9. Peasant revolts in other regions

Area: Ryotwari areas of Pune and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.
Reason: oppression from moneylenders and the Ryotwari system of revenue by the government.

The riot started in a village under Poona district when the villagers drove out a local moneylender from the village and captured his property. Violence was used only when the moneylenders resisted handing over the documents. The groups were led by traditional headmen (Patels). The farmers boycotted the moneylenders and refused to buy goods from Mahajan, moneylender shops, and denied working in their homes and working in their fields.

Initially, the government resorted to using the military to suppress the riot. Later, to appease the movement, the government protected farmers against moneylenders by framing the Deccan Agriculturists Relief Act.

In Punjab, the urban moneylenders confiscated the lands of local farmers as they failed to pay their debts. The Government of India, expecting a revolt in the province, which gave a large number of soldiers to the British Indian Army, passed the Punjab Land Alienation Act in \(1900\ \)in order to protect the peasants of Punjab.

 

Thus, the Act divided the population of Punjab into three classes viz., the agricultural classes, the statutory agriculturist class and the remaining population, which includes even the moneylenders. Limitations were imposed on the sale and mortgage of the land from the first class to the other two classes.

Area: Mopla region of Malabar (Kerala)
Reason: Peasants revolted against the landlords and the British government.
Leader: Ali Musaliyar

 

The Mopla farmers belonged to the Muslim community, and the Zamindars (Jenmis) belonged to the Hindus. Thus the colonial government gave a communal frame to this movement. Initially, the revolt was against British rule. However, this movement gained support from Mahatma Gandhi, Shaukat Ali, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as the campaign was contemporary to the non-cooperation and Khilafat movements

 

Hundreds of Moplah farmers lost lives. Thus, they were thoroughly weakened and didn’t join any future freedom struggles—even the communist movements in post independence.