This article examines the dynamics of rural money lending in the Brahmaputra valley from 1881 to 1951. It begins with a question as to why the peasants in Assam borrowed, following it up with questions such as: Which section of the peasantry got involved in this process? To what extent did the local rich peasants participate in the money lending? How and to what extent were the Marwari businessmen involved in the process? Did the money lending lead to the transfer of land from the owner to the moneylenders? Did the arrival of the immigrant peasants from East Bengal accentuate the process? And finally, it tries to answer as to how it influenced the agrarian relations and legislative politics in the Brahmaputra valley. Despite the official claim of credit market operation through the banking sector becoming a success, the importance of usury never became marginal in the agrarian relations even after Independence. Assamese peasants treated the moneylenders with bitter distaste. The moneylenders were known as mahajans in rural vocabulary.
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