The essentials
In May 1875, ryots in villages of Poona and Ahmednagar districts in the Bombay Deccan attacked moneylenders (sahukars). The revolt began in Supa, a large village in Poona district, where ryots attacked the houses and shops of sahukars, seized and burnt their account books and debt bonds. The movement spread to many villages. Police posts were set up and arrests made.
Background: The Bombay Deccan was brought under the ryotwari system in the 1820s, in which revenue was settled directly with the ryot. The revenue demand was high, and many peasants fell into debt. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the supply of raw cotton from America to Britain fell. British merchants turned to India, and the Deccan saw a cotton boom: moneylenders and exporters advanced credit freely and cotton cultivation expanded. After the Civil War ended (1865), cotton production in America revived, Indian cotton exports fell, prices dropped and credit dried up. Meanwhile the revenue demand was raised in the next settlement. Ryots could not repay loans, and moneylenders refused further credit, which angered them.
Key points
- The Limitation Law of 1859 said loan bonds would be valid for only three years. Moneylenders got around it by making ryots sign a new bond every three years, adding unpaid interest to the principal.
- Ryots complained that moneylenders manipulated accounts and refused receipts.
- The Bombay government set up a commission to enquire into the riots; its report, the Deccan Riots Commission report, was presented to the British Parliament in 1878.
- The commission blamed moneylenders' practices more than government revenue demands.
Exam tips
Remember the chain: ryotwari → high revenue → debt → cotton boom (1861) → collapse after 1865 → refusal of credit → riots (1875).