Read carefully and answer the following excerpts the questions that follow:
A Ryot Petitions
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 oflate 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.
Questions:
(i) Why were the ryots not given loans by sowkars?
(ii) Explain the difficulties, the ryots had to face for getting loan from the sowkars.
(iii) Why were the ryots unable to pay the inflated demand? Explain.
(i) The ryots were not given loans by sowkars because the sowkars (moneylenders and merchants) were very selfish, heartless, greedy and dishonest. They did not had faith in re-payment capacity of the ryots due to their very low income.
(ii) The ryots had to face the following difficulties during getting loan from the sowkars :
(a) Due to low income and poverty the ryots were forced to take loans from sowkars to meet their basic needs such as to purchase grain and clothes etc.
(b) They had to pay more price than the market or cash prices for their grains, clothes etc. The prices asked from them were generally twenty five or fifty per cent more than demanded from customers making ready money payments.
(c) The agricultural produce of the ryots fields was also taken by sowkars who at the time of removing it assured them that it would be credited to their account but they (dishonest sowkars) did not actually made any mention of it in the accounts.
(iii) The ryots were unable to pay the inflated demand due to their low income, low agricultural production, extra social-cultural expenses, dishonesty of the sowkars.
