Page 35 - SST Class 08

1. Revolts of Indigo Cultivators debts. In almost every case the object of the

The exploitation of the farmers made them rioters was to obtain and destroy the debt-
understand that the planters had slowly got bonds, decrees etc. Personal violence
them into debt traps. They started losing against them was used only when they
land holdings due to poor output. The refused to hand over these documents.
revolt began as the peasants stopped paying Ultimately, the Government of India
rents. In March 1859, the revolt became appointed a Commission to enquire into
more organised when thousands of Ryots in nature and cause of their riots.
Bengal refused to grow indigo. They 3. Non-payment of Revenue Movements
attacked the Indigo factories with whatever In Bengal, the peasants of Pabna organised
weapons they had. Women joined the revolt an Agrarian League in 1873, to launch a
and fought with pots, pans, etc. The resis- concerned drive against the arbitrary
tance was met with pressure from planters increase of rents by the Zamindars and to
but farmers took pledge that they would not raise funds to meet the litigation expenses.
take advance and would not be bullied by Similar movements were also launched in
the lathiyals of planters. The key leaders of other districts of Bengal during the next
this revolt were Biswas Brothers of Nadia decade.
{Digambar Biswas and Bishnu Biswas}, In Assam, the peasants in the Ryotwari
Kader Molla of Pabna, Rafique Mondal of
areas organised themselves into mass
Maida, etc.
assemblies and undertook non-payment of
2. The Deccan Riots (1874-75) revenue during the last decade of the 19th
The heavy assessment of land revenue in century. Similarly, in Maharashtra, after the
Maharashtra and the resultant poverty and famines of 1896-97 and 1899-1900, a
indebtedness had reduced the Maratha number of non-payment of revenue cam-
peasantry to a pitiable state. The Marwari paigns were launched.
and Gujarati mon-
eylenders exploited
this situation, took
their advantage and
mortgaged a very
large portion of
lands against rural
loans. Some money-
lenders even went to
the extent of com-
pelling the debtor-
peasants to compro-
mise the honour of
their women to get
relief from the
crushing burden of
Growth of Commercial Crops

Social Science-8 35