National Law Institute University, Bhopal

PROJECT OF HISTORY I On ADMINISTRATION OF SHER SHAH SURI

Guided by :Dr U.P Singh

Submitted by :BAIBHAW GAHLAUT Roll no. - 2009 B.A. LL.B. 06 Enrollment no. A- 0868 Trimester 5th

DECLARATION
The text reported in the project is the out come of my own efforts and no part of this report has been copied in any unauthorized manner and no part in it has been incorporated without due acknowledgement

BAIBHAW GAHLAUT

Table of Contents
SHER SHAH SURI- ..................................................................................................................................... 4 ADMINISTRATION OF SHER SHAH SURI ............................................................................................. 4 CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION- ............................................................................................................... 6 PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION-.......................................................................................................... 6 VILLAGE ADMINISTRATION- ................................................................................................................ 7 REVENUE ADMINISTRATION- ............................................................................................................... 7 ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND ORDER- .......................................................................................... 9 MILITARY ADMINISTRATION- ............................................................................................................ 10 ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENCY- .................................................................................................... 11 MISCELLANEOUS ................................................................................................................................... 12

SHER SHAH SURISher Shah Suri was an Afghan ruler who succeeded in building an Afghan empire in northern India. Sher Shah is one among those great personalities of history who had a humble beginning but succeeded in establishing powerful empire simply by his own exertions, merit and power of sword. Sher Shah did not belong to a rich family and in no way was connected with a royal family or with any well-known military commander or religious preacher. Thus, he was a man without any high connections, influence or status and he did not get any support from anybody in his career. Whatever he achieved, he achieved simply by his own efforts and capability. Sher Shah was called Farid when he was a child and was born in 1472 A.D. at the age of twenty two Sher Shah fled to Jaunpur which was the center of learning at that time, studied there for three years, acquired knowledge of Arabic and Persian and was able to impress Jalal Khan, the master of his father by his knowledge and labour. Sher Shah was appointed as the deputy of the Jagir of his father. He looked after the Jagir of his father for about twenty years (1497-1518 A.D.) and managed its administration very well. After that Sher Shah entered the service of Bahar Khan, the master of south Bihar. Here he got the title of Sher Khan after killing a tiger single-handed in a hunting excursion. Bahar than was so much pleased with his services that he appointed his deputy in the administration

ADMINISTRATION OF SHER SHAH SURI

A brave warrior and a successful conqueror, Sher Shah was the architect of a brilliant administrative system. In fact, his qualities as a ruler were more remarkable than his victories on the battlefields. His brief reign of five years was marked by the introduction of wise and salutary changes in every conceivable branch of administration. Some of these were by way of revival and reformation of the traditional features of the old administrative systems of India, Hindu as well as Muslim, while others were entirely original in character, and form, indeed, a link between ancient and modern India. Administration under Sher Shah Suri is regarded as one of the best during the medieval period. It constituted of an effective working of the central and provincial administration. Sher Shah concentrated all administrative powers in his own person. He practiced the Turkish theory of
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kingship in his administrative matters because he knew that the Afghan theory of kingship was not workable in India. Sher Shahs government was a highly centralized system with real power concentrated in the hands of the King, but he was not an unbridled autocrat, regardless of the rights and interests of the people. In the spirit of an enlightened despot, he attempted to found an empire broadly based upon the peoples will. He had appointed ministers but these ministers did not make decision themselves. All major decisions were taken by Sher Shah himself and the ministers and the nobles simply carried them out. There were departments whose administrate heads enjoyed the position of ministers such as the Diwan-i-wazirat, the Diwan-i-arz, the Diwan-i-rasalat and the Diwan-i-insha. The main sources of income of the state were the land-revenue, unclaimed property, trade-tax, mint, salttax, Khams, viz. one fifth of the plunder taken during the time of war, Jizya and presents from subordinate rulers, governors, nobles, traders etc. The main items of expenditure were the expenses to maintain the army, salaries of civilian officers and the expenditure of the royal household and the Sultan. His revenue administration has been regarded as one of the best during the medieval period.

