Alaudd
in Khalji (1296-1316)
Alauddin was the first sovereign of the Delhi Sultanate who conquered
almost the whole of northern and southern India. He could build up such
an extensive empire and rule it effectively in the face of numerous
internal and external dangers because of his system of administration. He
was not only a great conqueror, but also a great administrator and a great
organizer.
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Early Life:- Alauddin Khalji was the nephew and son-in-law of Jalaluddin
Khalji. In 1292 Alauddin attacked Malwa and conquered Bhilsa. Later he
conquered Devagiri. After murdering his uncle, Jalaluddin, Alauddin
declared himself Sultan.
Central Administration
Sultan: Alauddin believed the theory of Kingship of Balban. He believed
in the majesty of the king who was the representative of God on earth. His
conviction was that God had given more wisdom to the king than to any
other individual and his will should be the law of the country. He believed
that kingship knows no kinship. All people were to be either his
servants or his subjects and he was not to be influenced by anybody in
the administration of the country. Both the nobles and the Ulema were to
be kept at a distance. Alauddin Khalji was the supreme commander-in-
chief of the army and the supreme judicial and executive authority. His
word was the law and the people who disobey him were punished
severely. He appointed and removed his ministers on his own will. For his
action he was responsible only to God, whose vice-regent on earth he
claimed to be. The duty of his subjects was to obey him. In theory
Alauddin was an ideal Muslim sovereign but in practice he never put
religion before politics.
Ministers and High Officials: For the administration of the country the
Sultan was assisted by a number of ministers and other officers. There
were four important ministers in the state which formed the four pillars on
which the administrative edifice rested. They were
(1)Diwan-i-Wazarat: This was the most important department under
Alauddin. The head of this department was called Wazir. Technically he
was above the other ministers but after Iltutmish death, wazir lost all his
powers.
(2)Diwan-i-Ariz: Next in importance to the wazir was the Diwan-i-Ariz
who was minister of war. His duty was to recruit troops, to disburse
salaries, to look after the equipment and efficiency of the army and to
hold periodical review or inspection of the armed forces. But he was not
the commander-in-chief of the army. He was given wide powers and was
independent of the wazir’s financial control.
(3)Diwan-i-Insha: The function of this ministry was to draft royal
proclamations and despatches, to communicate with the provincial
governors and local officers and to maintain government records. It had a
large staff of secretaries called Dabirs.
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(4) Diwan-i-Rasalat was the fourth important minister. He was the
foreign affair minister. He drafted communications meant to be sent to
neighbouring courts and kept in close touch with ambassadors and envoys
sent to and received from foreign countries.
(5) Bakhsh-i-Fauj : He was the paymaster of the army.
(6)Qazi-ul-Qazat: He was the incharge of the judicial department, looked
after the working of the Qazis.
(7) Diwan-i-Ashraf: He was the Accountant General.
(8)Diwan-i-Kohi: He was the head of the agriculture department.
(9)Diwan-i-Riyast: He was the head of commercial matters. He had to
check weights and measures.
(10)Shahana-i-Mandi: He was the chief officer of grain market.
Measures against Nobility:-
1) Confiscation of Jagirs:- After securing the jagirs from the
government some nobles became indifferent or disloyal towards the
government. Alauddin confiscated jagirs of these nobles.
2) Prohibition from drinking:- The sultan prohibited drinking. All
shops selling wines in the capital were closed. Alauddin broke all the
bottles of wines stored in the place. Those who prepared wine
secretly were thrown into deep wells.
3) Restrictions on social intercourse of the nobles:- Alauddin
prevented the nobles from participating in social meetings so that
they might not engineer conspiracies against him. They were not
allowed to make matrimonial relations without the Sultan’s
permission.
Provincial and Local Administration
1) Provincial Administration:- The administration of Alauddin was
divided into a number provinces each of which was put under the charge
of governor or Subedar. According to Barani, there were the eleven
provinces in Alauddin’s empire besides the central administered territories
( Khalsa).
1). Gujarat 2). Multan and Sivistan 3). Dipalpur 4). Samana and Sunam 5).
Dhar and Ujjain 6). Jhain 7). Chittor 8). Chanderi 9). Badaon 10). Awadh
11). Kara.
The governor of a province was the chief executive and judicial head of
the province. His main duty was to maintain law and order in the suba and
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had to send the army to the sultan at the time of war. The governor held
court, administered justice and looked after other spheres of
administration. He collected the land revenue of the province and after
deducting the amount assigned to him, he sent the surplus to the imperial
exchequer.
2) Administration of Parganas and Villages: Each province was
further divided into Parganas( districts) and each pargana was placed
under Amala. He was appointed by Wazir. His duty was to collect the land
revenue and maintain law and order.Villages were the smallest unit of
administration was administered by Panchayat, Nambardar and Patwari.
Judicial System
1) Sultan and other Judicial Officers:- Iltutmish and Balban was
known for their love of justice. Alauddin was as strict and firm in
administering justice as Balban. He was himself the chief justice of
the empire. All the big cases were decided by him. Next to the king
was Qazi-ul-Qazat. In the provinces, the governor, the Qazis and
other junior officers administered justice. In smaller towns and
villages, the headmen and the panchyats used to settle disputes
and decide cases.Besides these judicial officers, princes,
commanders of armies and other high officers of the state decided
cases which did not involve expert knowledge of the law.
2) Punishments:- Decapitation, mutilation of limbs and putting and
offender into chains were common form of punishment. Flogging
was also very common. Alauddin was extremely harsh in punishing
the guilty. Tortures were given for extorting confession. The fraud
shopkeepers who were found guilty of giving less-weight were
forced to make up the deficiency from flesh chopped from their
bodies.
