Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s24.7

c18.s24.7

The tagai served two purposes. It supplied the Rayats with necessary capital at a time of scarcity and famine, and at the same time saved them from the clutches of the money-lenders (Shahukars). The Peshwas were a century ago as much conscious of the impoverishing effect of a high rate of interest as the British Government is to-day. The Co-operative Credit Societies were still undreamt of, but the Peshwas tried their best to undo the evil in their own way. The economic theory of *Laissez Faire*, once popular and now practically rejected in Europe, was still unknown; and the Peshwa, as the father of his people, effectually interfered with the industrial organisation of the country. Such intervention was often beneficial, and there is no doubt that it was so, when he tried to save his Rayats from the cruel exactions of the unscrupulous. Although it will sound shocking to the worshippers of law, the Peshwas frequently excused emburdened tenants from paying interest and compelled the money-lenders to grant their victims easy terms of payment. At another place we have seen how the Zamindars and Patils of Taluka Shivner, unable to make their grievances known in any other way, had seceded to Kasba Ale; one of these grievances was that the Rayats were over-burdened with debt and an enquiry was demanded as to the justice of the money-lender's claims. Their demand and the government order have been summed up in the document in question as follows: "You represent that in different villages the Rayats are in debt to the Sawkars (money-lenders). If the just claim is settled after examining the accounts, and if we find that an adequate sum in cash is wanting for payment you will repay the debt from the produce of the villages (grains, etc.). An enquiry about the justice of the claims will be made and when you find the interest too high you should not pay that, but a reasonable rate of interest should be fixed and the debt should be liquidated by instalments out of the real produce of the village (grains, etc.)" ³³