There was no separate department of police and the duty was performed by the military officers in their respective areas. The local officials were held responsible for maintaining law and order and if they failed they were punished. Sher Shah abolished all those duties which were charged on merchandise at different places within his empire. He ordered for the collection of trade-tax only at two places, one, when and where the goods entered the territory of his empire and, the other, where it was sold. This encouraged trade and commerce. Sher Shah stopped the use of all old coins and issued new coins of gold, silver and copper of all denominations of standard weights and of good metals. One of the greatest achievements of Sher Shah in administration was his construction of roads connecting important parts of his empire with his capital. Sher Shah maintained a highly efficient espionage system. Spies were appointed at all important places and with all important officers

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIONIn the central administration all the powers were concentrated in Sher Shah`s hand. His ministers enjoyed even less powers as compared with the ministers of the Mughals. All major decisions were taken by Sher Shah himself and the ministers and the nobles simply carried them out. There were departments whose administrate heads enjoyed the position of ministers such as the Diwani-wazirat where the head of this department was the wazir, the finance minister who looked after the income and expenditure of the state. The Diwan-i-arz department was under the Arz-iMumalii who was the army minister. He was not the commander-in-chief of the army but looked after the recruitment, organisation, discipline, disbursement of the salaries of the soldiers and officers. The Diwan-i-rasalat department was in charge of the foreign minister of the state. He received foreign envoys and ambassadors and maintained correspondence with the foreign state. The head of the department Diwan-i-insha was called Dabir-i-Khas who looked after the internal correspondence of the state.

Besides these ministers, there were two other important departments of the state whose heads were not ministers but enjoyed consideration from the Sultan. The one was the Diwan-i-Qaza whose head was the chief Qazi. The chief Qazi was the head of the administration of justice only next to the Sultan. The other was Diwan-i-Barid which was presided over by the head of the intelligence department. He looked after the news writers and spies of the state who were posted at important places in the empire.

PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATIONVery little is known about the provincial administration of Sher Shah. There were Subas where military governors were appointed by Sher Shah. There were provinces called the Iqtas where military governors or Subedars were appointed. Subedars were appointed in Lahore, Malwa and Ajmer. The entire Suba was divided into Sarkars (districts), each being looked after by a military officer called the chief Shiqdar. For administrative convenience, the whole empire was divided into forty-seven units (Sarkars), each of which was again subdivided into several parganas. The pargana has one Amin, one Shiqdar, one treasurer, one Hindu writer and one Persian writer
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to keep accounts. Over the next higher administrative unit, the sarkar, were placed a Shiqdar-iShiqdaran and a Munsif-i-Munsifan to supervise the work of the pargana officers. To check undue influence of the officers in their respective jurisdictions, the King devised a plan of transferring them every two or three years. Every branch of the administration was subjected to Sher Shahs personal supervisions. Above all chief Shiqdars there was appointed a civilian officer with a small military force to supervise the administration f the province. There was no military governor in Bengal and there was no other officer commanding a sufficiently large force so as to be in a position to revolt against the Sultan. Thus, there was no uniformity in the administration of provinces during the reign of Sher Shah. But all provinces were kept under strict discipline by Sher Shah and there occurred no revolt by any provincial governor except that in 1541 A.D. in Bengal which was quickly suppressed by the Sultan.

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATIONSher Shah left the administration of villages in the hands of their hereditary officers like Chaukidars, Patwaris etc. The village assembly also enjoyed a large measure of independence in looking after the welfare of the people. All of them assisted state officials in collecting revenue and maintaining law and order. Sher Shah introduced the system of transferring the officers to the Sarkars and Parganas every two or three years. Thus during the reign of Sher Shah, administration was at its best.

REVENUE ADMINISTRATIONSher Shahs land revenue reforms, based on wise and humane principles, have unique importance in the administrative history ofIndia; for they served as the model for future agrarian systems. Revenue system during the reign of Sher Shah Suri was quite an efficient one. The main sources of income of the state were the land-revenue, unclaimed property, trade-tax, mint, salt-tax, khams, viz. one fifth of the plunder taken during the time of war, Jizya and presents from subordinate rulers, governors, nobles, traders etc. The main items of expenditure were the expenses to maintain the army, salaries of civilian officers and the expenditure of the royal
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household and the Sultan. The local taxes were levied mostly on production and consumption of various trade and professions and on transport. The land-revenue, however, constituted the primary source of income of the state. Sher Shah believed that the welfare of the state could be achieved only by looking after the welfare of the peasants. Therefore, he paid personal attention towards the revenue administration and introduced certain successful measures to improve it. His revenue administration has been regarded as one of the best during the medieval period.

