EHI - 3

4th Part 

Q.  Give details of central and Provincial Administration Under the Sultans. 

A.   Central administration

Provincial administration - As the State became more settled and efforts were made for greater centralization, provincial administration also underwent a change. A separation between fiscal and military responsibilities started evolving. During the reign of Muhammad Tughluq, fiscal responsibilities were partially withdrawn from the muqtis or walis and placed under central officers. Muhammad Tughluq also ordered that the salary of the soldiers maintained by iqta holders be paid by the diwan-i wizarat to prevent fraud by the officers. Greater control also came to be exercised over fiscal matters. The diwan’s office, at the centre, received and examined detailed statements regarding income and expenditure in the provinces. It supervised the work of the revenue officials in the provinces. The provinces had a sahib-i diwan, whose office kept books of account and submitted information to the centre. It was assisted by officials. The entire lower revenue staff was called karkun.

           By the end of the thirteenth century, contemporary sources refer to an administrative division, known as shiqq. However, by the time of Sher Shah (1540-1 545 A.D.) shiqq had emerged as a well-defined administrative unit, known as sarkar. Administrative officials, mentioned with respect to shiqq, were shiqqdar and faujdar.

           Chaudhuri was the head of a hundred villages. This was the nucleus of the administrative unit later called pargana. The village was the smallest unit of administration. The main village functionaries were khot, muqaddam (headman) and patwari. The judicial administration of the sub-division was patterned on that of the centre. Courts of the qazi and Sadr functioned in the provinces. The kotwal maintained law and order. At the village level, the panchayat heard civil cases.

Q.  Write a note on the currency system of the Delhi Sultans.

A.   The establishment of the Delhi Sultanate was marked by a considerable growth of the money economy which accelerated particularly in the first half of the 14th century. Since the growth of the money economy in simple words means larger use of currency in transactions (monetisation is another term for this phenomenon), a large scale minting of gold, silver and copper coins that followed the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate was an attendant process of the monetisation of the Indian economy. The period prior to the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate was marked by the scarcity of coinage, particularly of pure silver. Except for an increase in the number of coins stamped, no changes were introduced in the beginning. The coins continued to bear the image of goddess Lakshmi or bull-and-horseman, etc. Only the name of the new ruler in a corrupt form got inscribed over it in Nagri script. These coins were called Dehliwal.

         Iltutmish (1210-36) is credited for standardizing the coinage of the Delhi Sultanate. The currency system established by him in its essentials survived the Delhi Sultanate. He introduced gold and silver tankas and a copper jital that was reckoned at 1/48th of tanka in North India and 1/50th in the Deccan after the conquest of Devagiri. A firm ratio of 1:10 between gold and silver appears to have been established. The Sultanate mints generally uttered coins in three metals: gold, silver and billon (copper mixed with a very small quantity of silver). The main coins were tanka and jital but some smaller currencies were also in circulation. Barani mentions dangs and dirams in use at the capital Delhi. The equation between these currencies in the north has been worked out as:

             1 silver tanka = 48 jital = 192 dangs = 480 dirams

The gold and silver remitted from Bengal was the main source of coinage during the 13th century. The seizure of treasure hoards in northern India and later in the Deccan was the other major source of silver and gold for coinage. The Sultanate mints should not only have coined government money but also stamped bullion and foreign coins brought the private merchant.

 The silver currency remained dominant until the reign of Alauddin Khalji. From Ghiyasuddin TughluQ's reign, a decline in silver coinage in relation to gold and billon set in. Under Muhammad Tughluq gold coinage overshadowed the silver, and silver coinage practically disappeared under Feroz Tughluq. In the 15th century, billon coinage dominated (the Lodis (1451-1526) uttered no other coins).

Token Currency of Muhammad Tughluq

The only major innovation in the currency system established by Iltutmish was made by Muhammad Tughluq. The Sultan introduced a coin of copper and brass alloy and reckoned it at the value of a silver tanka. This coin for the first time carried an inscription in Persian. This new currency whose face value was much higher than its intrinsic value (that is, the value of the metal it was made of) is termed as token currency. Muhammad Tughluq's experiment, too, met total failure perhaps owing to the fact that the new currency could easily be forged. However, the Sultan accepted the failure with grace and exchanged all the token currency brought to the treasury with pure currency.

