retired teacher. Durcheh. [in persion]
Karīmī, Muḥammad. Interview, 1404/2025. Retired power plant employee and farmer. Iṣfahān. [in persion]
Kishāvarz, Muḥammad. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 81. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Musayyibī, Qāsim-ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 63. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Naẓarī, Muḥammad. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 73. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Panāhī, ʿAbd al-Raḥīm. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 86. Retired power plant employee and farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
Panāhī, ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 72. Retired power plant employee and farmer. Durcheh
Panāhī, Barāt-ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 82. Retired Isfahan Steel Company employee and farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
Panāhī, Ghulām-ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 80. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Panāhī, Maḥmūd. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 78. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Panāhī, Muḥammad-Taqī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 72. Weaver and farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
Panāhī, Ramażān. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 78. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Shāh-Naẓarī, Ibrāhīm. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 81. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Sharīfiyān, Karīm. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 85. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Sharīfiyān, Muḥammad. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 80. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Sharīfiyān, Raḥīm. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 70. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Sulaymānī, Muḥammad. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 75. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Sulaymānī, Qāsim. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 73. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Turkīyān, Qadam-ʿAlī. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 81. Farmer. Durcheh. [In persion]
Turkīyān, Musayyib. Interview, 1404/2025. Age 80. Retired Simin Factory employee and farmer. Durcheh. [in persion]
Tahqiqāt-e Tārikh-e Ejtemā’i (Social History Studies)

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 18 August 2026

  • Receive Date 19 January 2026
  • Revise Date 16 August 2026
  • Accept Date 18 August 2026

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