The system which Sher Shah introduced in most of the places was Ryotwari wherein the state kept direct relations with the peasants for the assessment and collection of the land revenue. However, the system could not be introduced in Multan, Malwa and Rajasthan where the Jagirdari system continued to exist. All cultivable land was divided into three categories on the basis of production, viz. good, middle and bad. The land was measured according to a uniform system and it was ascertained that what quality of land was possessed by each cultivator. An average of the produce was estimated in each case and then the cultivators were asked to pay one third of their produce to the state. The state preferred to collect revenue in the form of cash and for that purpose; prices of every variety of cereals were fixed at different places. The revenue on perishable articles was, however, paid by the peasants in form of cash only.

For actual collection of revenue, the government utilized the services of the officers like the Amins, the Maqadam, theShiqdars, the Qanungos and the Patwaris. Punctual and full payment of the revenue was insisted. Sher Shah instructed the revenue officials to show leniency at the time of assessment and to be strict at the time of collection of revenues. The rights of the tenants were duly recognized and the liabilities of each were clearly defined in the Kabuliyat 1, which the State took from him, and the patta2 , which it gave him in return. Remissions of rents were made, and probably loans were advanced to the tenants in case of damage of crops, caused by the encampment of soldiers, or the insufficiency of rain. These revenue reforms increased the resources of the state and at the same time conduced to the interest of the people.

1 2

Deed of agreement title-deed

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The peasants were given the facility to pay their revenue in installments in a year according to crop seasons. The peasants were given pattas (title deeds) by the state specifying the revenue which they had to pay and were asked to sign deeds of agreement signifying their acceptance to pay the required revenue. The peasants had also to pay two more taxes, named the surveyor`s fee and the tax-collector`s fee to the state. These constituted two per cent to five per cent of their produce. Besides these, the peasants had to pay two per cent of their produce in kind to be returned to them in case of any natural calamity such as flood, famine etc. According to the orders of the Sultan, the peasants were treated with generosity while fixing the revenue but once settled they were asked to pay their revenue without any mercy on behalf of the state.

The revenue administration of Sher Shah also suffered from certain defects. The peasants who possessed middle and bad quality of land had to pay more as compared to the owners of good quality land under this system. The annual settlement of the revenue was inconvenient both to the peasants and state-officials. There was corruption in the revenue department and Sher Shah failed to uproot it. That must have affected adversely the welfare of the peasants. Yet, the measures introduced by Sher Shah had largely succeeded in doing well to the peasants and increasing the income of the state. The revenue system of Sher Shah, therefore, has been regarded as fairly good as compared with the system of other rulers of medieval India.

ADMINISTRATION OF LAW AND ORDERTo secure peace and order, the police system was re-organized, and the principle of local responsibility for local crimes was enforced. The village headmen were made responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the rural areas. Sher Shah has a strong sense of justice and no distinctions were made between the high and the low. In the paragana / pargana, civil suits were disposed off by the Amin, and other cases mostly criminal by the Qazi and Mir-i-Adal. In some parganas, civil cases were tried by Munsif-iMunsifan. At the capital city there were the chief Qazi, the imperial Sadr, and above all, the Emperor as the highest authority in judicial as in other matters. Though a pious Muslim, Sher Shah was not a fierce bigot. His treatment of the Hindus in general was tolerant and just.
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MILITARY ADMINISTRATIONMilitary administration of Sher Shah Suri was a huge success. He maintained a standing army at the centre like Ala-ud-din Khilji. His military strength consisted of one lakh and fifty thousand cavalry, twenty five thousand infantry and five thousand elephants. His artillery, probably, was the weakest part of his military strength while the cavalry consisted mostly of the Afghans. However, other Muslims and the Hindus, too, were employed in the army. Sher Shah took personal interest in the recruitment, training, promotion, discipline, disbursement of salary and supply of arms, clothes etc. to his soldiers. Sher Shah succeeded in maintaining a large, disciplined and effective army during his time.

