"But it was Indira Gandhi’s so-called “land reform” legislation that proved to be the axe that annihilated this unbroken tradition and practice of magnanimity whose source-fount was spirituality. A poignant and heart-rending conversation in Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa’s classic, Tanthu slaps us awake over the dire consequences of this annihilation of virtue. One of the characters in the novel is an aged temple Purohita speaking to the protagonist about Indira Gandhi’s notorious Land Ceiling Act: “As far as I can remember, none of the kings or chieftains or even the British, took away the land which was given as a grant to us by others. But now, our own people have forcibly grabbed the land donated to us by others. May God bless this Government.”"