Police and Espionage System
1) Police System:-Alauddin police system was very efficient. The
chief of police department was called Kotwal and his main job was
to look after the law and order. He advised the king on important
issues and protected the royal haaram in the absence of the king.
During the reign of Alauddin, Nusrat Khan was his earlier kotwal and
later this post was given to Malik Alaulmulk. Alauddin reformed the
police department, created some new posts like Diwan-i-Riyasat,
Shahna and Muhtasib and appointed efficient men on them.
2) Espionage system:- Alauddin organized an efficient intelligence
department. The chief of the intelligence department was the Barid-
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i-Mumalik.He had under him a number of barids who were posted in
towns, bazaars and almost every inhabited locality. There duty was
to report to the king on everything that happened in his kingdom.
Military Reforms
1) Organisation of a Large Standing Army:-Alauddin established a
militaristic regime. He based his kingship on military powers and
force. He did not claim sovereignty on the basis of hereditary or
election by the nobles or the sanction of the Khalifa. He knew full
well that he had usurped power by force and the same could be
maintained only by force. So he decided to keep a large army to
fight external and internal foes.
2) Salaries of the Soldiers:- He paid decent salaries to the soldiers.
The salaries of the soldiers were fixed at 234 tankas per year but if
the soldier had two horses he was given additional allowances.
Payments were made to the soldiers regularly and their activities
were also supervised.
3) Practice of Dagh and Chehra: Alauddin introduced the system of
Dagh or the branding of horses so that at the time of review no
horse could be presented twice or replaced by a worse one and
Huliah system or keeping the record of the soldiers. Diwan–i-arz was
the head of the military establishment and was required to enforce
the rules stringently.
4) Fortifications:- At the orders of the sultan, the existing forts were
repaired, the new ones built at the strategic points and all of them
were strongly garrisoned.
Agrarian and Market Reforms of Alauddin:-
Motives of Agrarian Reform:- Alauddin was the first sovereign of the
Turkish line who took a keen interest in revenue and fiscal reforms.
According to W.H.Moreland, The changes made by Alauddin in the
agrarian system did not arise from any economic, still less any
philanthropic motive but were inspired solely by political and military
consideration. Personally he was unpopular and had no trustworthy body
of nobles or officers. His subjects were ready to rebel. The need for
security internal as well as external was thus the dominant note of his
policy.
1. The region from Dipalpur and Lahore to kara near modern Allahabad
were considered as Khalisa land which means that land under this area
was not assigned to any nobles as iqta. Land assigned in charitable
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grants were also confiscated and brought under Khalisa. The essence
of Alauddin Khalji’s agrarian reforms was to bring the villages in closer
association with the government.
2. Land revenue (kharaj) in this area was fixed at half of the produce.
Before Alauddin the land revenue was one third of the produce.
3. Alauddin realised that without correct assessment of the produce,
government would not be in a position to determine the exact amount
that was due to it as revenue. Alauddin first step to improve matters
therefore was to introduce the system of measurement (paimash) as
the method of assessment. Alauddin was the first Muslim ruler in India
who fixed the revenue demand on the actual measurement of land.
Assessment of revenue on the basis of measurement was neither new
to the Turks nor was it an innovation for the Indians. It had already
been in existence in Persia. Similarly there is ample evidence to
indicate that the system prevailed in India prior to the coming of the
Turks. But after the occupation of Northern India by the Turks, the
system had been given up as it required and elaborate machinery.
4. Barani who is the main source of information about Alauddin agrarian
reforms, does not tell us about the method and mode of the
measurement of the fields.
5. On the basis of the measurement of the area under cultivation and a
standard of expected production per biswa (1/20 of the bigha) the
share of the state was determined.
6. After fixing the method of assessment, Alauddin turned to the agencies
of revenue collection. He curb the power of intermediaries like khuts,
muqaddams and chaudris. These sections formed the rural aristocracy
and according to Barani were rich enough to ride Arabi and Iraqi horses
wear weapons and fine clothes. To curtail the power of this class
Alauddin decided to strike at the root of their power. Aluddin not only
forced the khuts, muqaddams and chaudharis to pay the grazing and
house taxes like others but he also deprived them of their right of
revenue collection and made arrangements for revenue collections
directly from the cultivators through government staff.
7. Alauddin had established a separate department known as Diwan-i-
Muthakari to implement the land revenue system. A number of
officials called Amils (collectors), Gumashtas (agents), Mutsarrif
(accountant) were appointed. These officers carried out the work of
assessment as well as collection and later deposited the amount in
central treasury. The accounts of these officials were strictly checked
by the naib wazir, Sharaf Qais.
8. Apart from this, no extra cesses were to be levied, except a grazing tax
(charai) on cattle and ghari on houses.
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9. The land-revenue was accepted in cash as well as in Kind but since the
Sultan accumulated the grain in state granaries he preferred to take
revenue in kind.
10. To counteract corruption, Alauddin took two positive steps. One he
raised the salaries of the revenue officials so as to enable them to live
in respectability and comfort without being forced to resort to
corruption. Second he imposed strict punishment for bribery and theft.
Thus we find that Alauddin’s revenue policy was comprehensive enough
to take into account all aspects connected with revenue. The revenue
department was improved and mal-administration was removed. The
middle-men lost their powers and had to undergo financial losses.
Alauddin’s system of measurement, of trying to limit the exactions of the
local privileged sections, and of auditing the accounts of the local revenue
officials set up a standard and a direction which some of his successors
such as Sher Shah Suri and Akbar tried to emulate.
