'Consider the following statements about the Deccan Riots (1875) : 1. It was a peasant revolt but not a movement of the poor tribals or landless peasants. 2. It was led by the relatively better-off sections of the peasantry who . were called Kunvi peasants in Maharashtra. Which of the statements given above is/ are correct ?

The Deccan Riots of 1875 were a significant peasant uprising in the Bombay Deccan, primarily directed against the exploitative 'outsider' moneylenders (sahukars) [1]. Statement 1 is correct as the movement was characterized as a revolt of the ryots (peasant cultivators) rather than a movement of landless laborers or tribal groups, focusing on the destruction of debt bonds and deeds [1]. Statement 2 is also correct; the movement was largely led and participated in by the relatively better-off Kunbi (often spelled Kunvi) peasantry, who were the traditional land-holding cultivators of Maharashtra [t4]. These Kunbi peasants were the backbone of the agrarian economy but had fallen into deep debt due to high land revenue demands and falling cotton prices [t4]. The riots were a spontaneous expression of their collective discontent against the colonial economic system and usurious interest rates [t4].

Sources

1. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 31: Peasant Movements 1857-1947 > Deccan Riots > p. 577