Question

This is an example of a petition from a ryot of the village of Mirajgaon, Taluka Karjat, to the Collector, Ahmednagar, Deccan Riots Commission: The sowkars (sahukars)… have of late begun to oppress us. As we cannot earn enough to defray our household expenses, we are actually forced to beg of them to provide us with money, clothes and grain, which we obtain from them not without great difficulty, nor without their compelling us to enter into hard conditions in the bond. Moreover, the necessary clothes and grain are not sold to us at cash rates. The prices asked from us are generally twenty-five or fifty per cent more than demanded from customers making ready money payments … The produce of our fields is also taken by the sowkars, who at the time of removing it assure us that it will be credited to our account, but they do not actually make any mention of it in the accounts. They also refuse to pass us any receipts for the produce so removed by them.

Explain the complaints that the ryot is making in the petition. Why was the harvest taken by the moneylenders not credited to the peasants’ account? Why were peasants not given any receipts? If you were a moneylender, what reasons would you give for these practices?

Answer 1

1. The ryot complained that the moneylenders charged very high prices for money, grain and clothes given on credit.
2. The peasants had no other option because they needed loans for their daily household expenses and farming needs.
3. The moneylenders also took produce from the peasants’ fields at harvest time.
4. However, the value of this produce was often not properly entered in the peasants’ accounts.
5. The peasants were also not given receipts, so they had no proof of how much produce or money they had already paid.
6. Because of this, the peasants remained in debt and could be asked to pay the same amount again.
7. The harvest may not have been credited properly because the moneylenders wanted to keep the peasants dependent on them and continue earning interest.
8. If I were a moneylender, I might say that I charged high interest because lending money involved risk and some peasants might fail to repay.
9. I might also claim that the produce was taken to recover unpaid loans and interest.

However, not giving receipts and not keeping proper accounts would still be unfair to the peasants.