Reza Esfahani

Activities in agriculture ministry

Esfahani offered direct public access to his office, in other words, "simply sat on the floor of his office, opened the door, and handled the problems and grievances of the barefoot peasants". He proposed a land reform program, eponymously known as "Esfahani's Land-reform", that brought private ownership of land under question. Landowners strongly stood against the plan and accused Esfahani of being a communist and conservative pro-land ulema questioned Esfahani's understanding of Islam. Eventually Ruhollah Khomeini ordered the land reform to be stopped.