The correct option is Bihar.
Explanation
The Census of India classifies the agricultural workforce into two main categories: Cultivators (individuals who engage in cultivation of land owned or held from the government or private persons) and Agricultural Labourers (individuals who work on another person's land for wages in money or kind). A high ratio of labourers to cultivators indicates high landlessness and dependence on wage labour.
State-wise Analysis:
- Himachal Pradesh: This state has a very high proportion of cultivators. Due to the topography and land tenure patterns, most rural households own and cultivate small plots of land. The percentage of landless agricultural labourers is very low.
- Nagaland: In Nagaland, as in many North-Eastern states, community or clan-based land ownership prevails. Consequently, the majority of the workforce are cultivators, and the class of landless labourers is minimal.
- Rajasthan: While the number of agricultural labourers is significant, Rajasthan historically has a high number of cultivators due to the availability of land. The proportion of cultivators remains higher than that of labourers in many districts.
- Bihar: Bihar is characterized by high population density, extreme fragmentation of landholdings, and a historical legacy of land inequality. These factors have forced a large section of the rural population into landlessness. Consequently, Bihar has a very high proportion of agricultural labourers compared to cultivators, with labourers often outnumbering cultivators in Census data.
Key Takeaway: States with high population pressure on land and significant landlessness, such as Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, have a higher proportion of agricultural labourers. In contrast, hill states like Himachal Pradesh and those in the North East typically have a higher proportion of cultivators.