Q.  Discuss the chief characteristics of Alauddin Khaljis market control policy.

A.   Set of seven regulations were introduced by Alauddin Khalji which came to be known as market-control measures. The Sultan fixed the prices of all commodities from grain to cloth, slaves, cattle, etc. (Regulation 1). These prices were really to be enforced since the Sultan carefully made all arrangements for making the measure a success. A controller of the market (shahna-i mandi), barids (intelligence officers) and munhiyan (secret spies) were appointed (Reg. 2). The grain merchants were placed under the shahna-i mandi and sureties were taken from them (Reg. 4). The Sultan himself was to receive daily reports separately from these three sources (Reg. 7). Regrating (ihtikar) was prohibited (Reg. 5). While ensuring strict control in the market, the Sultan did not overlook the more essential requirement, namely the regular supply of grains and essential commodities. 

           Obviously, the grain merchants could bring supplies to the market only if they could get the grains and that, too, at sufficiently low prices. It was apparently for this reason that the Sultan decreed such rigour in the realization of land revenue in the Doab that the peasants should be forced to sell the grain to the grain merchants at the side of the field (Reg. 6). The Sultan established granaries in Delhi and in Chhain in Rajasthan. The land tax from the khalisa in the Doah was realised in kind. The grain went to the state granaries (Reg. 3). The Multanis who were cloth merchants were given 20 lakhs of tankas as an advance loan to purchase and bring a cloth to the market. 

            The Sultan succeeded in maintaining low prices and ample supplies in the market due to various market measures. The Sultan was anxious to have a large army and to take other precautions such as the building of forts at strategic places, fortification wall around Delhi, etc. against the Mongol invasions. If numerous additional cavalrymen and troops were to be employed at the prevailing

salaries, the drain from the state treasury was to exhaust it totally. The salaries could be reduced only if the prices were kept at a sufficiently low level.

       Since the main army encampment was in Delhi and most bf the royal troops were to be stationed in or around Delhi, the main area of price control was Delhi itself. However, since the Supplies of cheap grain were to be made available to the grain merchants in the surrounding districts of the Doab the low prices ought to be prevalent there as well. 

       The market control did not survive its enforcer and we do not hear about it after Alauddin Khalji's time. A very efficient and alert administration was imperative for the success of price control. Therefore, one possible reason for it is not surviving could be the lack of sufficiently competent administration. Another reason was since the prevalence of low prices implies lower revenues from the low-price zone, the price control was viable as long as the zone of low prices was restricted and most of the expenditure was concentrated there. With the Mongols no more, remaining a threat, the army and the expenditure were to be dispersed Far widely and not to be concentrated at and around Delhi alone. The interest of the state treasury was now to dismantle price control measures.

Q.  Economic policies by Allauddin khalji

A.  Above answer for urban people

Agrarian measures by Allauddin - The Islamic land tax with which the new rulers of India were familiar was kharaj. The kharaj was essentially a share in the produce of the land and not rent on the land.  His attempt was to increase the revenue collection by enhancing the demand, introducing direct collection and cutting down the leakages to the intermediaries.  The demand was thus fixed in kind but realization appears to be mostly in cash. Barani informs us that the revenue collectors were ordered to demand the

revenue with such rigour that the peasants should be forced to sell their produce immediately at the side of the fields. At another place, Barani says that Alauddin Khalji brought the Doab into khalisa apd the tax (mahsul) from there was spent on paying the cash salaries to the soldiers. Yet there is a rather contradictory statement by the same author that the Sultan ordered that the peasant should pay tax in kind and not in cash.

Q.  Analyse the internal and foreign trade in India during the Sultanate period. 

A.  Inland Trade

The inland trade developed at two levels : 

(a) the short distance village-town trade-in commodities of bulk, &

(b) long-distance inter-town trade in high-value goods.