Sher Shah adopted the practices of maintaining the huliya of the soldiers and that of branding of the horses. Besides the army of the Sultan, provincial governor, nobles and subordinate rulers were also allowed to maintain their separate armies which were called in for the assistance of the Sultan when needed. Soldiers were kept in all forts and military cantonments spreading all over the territory of the empire. The strength of the army which was so spread in different parts of the empire must also be in large number. Sher Shah`s administration, both civil and military, has been regarded highly successful. He infused a new spirit in the old institutions and improved it. Thus during his time Sher Shah succeeded in maintaining a strong and effective army.

He maintained a regular army as such the soldiers were bound to him through their immediatecommanding officer by the strong tie of personal devotion and discipline. Garrisons were maintained at different strategic points of the kingdom; each of these called a fauj, was under the command of a faujdar. Sher Shah enforced strict discipline in the army and took ample precautions to prevent corruption among the soldiers. Besides, duly supervising the recruitment of soldiers, he personally fixed their salaries and took their descriptive rolls. He also revived the practice of branding horse. From the above account we can conclude that Sher Shah was one of the greatest monarchs that had ever ruled India. He was truly a great commander as a well as one the greatest administrator in India.

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ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENCYDuring the ruling period of Sher Shah Suri, he issued coins in different metals. He issued coins in silver and copper in his own name from a number of places. After his formal coronation, Sher Shah Suri issued coins in silver and copper and eliminated the billon from the series of Indian coins. Though he had issued coins in silver and copper, no coins were found in gold. Perhaps he did not issue any coin in this metal. In the silver coins of Sher Shah, there was the trace of `Kalima` and the name of four Khalifas on obverse side of the coin. On the obverse side of the coin contained his name and a pious wish: `Khald Allah mulk.` The name of the mint and date along with the king`s name in Nagari letters were inscribed on the reverse side of the coin. The legends were arranged in diverse ways on various coins.

The coins were issued from different mints like Ujjain, Agra, Punduah, Chunar, Satgaon etc. Besides these mints, there were some coins which bore the word `Jahapanah` in place of the mint name and suggest that they were issued from the court or from some camp mint. The practice of issuing coins from royal camps won great popularity in the Mughal period. Sher Shah had issued coins from various mints. In addition to these there were a large series of mintless silver and copper coins formed the currency during the early period of his conquests. In many cases they were struck after the practice of recording mint names on coins had become established. These may, thus, had been issued from the mobile camp mints. Most of the copper coins bore on the obverse `fi ahad al-amir al-hami` and the reverse side of the coin had the name of the Sultan and their titles. His coins did conform to the weight of 170 grains of the earlier Sultans of Delhi. The copper coins were given the name of `paisa` but their weights vary to such an extent that it was difficult to say about the standard weight of the coins. Such heavy coins were unknown in the earlier period.

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MISCELLANEOUS
The tariff reforms of Sher Shah were also calculated to improve the general economic conditions of his Empire. He reformed the tariff by removing vexatious customs and permitting the imposition of customs on articles of trade only at the frontiers and in the places of sale. Trade and commerce was greatly increase by the improvement of communications. For the purpose of imperial defense, as well as for the convenience of the people, Sher Shah connected the important places of his kingdom by chain of excellent roads. The longest of these, the Grand Trunk Road, which still survives, extended for 1500 kos from Sonargaon in Eastern Bengal to the Indus. Shade-giving trees were planted on both side of the roads. Sarais or rest houses were built at different stages and separate arrangements were provided for the Muslims and the Hindus. These sarais also served as the purpose of post-houses, which facilitated quick exchange of news and supplied the government with information from different parts of the Empire. The maintenance of an efficient system of espionage also enabled the ruler to know what happened in his kingdom.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Bashan Al, Cultural History Of India, Oxford University Press, Calcutta,(1998). http://www.indhistory.com/sher-shah-suri.html http://www.indianetzone.com/47/sher_shah_suri.htm.

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