Administration in sultanate Period
Administration in the Sultanate
period was a mixture of Indian and foreign systems. It was chiefly based on
Arabic and Persian system. It was chiefly based on Arabic and Persian styles.
The rulers adopted the Mughal army system for better results and continued the
Hindu land revenue system. Thus their administrative system was a mixed one. It
is really interesting as well as informative to have a broad knowledge of the
administration of the sultanate period.
Central Administration
Sultan :- The Sultan was the head of the Delhi
sultanate. All power and authority vested in him. No doubt, outwardly he was
ruled by the Khalifa and he had to act according to the principles of Islam but
internally, he was a despot and had supreme power in his hands, really he was
the maker and breaker of laws. Dr. A.L. Srivastava has rightly remarked, “He
was a perfect autocrat and his authority was unfettered.”
The Sultan was considered a
representative of God on earth and the people were forced to obey his commands
but in his own turn the Sultan had to follow the principles of Islam as
discussed in the Quran. All judicial powers were also vested in him. Alauddin
Khalji once declared, “To prevent rebellion in which thousands perish, I issue
such orders as I conceive to be for the good of the state and the benefit of
the period, I do not know whether this is lawful or unlawful, whether I think
to be for the good or the state or suitable for the emergency that I decree and
as for what may happen to me on the approaching day of judgment that I know
not.” His statement indicates the supreme power of the Sultan.
Besides being the judicial head, the
Sultan had all the executive powers. He was the chief appointing authority and
also had the power to dismiss any official. All the officials were his servants
and he was the head of each department. As he was the supreme commander of the
army, all appointments in the army were made in consultation with him. Military
was the backbone of the Sultanate and without the military force the Sultan
could not have been able to rule successfully.
The sultans of Delhi led a splendid
magnificent life. Their courts were well known for their splendor and
magnificence. The festivities of the court charmed the foreign visitors and
they spoke very high of the grandeur of the court after their return to their
respective countries. Balban maintained a strict discipline in the court and
did not permit anybody to sit when he was in the court. Really, the Sultan of
Delhi was ‘Caesar and pope combined in one’. Visitors were expected to bring
Nazrana or present at the time of their visit to the court, their gesture was
reciprocated by valuable gifts.
Ministers :- It is said that “the bravest of men
requires arms and the wisest of kings need ministers.” Hence, for the smooth
running of administration, the king had some ministers who helped him from time
to time in the efficient discharge of his duties. All executive, financial and
judicial matters were discussed among a body of ministers which was known as
Majlis-i-Khas but he Sultan was forced to accept it s advice. However, all the
Sultans except Firoz Tughluq had acted according to the advice of
Majlis-i-Khas. There were four prominent ministers in the Majllis-i-Khas
(Wazir, Ariz-i-Mamalik, Diwan-i-Insha and Diwan-i-Rasalat). They were appointed
by the Sultan himself and the duration
of their term depended on the pleasure of the Sultan.
Wazir :- The most important of all the
ministers was the Wazir. He was the Prime Minister and stood midway between the
sovereign and his subjects. He was in-charge of general administration and was
the most significant adviser of the Sultan. The stability of the empire
depended on the efficiency of the Wazir. The Wazir often officiated for the
Sultan in case of his minority of illness. He also acted as the head of the
finance department. He used to keep a close watch on the income and expenditure
of the Sultanate.
Diwan-i-Ariz :- He was the minister in-charge of
military affairs. He was the controller general of the military establishment,
and his chief function was to make recruitment for the army and to keep
descriptive rolls of the soldiers and the horses. He was also responsible for
maintaining discipline in the army and to equip his soldiers with the best
arms. He used to keep the accounts of
royal booty. He also looked after the work of transport and supply at the time
of war. He often used to command the army, if so desired by the Sultan.
Diwan-i-Insha :- He was the in-charge of royal
correspondence department and the treasury of secrets. He was also known as
Amir Munshi. All the royal farmans were issued from his department and it also
arranged the correspondence between the Sultans and his Governors. He used to
draft the royal proclamations and send them for the approval of the Sultan.
There were several writers in the department who used to draft the royal
proclamations.
Diwan-i-Rasalat :- Habibullah writes that he was the
minister for foreign affairs, whereas Dr. Qureshi connects him with religious
functions. Dr. A. L. Srivastava rejects the theory of Dr. Qureshi as there was
one other person, Sadra-us-Sadra for the religious functions. P.N. Chopra
writes that he was a minister for appeals. In fact, he was a foreign minister
and used to maintain diplomatic relations with foreign countries. His main
function was to send and to receive the envoys. He also used to keep a close
eye on the activities of the foreign countries through the help of his spies.
