Yes, it’s true. During the British colonial period, missionaries working under the patronage of the East India Company were granted land across India on extraordinary 999-year lease agreements, often for a nominal rent of ₹1 per year. These long-term leases, framed under colonial land grant policies, effectively handed over public resources for centuries—with barely any public scrutiny to this day.
One striking example is St. Xavier’s High School & College in Fort, Mumbai, which stands on land acquired by the Jesuit Fathers in 1866. The lease was for a 200 x 160 ft plot—a central location in one of India’s most valuable urban zones—granted for 999 years at a token rent of ₹1 annually.
This wasn’t an isolated case. In 1894, additional land was leased to the Jesuits on Cruickshank Road (now Mahapalika Marg), and in 1940, another plot was granted at New Marine Lines for use as a playground—again, reportedly on similar terms.
And this is just Mumbai. Across India, dozens of such leases were handed out to Christian missionary institutions—churches, schools, hospitals, and seminaries—especially in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, West Bengal, and Northeast India. In many cases, prime land in cantonments, hill stations, and railway towns was given away for virtually nothing—often under the guise of “public service.”
What’s deeply concerning is that many of these leases have never been reviewed, renegotiated, or reassessed, even after Independence. These institutions continue to occupy vast urban properties with virtually no rent paid to local or central governments—while ordinary citizens struggle with sky-high land and property prices.
There are many such missionary infrastructures across India that were granted land in the same manner. Most of them remain hidden from public knowledge or buried under silence, despite being leased for just one rupee. The fact that such long-term colonial-era arrangements were never revisited or reassessed is deeply concerning and it continues even today.
In a time when land is among the country’s most valuable assets, why are these colonial-era contracts still allowed to stand unchallenged?
Shouldn’t we revisit these agreements, especially if the original purpose of the lease has long expired?
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