The Deccan Agriculturalists Relief Act of 1879 was enacted with which primary objective?

Introduction / Context:
The Deccan Agriculturalists Relief Act of 1879 was passed in the aftermath of severe agrarian distress and peasant uprisings in the Deccan region of colonial India. Moneylenders had acquired large areas of cultivable land from indebted peasants. The colonial government responded by enacting legislation aimed at giving some protection to agriculturists. This question tests knowledge of the main objective of that Act in the context of modern Indian history and agrarian policy.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The question refers specifically to the Deccan Agriculturalists Relief Act of 1879.
• Four different objectives are suggested, involving land restoration, financial support, restrictions on land sale and legal aid.
• We assume awareness of the peasant movements and moneylender issues in the Deccan region during the late nineteenth century.

Concept / Approach:
The Act came in response to conflicts between peasants and moneylenders after heavy indebtedness. It sought to regulate the relationship by limiting the seizure and transfer of peasant lands and by providing special procedures for debt cases involving agriculturists. The key theme is protection from oppressive moneylending practices, particularly the sale and attachment of land. Among the options, the objective that best captures this idea is the one about restricting the sale of land for indebtedness to outsiders and protecting peasants from moneylenders.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the historical background. In the Deccan region, peasants became heavily indebted and many lost their lands to moneylenders, which led to violent uprisings known as the Deccan Riots. Step 2: The government realised that unregulated moneylending and land transfers were fuelling unrest and decided to pass legislation to provide some relief to agriculturists. Step 3: The Deccan Agriculturalists Relief Act aimed at limiting the power of moneylenders and protecting peasant proprietors. It introduced special courts, special procedures, and restricted certain transfers of land to non agriculturists. Step 4: Evaluate option A: restoring land to dispossessed peasants sounds attractive, but the Act was more about regulating future transactions and debt settlement than automatically restoring all land already lost. Step 5: Evaluate option B: financial assistance for social or religious occasions was not the central theme of the Act and does not capture the idea of regulating moneylending. Step 6: Evaluate option C: restricting the sale of land for indebtedness to outsiders and protecting peasants from moneylenders describes the core spirit of the Act by focusing on land transfer limitations and relief from oppressive debts. Step 7: Evaluate option D: providing legal aid to insolvent peasants only in urban areas does not reflect the rural Deccan setting or the actual provisions of the Act. Step 8: Therefore option C is the most accurate description of the primary objective.

Verification / Alternative check:
Students can verify by recalling that standard history textbooks describe the Deccan Agriculturalists Relief Act as a measure to protect peasants from moneylenders, for example by restricting land attachment and sale, and by giving courts powers to scale down or manage debts. There is no emphasis on urban areas, and no simple blanket promise to restore all lost land. This supports the conclusion that the central goal was to limit land sales and curb moneylender power, which matches option C most closely.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Option A exaggerates the degree to which the Act restored land. It focused more on procedure and protection in future transactions than on automatic restoration.
• Option B misrepresents the purpose as providing financial support for ceremonies, which was not the aim.
• Option D incorrectly locates the Act in urban areas and focuses on legal aid rather than agrarian relief, which does not match the historical context.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes assume that any relief Act must have restored all land to peasants, which is not accurate. Another pitfall is to confuse the Deccan Agriculturalists Relief Act with later welfare or social security programmes that focus on grants or ceremonial expenses. It is essential to link the Act to the specific problem of moneylenders acquiring peasant lands and to understand that the legislative response focused on regulating land transfer and debt procedures, not on broad financial subsidies.

Final Answer:
To restrict the sale of land for indebtedness to outsiders and protect peasants from moneylenders