Which one of the following is NOT true about 1875 Deccan Revolt?

The correct answer is Option (4) → The zamindars excess revenue extraction was responsible for peasants’ impoverishment.

Option (1) The movement began in Supa village in Poona. — Correct statement. The movement began at Supa, a large village in Poona (present-day Pune) district, on 12 May 1875, and spread to Ahmednagar.

Option (2) The Ryots burnt ‘bahi-khatas’ and debt bonds of the Sahukars. — Correct statement. The ryots attacked the shopkeepers and moneylenders, demanded their bahi khatas (account books) and debt bonds, and burnt the khatas.

Option (3) The Ryotwari Settlement was responsible for the revolt. — Correct statement. Under the ryotwari settlement of the Bombay Deccan, the revenue demand was so high that peasants could not pay it in bad years; they had to borrow from the moneylenders, fell into debt, and their anger against the sahukars burst out in 1875.

Option (4) The zamindars excess revenue extraction was responsible for peasants’ impoverishment. — Incorrect statement. There were no zamindars in the ryotwari system: unlike the Bengal system, the revenue was settled directly with the ryot. The ryots were impoverished by the high revenue demand of the state and the debts they owed to the sahukars.

Note: The given answer is as per the NTA answer key. Since the Deccan Riots Commission reported that the government revenue demand was not the cause of peasant anger and blamed the moneylenders, one can argue for Option (3). However, the chapter shows that this was the official view of a colonial government reluctant to blame its own policy, and that the high revenue demand of the ryotwari settlement drove the ryots into debt, while Option (4) speaks of zamindars, who did not exist in the ryotwari areas. Therefore, it is the most appropriate answer.