Peasant Movements in the 19th Century – Deccan Riots of 1875

Introduction

Landowners in Maharashtra began a revolt against the order for increasing land revenue, which led to the riots of Deccan in India in 1875. The root cause of the riots was referred to as the Ryotwari system or the new revenue system of lands in the British-occupied territory of India.

Background of Deccan Riots of 1875

British rulers introduced the Ryotwari system in the Deccan region of Maharashtra to increase revenue from the landowners. The collected payment was fixed under this system. The new land revenue was an agreement signed between the cultivator and the E.I.C . The determined amount was too high for the farmers to repay the amount.

Farmers started facing difficulties in paying their debts to the E.I.C. Any interruption or delay in the rains that pushed delayed the cultivation would worsen the circumstances.

Due to the conduction of the Civil War in the United States in 1861, India became the largest exporter of cotton to Britain. The cultivation of cotton in India faced an unexpected rise. After the end of the Civil War, ended the US started to export cotton (Jakhar, Kait & Kumar, 2022). Thus, the farmers were facing more issues in repaying the determined amount in the land revenue agreement.

Figure 1: Factors that influenced Riots of Deccan in 1875

Furthermore, the farmers left the only choice were to take loans from the moneylenders and pay more amounts for the higher rate of interest. The final consequence of these circumstances led to the beginning of the riots of Deccan in 1875.

Causes of Deccan Riots of 1875

E.I.C was collecting their debts from the landowners who were known as the Zamindar. The ownership of the Zamindar would be void if the farmers were not able to repay the determined amount in the agreement. Indian Zamindar faced a chance of losing their landownership in this system. Hence, the Zamindar put more force on the farmers to collect the payment.

Additionally, farmers started to borrow money to pay the fixed amount and then they discovered that they were being trapped by paying more interest in repaying the loans (core, 2022). The followings are the root causes for the conduction of the riots of Deccan in 1875 −

• In 1875, the landowners from the Maharashtra, mostly from the districts of Satara, Poona, and Ahmednagar, rebelled against the unethical practices of the moneylenders from Gujrat.

• The manipulation of the high rate of interest from the farmers is referred to as taking advantage of the poor circumstances.

• The farmers from different districts of Maharashtra arranged a social boycott movement against the activities of the moneylenders. The movement was about to boycott the items from their shops. The campaign later transformed into an agrarian unrest.

• The farmers started to attack the shops and houses of the moneylenders.

• They seized and publicly burnt the papers of loans, bonds, and different documents to display their protest against the moneylenders.

The social movement continued for 2 months in India from 1875 and spread to more than different 30 villages. According to the agreement of the Ryotwari settlement, if farmers could not repay the determined amount, the ownership of the land will be settled to the E.I.C. Hence, the uprising of the amount from the land revenue system pushed the farmers to conduct the revolt.

Consequences of Deccan Riots of 1875

The followings are the consequences of the riots of Deccan in 1875 conducted by the peasants in India −

• The government constructed an inquiry commission in 1877 to investigate the reasons and results due to the conduction of the riots of Deccan in India.

• The government also departed the Deccan Agriculturists Relief Act of 1879 that declared that the movement conducted by the farmers was against the moneylenders.

• In order to protest the colonial rule, Indian nationalist Vasudeo Balwant Phadke launched a violent campaign, aiming to move them out and found an Indian republic.

Deccan Riots Commission

The situation conducted due to the riots of Deccan was explored in the Parliament of Britain in 1878. The conducted events from the riot made exerted coercion on the government. The Parliament of Britain became distressed due to the movement of peasants. The government of Maharashtra under the British ruler formed a commission that made an investigation the movement during the riots of Deccan in India (Jones, 2022). Additionally, the commission studied the activities constructed by the farmers and comprehended their motivation.

The commission published a report that stated that the protest was against the moneylenders as they charged a higher rate of interest from the peasants. Additionally, the commission overlooked the root cause of increasing the land revenue by 50% by the E.I.C.

Conclusion

British financial policy during the colonial period in India was about exploiting the Indians and making more revenue for the E.I.C. The introduction of the Charter Act of 1813 fixed the amount of money that is supposed to send to the Government of Britain by the E.I.C. Hence, the E.I.C started finding more ways to exploit Indians in increasing their revenue. The forceful introduction of the land revenue put the farmers in the worst circumstance that made the construction of the Deccan Riots in 1875.

FAQs

Q1. When did the Deccan Riots begin?

Ans. The government made a raise their system of land revenue by 50% in 1867, which made the farmers conduct a revolt in 1875. The revolt was conducted, as they were unable to pay the high amount determined in the agreement, which resulted in the riots of Deccan in 1875.

Q2. What were the roots causes of the Deccan Riots?

Ans. The riot of Deccan conducted by the farmers was targeting the moneylenders who took the advantage of the farmer's circumstances and charged a higher rate of interest. During the riots, farmers destroy the documents of loans and bonds from the moneylenders.

Q3. From where the riots of Deccan were conducted?

Ans. The riots of Deccan were conducted in different districts of the region of Maharashtra in India.