               The urban centers were dependent on the supply of food grains and raw material for manufactures from the surrounding villages whereas the villages had to sell the agricultural products to receive cash for meeting the land revenue demand. The peculiar nature of this trade was the one-way the flow of commodities. While the towns received grains & raw material from the villages in the vicinity they had no need to send their products in exchange for the villages which were by and large self-sufficient. This one-way trade was owing to the land revenue demand imposed upon villages which naturally led to a continuous drain on the rural sector and made the towns dependent on villages. The turnover of this trade was high in terms of volume but was low in terms of value.

             The inter-town trade was mainly in luxury articles and was thus high-value trade. The manufactures of One town were taken to another for example. the capital received distilled wines from Kol (Aligarh) and Meerut, muslin (fine cloth) from Devagiri and striped cloth from Lakhnauti (Bengal). Similarly, ordinary cloth came from Awadh and betel-leaf from Malwa (twenty-four d!ays journey from Delhi). Candy sugar was supplied to Multan from Delhi and Lahore and ghi from Sirsa (in Haryana). The long-distance inter-town trade also carried goods coming from other countries.

Foreign Trade: Seaborne and Overland

         During the Sultanate period, overland and overseas trade were in a flourishing state. Seaborne Trade. The Khalji annexation of Gujarat enlarged trade relations between the Delhi Sultanate and the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea Gujarat was connected with the Persian Gulf as well as the Red Sea. Hormuz and Basra were the chief ports for the ships passing through the Persian Gulf, while the ports of Aden, Mocha and Jedda along the Red Sea were important for Gujarat. Through these ports, commodities moved on to Damascus and Aleppo, on the one hand, and Alexandria on the other. Aleppo and Alexandria opened up to the Mediterranean Sea with linkages to Europe. Merchandise of Gujarat was also carried towards the East - the port of Malacca situated at the Malacca straits and Bantam and Achin in the Indonesian archipelago.

            The main export from Gujarat to Malacca was the coloured cloths manufactured in Cambay and other Gujarat towns. These clothes were in demand in these places. In exchange, the Gujarati merchants came back with spices grown there. This pattern of "spices for colored cloths" continued even after the Portuguese advent in the Asian waters. The ports of Bengal had trading relations with China, Malacca and the Far East. Textiles, sugar and silk fabrics were the most important commodities exported from Bengal. 

Coastal Trade

              Coastal trade to flourished right from Sindh to Bengal, touching Gujarat, Malabar and Coromandel coasts in between. .This provided an opportunity for the exchange of regional products along the coastal line distinct from inland inter-regional trade.

Overland Trade

Multan was the major trading 'center for overland trade. India was connected to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Persia through the Multan-Quetta route.

Imports and Exports

The two principal items of import were : 

(a) horses - that was always in demand for

cavalry, since superior horses were not bred in India and the Indian climate, was not well suited to Arabian and Central Asian horses. They were primarily imported from Zofar (Yemen), Kis, Hormuz, Aden, and Persia;

 (b) precious metals viz. gold and. silver, especially silver that was not at all mined in India but for which there was a high demand not only for metallic currency but also for fashioning luxury items. The Sultanate India mainly exported grain and textiles. Some of the Persian Gulf regions totally depended on India for their food supply. Besides, slaves were exported to Central Asia and indigo to Persia along with numerous other commodities. Precious stones like agates were exported from Cambay.

Q.  Describe the new techniques introduced by the Turks in the field of textile production. Also, discuss their significance. 

A.   The most important technological revolution in the textile sector was the introduction of the spinning-wheel (charkha) through the agency of the Muslims during the 13th-14th centuries. Charkha did not exist in Ancient India. This new contribution. however, it did not displace the spindle rather it only accelerated the latter's rotation. The spindle was, attached to the wooden frame of the charkha at its one end to be set in motion by the belt which was wrapped over the wheel at the other end of the frame. connecting it to the spindle. Thus. the charkha combined within itself the element of power-transmission (through belt-drive) and the principle of flywheel resulting in differential speeds of rotation. This is one of the revolutionary development introduced by the Turks. It greatly enhanced productivity due to technology up-gradation.

