22 SOCIAL SCIENTIST in the year of VS 1812/1755 AD, pargana Narayana in the year of VS 1817/1760 AD, pargana Gaji ka Thana in ;the year of VS 1796/1739 AD, and pargana Pinayan in the year of 1817/1760 AD. The darbar granted tagai out of its own resources, an amount of Rs 10,000 to the ryots of pargana Gaji ka Thana in the year of VS 1797/1740 AD and the ryots of pargana Chatsu in the year ofVS 1810/1753 AD. The peasants could also obtain a loan from the mahajan either against the mortgage of their property16 or against mal^amini (surety) furnished by the village ^amindar, patel or jagirdar17 The individual peasant frequently fell into debt; and some of them pawned every thing to the mahajan. Thus we find Khiwa Jat of the village of Choru in pargana Fagi borrowing seed, bullocks and plough from Jassa Harji Patni, the mahajan of the village.18 The extent to which the peasants were in debt will have to be worked out carefully. In many cases the peasant indebtedness was collective and we find the entire ryots of villages borrowing money from the bohra to purchase seeds, manure, ploughs and bullocks so that they could cultivate the fallow lands of the village,19 construct ponds and dig wells. Thus we find the ryots of qasba Mauzabad, borrowing money from the bohra to dig wells and to purchase seed and manure in order to cultivate the fallow lands.20 Whenever collective loans were taken by the community, the surety was furnished by the ^amindaror patel of the village.2 l The responsibility for the payment of such loans rested with the entire village community. The ryots had to pay the debt at the time of next harvest with interest usually through their traditional representatives, the ^amindar or the patel.2 a We find examples where the revenue payers {asamis) of an entire pargana were in debt to the bohra. Thus we find the asamis of pargana Sharpur indebted to bohra Udaichand who lodged a complaint to the darbar that his debt was still unpaid. He sought the help of the darbar for the realisation of his loan.2 8 The mahajan used to impose heavy talab upon the ryots if the latter failed to return his money in time. In one case we find the mahajan demanding talab from all the ryots at the rate of Re 0.50 per day.^4 The village community could also lend money. In one case we find the entire ryots of the village of Mundawari in pargana Malarna functioning as money lender, thus advancing a loan on interest to Patch Sing Harah, ihejagirdar of the village, who needed money to pay off the state dues28 Hiring out of Means of Production Apart from giving loans to the state, the ^amindars and cultivators, the mahajan also loaned his bullocks, ploughs, seed and manure to the needy cultivators. Thus we find the patel and ryots of qasba Mauzabad borrowing bullocks, ploughs and seed from the hohra.26 in another instance we find the bohra lending seed and manure to the palfis^'7 of the village of Sitarampur in pargana Fagi.88 The mahajans provided such loans to the