The 'Deccan Riots', in which peasants of Poona and Ahmednagar districts attacked moneylenders and burnt their account books, took place in:

The "Deccan Riots" (Deccan peasant uprising) took place in 1875, in the Poona (Pune) and Ahmednagar districts of the Bombay Deccan.

How it began:

• It began at the village of Supa, in Poona district, in May 1875.
• Peasants attacked the shops and houses of the sahukars (moneylenders) and grain dealers, who were mainly Marwari and Gujarati.
• They seized and burnt the account books (bahi khata) and bonds, which recorded their debts.
• The movement spread to more than 30 villages.

NCERT on the Deccan Riots:

• NCERT notes that the peasants' main targets were the account books and bonds of the moneylenders, as these were the instruments of their oppression.
• The aim was to destroy the evidence of debts, rather than to harm people; there were few cases of physical violence.

Causes:

• The revenue demand was high, and had to be paid in cash.
• When the American Civil War (1861-1865) cut off cotton supplies from America, Indian cotton was in great demand, and moneylenders gave large loans to peasants to grow cotton.
• After the war ended, the demand for Indian cotton fell sharply, and the moneylenders refused to give more loans.
• At the same time, the government raised the revenue demand.
• Peasants fell deep into debt and lost their lands to the moneylenders through the courts.
• The moneylenders' refusal to give loans was seen as a violation of the customary norms of the countryside.

Government response:

• The government set up the Deccan Riots Commission, which reported in 1878.
• The Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act was passed in 1879, to protect peasants from moneylenders.
• NCERT uses the report of the Deccan Riots Commission as a source on peasant life.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1857 was the year of the Revolt.
• ✗1885 was the year the Congress was founded.
• ✗1905 was the year of the Partition of Bengal.