           A spinning-wheel could produce yarn six-fold more than the spindle during the same unit of time. This must-have resulted in a greater output of yarn and constantly more cloths. It must be pointed out that the yarn from spindle was of a very fine quality whereas the charkha produced coarse yarn for coarse cloths.

Weaving

A horizontal loom of throw-shuttle type was used for the simple weave. This loom allowed the weaver to employ his otherwise idle feet to lift and depress the sets of warp threads while his hands worked mainly upon the shuttle and the shed. This increased the pace of weaving.

Dyeing and Printing

Various colours derived from vegetable and mineral sources were used for dyeing. Indigo, madder and lakh, etc. were widely employed. Indigo was used for both bleaching and dyeing. For fast colours, many articles like alum were added. The Indian dyer (rangrez) employed many techniques like immersion, tie-and-dye

(bandhana), etc. But block-printing (chhapa) was perhaps unknown in Ancient India. Scholars credit the Muslims with its diffusion in India.

Q.  Examine-in short the features of agricultural technology during the 13-15 century. 

A.  Plough - The entire frame earlier was of timber, the ploughshare/courter was made of iron. This metallic piece immensely helped in the tillage of comparatively harder soil. The common technique was the plough with an iron share was drawn by two yoked oxen. 

Sowing -

For sowing, the method of broadcasting was known. The practice was to scatter seeds manually by taking them out from a cloth-bag slung over shoulders.

Harvesting, Threshing and Winnowing

Harvesting was performed with a sickle, and threshing by using oxen who walked round and round over the ears put on the threshing floor. "Wind power" was exploited in winnowing in order to separate the chaff from the grain.

Irrigational Devices

There were many sources of water for the purpose of irrigating fields. Rainwater was a natural source. Ponds and tanks received this water which was used for irrigation. Water channels formed by inundation, too, served the same purpose. But the most important controlled source was the water of the wells, especially in North India. Almost all the irrigational devices were oriented towards drawing water from wells. Broadly, there were five devices or techniques to raise water from wells:

i)  The most simple technique was to draw water with rope and bucket by using hands without any mechanical aid. Obviously, then, the bucket was small in size and, thus, this operation would not have adequately served to water large fields.

ii)  The second method was the employment of pulleys (charkhi) combined to the rope-bucket contraption which was, once again, activated manually. Undoubtedly, the pulleys needed a lesser amount of human energy and, therefore, comparatively larger bags or buckets could have been attached to the rope. It was also used for domestic purposes, especially by women.

iii)  An improved method of the rope-bucket-pulley contraption was the employment of a pair of oxen to replace human-power. At this stage, it had become a specialized device for drawing water intended specifically for irrigation. In some areas of North India, it is still in operation known as charasa. The latter is a huge bag that gives an idea of the immense quantity of water raised from the well in one single haul-up.

iv)  The fourth technique was what is considered to be semi-mechanical as it worked on the First Class Lever principle. A long rope is lashed to the fork of an upright beam or trunk of a tree (especially meant for this purpose) to put it in a swinging position. The bucket is fastened to a rope whose other end is tied to these of-the the swinging pole hovering over the well. The pole's other end carries a 'counterweight', a little heavier than the bucket when filled with water. Thus, the fulcrum forms at the center of the pole, with weight and 'counterweight' (Effort) at its two ends. This contraption requires only a little effort on the part of the person operating it.

V)  The fifth water-lifting method is called saqiya or 'Persian Wheel'. None of the four mechanisms described above required wheels as their basic components. This - water-wheel could well claim to be called a water machine because of the employment of the gar system. In India, Its earliest form was one wheel with pitchers or pots of clay attached around the rim of the wheel It was called araghatta or arahatta. In the second stage, there was a chain or garland(Hindi: mala) of pots was provided which was long enough to reach the water level of the well. At the third and final stage, we find three developments to have taken place:

a) addition of two more wheels;

b) gear mechanism; and

c) the use of animal power.