Besides the above four significant
officers, there were some other officials who helped in the smooth running of
the central administration. The post of Naib Wazi-ul-Quzat, Sadra-us-Sadra,
Diwan-i-Kohi, Barid-i-Mumalik, Diwan-i-Qaza, Diwan-i-Istehqak and
Diwan-i-Riyasat were significant.
Provincial Administration
For the smooth running of
administration the Sultanate of Delhi was divided into several provinces known
as Iqtas. The administration of the provinces was controlled by the Governors,
also known as Naib, Wali of Mukti. As a result of expansion of Sultanate into
south, the entire Sultanate was divided into eleven provinces. The number of provinces
reached the figure of 23 during the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq. The
following officials looked after the work of the provinces.
Governors :- The governors looked after the work
of administration and the establishment of peace and order in the provinces. He
was appointed and dismissed by the Sultan on the basis of his capabilities and
demerits respectively. His chief functions were to maintain law and order, to
crush the rebels, to realize the taxes and solve the judicial matters. He had
to give the account of his income and expenditure to the central government.
Husain Nizami has remarked about the appointment of governor, “A famous and
exalted servant was chosen so that he might look after the soldiers, servants,
Warriors and clerks and save them from the treachery of the unbelievers and the
designs of the polytheists, he should take pains to fulfill the expectations of
the people, he should exercise the greatest circumspection in military and
revenue matters and he should maintain the traditions of benevolence and charity
so as to leave a name for eternity.”
The governors were responsible to the
Sultan only for their work. During the period of war or distress, the governors
used to assist their sultan with the help of the army. These governors often tried
to capture the power of the Sultan due to their high ambitions. They often
carried out invasions on the neighboring Hindu states with the permission of
their Sultan and after achieving victory, t hey sent a part of the booty to the
Sultan. Generally, the governors were disloyal and they always enjoyed freedom
during the time of weak rulers. Bengal and Deccan were always problem provinces
and they often revolted against the authority of the central government.
There were some other officials under
the control of governors who assist their governor, in the work of
administration of the provinces. Some officials were appointed by the governor
himself who maintained cavalry and infantry of their own. These subordinate
officials were responsible towards the governors. Thus, the administration of
the provinces was like that of the central government but the Sultan did not
interfere in it unless and until some intricate problem had come up.
Local Administration
Iqta was the lowest unit of
administration during the 13th century but with the passage of time
it was further divided into Shiqs but this policy was not adopted in all the
provinces. A shiqdar was appointed to look after the work of Shiq. He used to
maintain peace and order in his particular region. Later, the smallest unit,
Pargana was invented which according to Moreland was an aggregate of villages.
Amil was the significant official of the Pargana. Besides, the Amin, Qanungo
and two Karkuns (Clerk) worked in each Pargana.
The lowest unit was the village which had its
own administration. It was administered by the village people and a Panchayat.
Most of their disputes were settled in the village Panchayats. Dr. A. L.
Srivastava has written, “The people of the village constituted a small
commonwealth and looked after their affairs and arranged for defiance, watch
and ward, elementary education and sanitation. Normally they were not
interfered with by the Sultan. Every village had them as now, a Chaukidar and a
revenue officer called Patwari.”
Financial Administration
According to Sjariat, there were five
sources of the income of the sultanate – Ushr, Khiraj, Jakat, Khams and Jaziya.
During the Delhi Sultanate, the Sultans imposed all these taxes but often they
levied some other taxes also just to meet other contingencies.
Ushr :- It was a kind of land revenue
which was realized from the Muslims only. The owners of the land which was
irrigated from the natural resources, used to pay 1/10th of the
total production but those who used the artificial measures, i.e. man-made
irrigation resources for irrigation, had to pay 5% of the total production.
Khiraj :- It was a land tax realized
from the non-Muslims. It ranged from 1/3 to ½ of the total produce.
Jakat :- It was a religious tax which
was paid by the prosperous Muslims. It was realized at the rate of 2.5% of
their total income. The amount thus realized was spent for the welfare of the
poor Muslims.
Khams :- It was 1/5th part
of the plundered money which was deposited in the royal treasury and the rest 4/5th
part was distributed among the soldiers who fought the battles and plundered
the wealth. But no sultan except Foriz Tughluq collected it according to the
principles of Islam. They generally kept 4/5th part for themselves
and gave 1/5th to the soldiers.
