What explains the anger of the Deccan ryots against the moneylenders?
The ryots were enraged and infuriated when the moneylenders refused to grant them loans. They may be under debt but they were sad to find all the moneylenders insensitive to their plight. They were anguished to see that the moneylenders had violated the customary norms of the country-side. Moneylending was quite widespread even before the colonial rule. The moneylenders have always been very powerful in society. There were a few customary norms between the moneylenders and ryots. First of all, the moneylenders charged a fair and reasonable rate of interest.The Fraudulent means Adopted by the Moneylender. The moneylenders fleeced the ryots by adopting various unfair means such as: They refused to give receipts when the payment of loan was made. They entered fictitious figures in bonds. They bought the harvest of the peasants at very low prices. They brought the property of the peasants under their control. They made the illiterate peasants sign and put thumb impressions on documents. They did not explain to the farmers what clauses they had inserted in the bonds.
