What does rising debt due to colonial pressure tell about the pastoral economy?

Tax, fodder shortage and reduced income could increase cash crisis

Colonial rules could place several pressures on pastoral families at the same time. Taxes demanded cash, restrictions on forests reduced access to grazing and fodder, and limits on movement could reduce the number of animals or the income earned from them. When regular earnings fall but expenses and taxes remain, families may borrow money to survive. Thus, rising debt is a sign of economic stress and a weakening livelihood, not of growing prosperity.

Option A correctly brings these causes together: taxes, fodder shortage, and reduced income can create a cash crisis and push pastoralists toward moneylenders. The other choices are incorrect because they use absolute claims. Pastoralists did not always become rich, pastoralism was not tax-free, and financial difficulty could make moneylenders more necessary. Debt therefore shows that colonial pressure damaged economic security.

This is a Class 9 History question. Chapter: Pastoralists in the Modern World. Topic: Colonial Rule and Pastoral Life.