Jaziya :- It was a religious tax to
be realized from the non-Muslims. According to the principles of Islam, a
non-Muslim had no right to live in a Muslim Kingdom if he did not pay Jaziya.
After paying this tax the non-Muslims were permitted to live in a Muslim kingdom
and they were exempted from the military service. The payers of Jaziya were
divided into three categories. The people of the first category paid at the
rate of 48 dirhams, the second 24 dirhams and the third 12 dirhams. Women,
children, the crippled, beggars and Saints were exempted from it s payment.
Firoz being a fanatic Muslim forced the Brahmans to pay the jaziya.
Land Revenue
According to the sources of income,
land revenue was the most prominent one. In comparison to ancient period
various changes took place in land revenue. The Muslim rulers contributed to
the progress of land revenue.
The entire land was divided into four
parts : Khalsah, the land of Iqta, the land of Hindu nobles and the land of
Waqf. The Khalsah land remained under the control of the central government.
Amils or revenue collectors were appointed in each sub-division by the central
government. They used to collect the revenue with the help of Chaudharis,
Khuts, Muqaddams and Patwaris. A Khwaja was appointed in each Iqta to watch and
inspect the work of Muqti or Hali. The revenue collectors submitted the
statements of annual income and expenditure to the Sultan of Delhi. The Sultan
also received up-to-date information about the administration of provinces from
the reporters and spies also.
The entire land was measured during
the reign of Alauddin Khalji and land revenue was enhanced from one-third to
half of the total produce. The revenue dues were realized very strictly.
Muhammad Tughluq endeavored to establish uniformity in land revenue in his
entire sultanate, but he did not get success in it. Firoz realized only four
taxes which were referred to in the Quran and rejected all the other taxes. During
the Lodi period all land was distributed among the Afghan Amirs.
The income of the Sultanate was spent
on army, maintenance of family, court, wars, suppression of rebels, and
charity. The financial position of the empire began to deteriorate during the
reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq due to his preposterous schemes. In spite of
merits, the revenue system of the Delhi Sultanate was riddled with defects
also. Revenue was realized on contract basis and the contractors because of
their own greed realized as much revenue as they could, but they deposited
quite less in the royal treasury and thus swallowed up a lot of it for their
own benefit. Besides this, the peasants had to pay some other taxes also.
Army Organization
Army was the backbone of the empire
during the medieval period. The Delhi sultanate was also based on the power of
army and hence enough stress was laid on military administration. The Sultans
of Delhi were forced to maintain a large and powerful army to suppress internal
revolts, to crush rebellions and to repulse foreign invasions. During the reign
of early Sultans of Delhi, the provincial armies and the armies of the nobles
helped the Sultan at the time of wars. Alauddin was the first ruler who
maintained a permanent and powerful army consisting of 4,75,000 soldiers. But
this practice did not continue after his death. His successors could not
maintain a big army. Firoz Tughluq again depended on the army of the feudal
lords and Jagirdars. The medieval army can be divided into four parts :-
1. The soldiers employed by the Sultan
himself.
2. The troops of the provincial
governors and nobles.
3. Soldiers recruited at the time of
war.
4. Muslim volunteers who joined army
for booty.
There were no definite rule for the
recruitment of soldiers, their training and promotion. Irregular soldiers were
employed during wars and there was no definite rule for payment to them. The feelings
of the Muslim soldiers were incited by the Ulema. A horde of Muslims joined the
army of the sultan on a voluntary basis in the hope of getting booty after
victory.
Division of the Army
The army consisted of cavalry,
infantry and elephants. The cavalry was the strongest and the most effective organ
of the army. Every horseman carried two swords, a dagger and a bow and arrows. Some
of the horsemen carried maces also. Some soldiers had only one horse and they
were called ‘Yak Aspa’ while the soldiers who maintained two horses were called
‘Do Aspa’. Yak Aspa were paid 234 Tankas, while for every extra horse, a
soldier was given 78 Tankas. Normally, the military officers were paid by an
assignment of land revenue and the other troops were paid in cash. The Sultan
kept a close watch over the maintenance of horses and arranged horses from
Russia and Turkistan. In fact, it was the duty of the Sultan to keep a close
eye on the army. Alauddin introduced the system of Dagh and Huliya. No other
ruler of Delhi except Sikandar Lodi tried to revive this practice.
