Which of the following statements highlights the main grievance of the 'Ryots' of Deccan?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The moneylenders were violating the customary norms of the countryside.
Option (1) The moneylenders were violating the customary norms of the countryside. — Correct. When the moneylenders refused to extend loans, the ryots were enraged. What infuriated them was not only that they had got deeper into debt, but that the moneylenders were insensitive to their plight and were violating the customary norms of the countryside.
Option (2) The moneylenders were charging high rate of interest. — Incorrect. High interest was one of the complaints, but the ryots saw it as part of a larger wrong. By custom, the interest charged could not be more than the principal; under colonial rule this norm broke down, and in one case a moneylender charged over Rs 2,000 as interest on a loan of Rs 100. So the excessive interest mattered to them as a breach of custom, not as a growing debt alone.
Option (3) The method of collection of revenue was very insensitive. — Incorrect. The ryots of the Deccan turned their anger against the moneylenders and grain dealers, burning their account books and bonds. The word ‘insensitive’ is used of the moneylenders, not of the way revenue was collected.
Option (4) The punishment on the non-payment of loan was very severe. — Incorrect. No punishment for non-payment is named as their grievance. What enraged them was the refusal of loans and the moneylenders’ disregard of custom.
NCERT (2026-27): “3.6 The experience of injustice … The refusal of moneylenders to extend loans enraged the ryots. What infuriated them was not simply that they had got deeper and deeper into debt, or that they were utterly dependent on the moneylender for survival, but that moneylenders were being insensitive to their plight. The moneylenders were violating the customary norms of the countryside. Moneylending was certainly widespread before colonial rule and moneylenders were often powerful figures. A variety of customary norms regulated the relationship between the moneylender and the ryot. One general norm was that the interest charged could not be more than the principal. This was meant to limit the moneylender’s exactions and defined what could be counted as ‘fair interest’. Under colonial rule this norm broke down. In one of the many cases investigated by the Deccan Riots Commission, the moneylender had charged over Rs 2,000 as interest on a loan of Rs 100. In petition after petition, ryots complained of the injustice of such exactions and the violation of custom.…” |