Which of the following statements highlights the main grievance of the 'Ryots' of Deccan?

The moneylenders were violating the customary norms of the countryside.

The correct answer is Option (1) → The moneylenders were violating the customary norms of the countryside.

Given options:

Option 1- The moneylenders were violating the customary norms of the countryside. (main grievance of the 'Ryots' of Deccan)
Option 2- The moneylenders were charging high rate of interest.
Option 3- The method of collection of revenue was very insensitive.
Option 4- The punishment on the non-payment of loan was very severe.

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.