The Hindu rulers of medieval India
laid great stress on elephants. They considered an elephant to be as effective
as five hundred horses but in fact, they proved more harmful than the horses on
the battlefield because it was very difficult to control an elephant when he was
annoyed or uncontrollable due to a wound.
No national army was constituted. Persons
of different nationalities were recruited in the army, they had different
interests, hence only an efficient commander could control such an army and
finally, the success of the army depended on the caliber of the Sultan himself.
The army was organized on decimal system.
In the cavalry, a unit of ten horsemen was controlled by an officer called
Sar-i-Khail, ten Sar-i-Khails remained under the control of one Sipahsalar, a
unit of ten Amirs was controlled by a Malik and a Khan was appointed in-charge
of a unit of ten Maliks. The same division system was enforced in infantry. All
the units remained under the overall supervision of the Sultan himself as their
promotion and removal rested in his hands. But the weak rulers failed to maintain
their control on the army and they were often dethroned by powerful commanders.
Military strategy was masterminded by
the Sultan himself. The army was generally divided into four parts, the center wing, the left wing, the right wing and the reserve wing. Besides this, advance
guards were sent to test the power of the enemy and surprise attack was made to
attain victory. In order to check the foreign invaders and to maintain peace in
the territory, armies were kept at strategic places. Dr. A. L. Srivastava has
also written, “A part of the army used to be stationed at strategic places in
the provinces. Forts on the frontier were garrisoned with seasoned troops. It was
the duty of the commandants of the forts to see that there was adequate
provision including fodder for the animals in the forts in their charge.”
Judicial Administration
The Sultan was highest judicial
authority and the fountainhead of justice. He used to hold his court twice a
week and he decided the cases of different types. Normally, the cases of nobles
and high officials were put up before him. No partiality was adopted against
the nobles and Amirs if they were found guilty of any crime. The Sultan was
supported by Sadra-us-Sadra in dispensing justice in cases of religious nature
and all other cases were settled by him with the help of Quzi-ul-Quzat. Besides,
the Sadra and Qazi were appointed in the provinces also. But all these
appointments were made either by the King himself or in constitution with the sultan.
The post of Chief Qazi was given to the person who was well versed in Muslim
theology and learning. The Chief Qazi had the right to listen to the appeal of the
lower court. Provincial issues were settled by the Qazi and the village
Panchayats decided the judicial matters of the villages.
All the cases, criminal and civil,
were decided according to Muslim law. Even the disputes between Hindus and
Muslims were settled by Muslim law. Religious punishments, death and mutilation
of limbs were in practice. Balban, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad Tughluq were
very strict and awarded stern punishments but Firoz Tughluq did away with all
stern punishments and he also compensated the subjects for the loss which they
had to sustain during the reign of his predecessor. He also prohibited the mutilation of limbs.
Police Administration
In order to maintain law and order
the security, a department of police was also organized whose head was a
Kotwal. A separate Kotwal was appointed in Delhi and there were Kotwals in all
other major cities, however, the arrangement of police was inefficient in all
the provinces. There was no arrangement of police in the towns and villages.
The department of Barid (spies)
remained under the control of the police department. Balban and Alauddin Khalji
organized the spies department on a grand scale. The number of spies was quite
large during their times, these spies used to give pre-information of the
events occurring in the empire. The Sultan made the security arrangements in
the empire with the support and the cooperation of the spies.
Dak Systen (Postage Arrangement)
A postage department was also
organized to send informations, massages and orders of the Sultan from one
place to the other. Dak Chowkis were established in different regions and
postmen who could run very fast were appointed every one kos to carry the post
from one place to another. The horsemen were also appointed to carry the urgent
post. Later, the Dak Chowkis were converted into Sarais where the travelers could
take rest and every arrangement was made in these sarais to make the travelers comfortable.
A close study of the administration
of the Delhi Sultanate reveals that there were certain defects in the administration
of Delhi Sultanate. The sultans lacked in administrative experience, ability
and constructive genius. Barring one or two sultans, the others failed to
introduce any reforms in the administration. The revenue system, army
organization, judicial system and police department all had their share of
defects. They had no national character. The Hindus were deprived of
participation in the administration and the army of the Sultanate; hence there
was no harmony between the Muslims and the Hindus. The Sultans had, in fact, no
interest in the welfare of their subjects, their sole aim was to aggrandize
themselves. Therefore, such system could neither be popular nor stable for a
long time.
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