Q.  Urban craft production in Delhi Sultanate --- 100

Q.  Organisation of non-agricultural production during the Sultanate period 100

Q.  Mention the new technologies introduced by the Turks in India. What were its impacts? --20

A.  Urban crafts - 

Papermaking

During the Delhi Sultanate, the paper was used for many purposes, especially for books. farmans and numerous commercial and administrative documents. Paper was available on a large scale so much so that sweetmeat-sellers of Delhi delivered sweets to the buyers in paper packets called purya. The practice of writing boob on paper was accompanied by the craft of bookbinding which was an innovation in India.

Glass Manufacturing

With the Muslim advent, pharmaceutical phials, jars and vessels started coming to India from the Islamic countries. 

Ship navigation

For navigation, the magnetic compass was a great contribution which the Muslims diffused in India.

Tin Coating

Domestic utensils of copper (and brass) are prone to acid poisoning from sour food kept in them. A coating of tin is given to them frequently, especially inside, to protect them from the chemical action of acid food. This craft came to India along with the

Turks.

Textile technology above answer.

Military Technology - Here we deal with 3 things- 
i) stirrup,
ii) horseshoe, and
iii) gunpowder

Stirrup - Proper stirrup was the contribution of the Muslims. This stirrup was first used in China around the 6th century A.D., and later it diffused into Persia and other Islamic countries during the next century. The stirrup replaced human energy with animal power, and immensely increased the warrior's ability to damage his enemy. It made possible mounted shock combat, a revolutionary new way of doing battle.

Horseshoe - It was brought by the Turks when they came to India. The horse's hoof is a constantly growing horny structure like the human nails, susceptible to breaking, splitting and shelling. In their original natural habitat horses keep their feet worn down And, hence, trimming is unnecessary. But tamed and domesticated horses when in use, require shoeing, especially in moist latitudes.

A horse with footsore will limp and, hence, of little use to the rider. Shoeing offers two advantages: first, it gives a better grip on soft ground; and secondly, the hooves get protection on rough ground.

Gunpowder and Fire Arms 

The immigrant Turks brought gunpowder to India perhaps in the late 13th or early 14th century. But it must be pointed out that even by the reign of Sultan Feroz Shah Tughluq its only use was for pyrotechny or fireworks (atashbazi), not for fire-arms or for propelling cannon-balls. Fire-arms were used for the first time during the second half of the 15th century in some regions of India like Gujarat, Malwa and the Deccan.

Construction Material and technique

Lime Mortar -

lime mortar was brought by the immigrant Muslims during the Delhi Sultanate. The basic ingredients in lime-mortar were lime (chuna) and surkhi (pounded bricks). Lime was of various kinds, according to the material from which it was extracted. The two major sources of lime were gypsum and gravel (kankar). The later was first burnt in kilns yielding quicklime. This quicklime was then treated with water to turn it into slake lime. Surkhi was added to this mix.

Arch and DomeIVaulted roofing

One result of lime mortar was the extensive use of bricks as it made the brick buildings more durable. Another important consequence was that lime mortar paved the way for the construction of true arch (mihrab). Actually,, the very arrangement of bricks or stones in making a true arch demands a strong cementing material to hold the voussoirs together. Lime mortar fulfilled this need. This explains the almost total absence of true arch in Indian buildings prior to the Turkish advent.

Q.  Describe the Agrarian Measures of Muhammad Tughluq.

A.  Muhammad Tughluq became the first Sultan to attempt to formulate an agricultural policy for promoting agriculture. He introduced the practice of giving agricultural loans named sondhar for increasing the area under plough and for digging wells for irrigation. A new ministry designated diwan-i amir-i kohi was established to promote agriculture. Its two main functions we-re to extend the area under cultivation and to reclaim the land that went out of cultivation and improving the cropping pattern. It was recommended that wheat should.be replaced by sugarcane and sugarcane by grapes and dates.