HistoryModern India: Colonialism and the Countryside

Deccan peasants feared the written word and did not know the clauses…

Deccan peasants feared the written word and did not know the clauses inserted in the bonds. Why did they still sign them?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → Moneylenders were unwilling to give loans without legal bonds

Option (1) The Collector ordered the ryots to register their loans in writing — Incorrect. The bonds were demanded by moneylenders as a condition for lending. The ryots signed them to get loans.

Option (2) Bonds protected the ryots from the rising revenue demand — Incorrect. Bonds were loan papers and gave no shield against revenue. Peasants saw them as symbols of an oppressive system.

Option (3) The village panchayat refused to settle oral loan disputes — Incorrect. Village disputes are not the reason. Without a bond the ryot could get no loan from the moneylender.

Option (4) Moneylenders were unwilling to give loans without legal bonds — Correct. To survive, the ryots needed loans, and moneylenders would not lend without legal bonds. So the peasants had no choice but to sign.

NCERT (2026-27): “3.6 The experience of injustice …
Over time, peasants came to associate the misery of their lives with the new regime of bonds and deeds. They were made to sign and put thumb impressions on documents, but they did not know what they were actually signing. They had no idea of the clauses that moneylenders inserted in the bonds. They feared the written word. But they had no choice because to survive they needed loans, and moneylenders were unwilling to give loans without legal bonds.”

Deccan peasants feared the written word and did not know the clauses inserted in the bonds. Why did they still sign them?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → Moneylenders were unwilling to give loans without legal bonds

Option (3) The village panchayat refused to settle oral loan disputes — Incorrect. Village disputes are not the reason. Without a bond the ryot could get no loan from the moneylender.