UNIT -3 AGRARIAN REFORMS OF ALLAUDDIN KHILJI:

There were changes in the policies of Alauddin Khilji. Barani believed that a
Muslim rule should be there. The punishments given were not according to the
Shariah. Barani sadly writes that Allauddin Khilji took the measure of the state
and administration, which has nothing to do with Shariah and whatever he
thinks justified his orders. Barani accounts need to be scrutinised in a fresh
light to study the proper system of agrarian reform and market policy. Before
Allauddin Khilji, no one paid heed to agricultural reforms. Allaudin’s market
reform was, in fact, the internal restructuring of the sultanate. Kharaj (the
kharaj was a land tax paid initially only by non-Muslims, whereas Muslims had
to pay the 'user -- a religious levy) and land tax was reduced to 50%. The first
sultan to his attempt was to increase the revenue collection…. To introduce
Direct collection by the state, he introduced the system of measurement,
which is called ‘Paimaish' and tried to eliminate intermediaries such as
muqaddams and chaudaries.
He brought the land under Khalisa (crown land). He tried to bring villagers in a
close association with resultant revenue being fixed at half of the produce and
assessed based on measurement. We don't find any source for the
measurement. Besides side the land revenue, there were other taxes like
gharai(house tax) and charge( tax on grazing the cattle). Allauddin this
taxation. If we talk about Allaudin khilji agrarian reform, he brought as much as
is around Delhi also called the doab region. That he has also stopped other
taxes, other minor taxes were removed. Land reforms- it is beneficial in a sense
that the people were exempted from paying gharai and charm. Khuti was
abolished after Allauddin's agrarian reform. Even the word Zamindar is called
that-muqaddam and Chowdhary was first used by Amir Khusro. They were the
aristocracy. They were feudal lords. They charged their taxes the levied burden
on the common people. Khilji tried to curb the privileges of the Khut
Muqqaddam. They have passed their burden of land revenue on the shoulders
of the common measures. In the time of Khilji, these intermediaries' land were
also measured. According to Barani, they were reduced to the level of Balahar.
Khilji brought these aristocrats to the lowest strata of the society so much so
that the wives of them had to work as house help in Muslim nobility. Barani
further says that the huts and muqaddams were no longer able to afford horse
rides or chew betel leaves. He appointed an accountant called Musharraf,
Amil-collectors, Gaumashtas- agents. These officers were not only appointed
but were paid highly to maintain their lifestyle. This account was collected by
Bahis of the village patwari (leisure books), and on finding a default, they were
harshly beaten. (One of the traditions of Hindus 'Jharoka-e darshan' )-example
His agrarian reform was not to subdue the power of anyone but to
maintain….He has tried to curb the other taxes and the taxes were combined
together. This policy of Allauddin was followed by the successors like Sher Shah
and Akbar. In the rule of Mubarak Shah, the status of khuts and Muqaddams
were restored, and many reforms were given Market Reforms of Allaudin
Khilji: Oriented more towards his foreign policy. He is first and the last ruler to
systemize the market.
He systemised a price control policy. He tried to bring the market under his
control and have control of each object of the market. Barani writes that he
was able to recruit a cavalryman and paid him 238 tankas annually. And the
soldier with two horses was paid 75 more tankas.
Barani again writes that this was done to suppress the Hindus and the elite
living in the countryside. In the background we can see the market control
policy. According to Barani, Alauddin set up three markets in Delhi,
1. The first is for food grains.
2. The second market is for clothes of all kinds. Besides clothes, the market
sells expensive items such as sugar, ghee, oil, dry fruits, etc.
3. The third market was for horses, slaves, and cattle.
Besides, detailed regulations and they were called zawabit were framed for the
control and the administration of all these markets. The first task was to
control the supply of food grains from the villages. Alauddin tried to control
not only the supply of the food grains from the village and its transportation to
the city by the grain merchants (karawanis or banjaras) but also its proper
distribution to the people of India. These banjaras were told to convert
themselves into a corporate body and perform their functions. The local
officials work was not only the collection of revenue but to look after that the
merchant got a fixed price from the cultivator at the price fixed by the
government. If norms settled were not followed, then cultivators were
severely punished. The cultivator was allowed to keep himself only 10 mann of
grains. The grains were sold at fixed prices. The food grain was brought to the
market (Shahna- i Mandi) and sold at an official price with strict rules to be
followed. A bond was taken which restricted everyone to sell at a higher price
fixed by the government.
THE FIRST MARKET – TO ENSURE SUFFICIENT FOOD GRAINS
The first effort was to ensure sufficient stock of food grains with the
government so that the traders would not increase the prices. For this,
Alauddin set up royal storehouses in Delhi. The Kiwanis or Banjaras handled
the transportation of food grains in their bullock cart, and they had to form
themselves into an organised body. Besides, to ensure a regular supply of food
grains to the Banjaras, there were several regulations. The local officials were
strict with the cultivators who sell their food grains to pay for land revenue.
Also, no one has the permit to sell grains at a higher price than the official one.
If anyone violates the order, they receive punishment. Thus, they bring all food
grain to the markets (mandis). They also sell the food grains only at the official
price. As per Barani, Alauddin had a system of rationing during times of
scarcity. The grocers were given the amount of grains by the government
keeping in mind the number of their dependance. Therefore, there was no
shortage of food grains even during famines and the prices were not increased
even during the time of scarcity. Besides, Alauddin collects and sells the food
grains at prices prevalent before the famine.
SECOND MARKET – A MARKET FOR CLOTHES AND EXPENSIVE ITEMS.
The second market was the cloth market. The market also sells dry fruits,
herbs, ghee, oil, etc. The market is called the Sarai-i-Adl (which was the cloth
market). Alauddin orders that all cloth brought by the merchants from
different parts of the country, including foreign lands, are to be stored and sold
only in this market at a fixed rate. If anyone sells any commodity even slightly
higher than the official price, the item will be confiscated, and the seller will
receive punishment. To ensure that there was an adequate supply of all the
commodities, all the merchants needed to register. Besides, they signed an
agreement stating that they would bring the exact quantities of things to the
Sarai-i-Adl every year and sell them at government rates. These steps were,
however, not new, but in the measures taken by Alauddin, there was a lot of
rethinking and regulations.
THE THIRD MARKET – DEALS WITH HORSES, SLAVES, AND CATTLE.
The third market deals with horses, cattle, and slaves. The supply of good
quality horses at reasonable prices was important for both the military
department and the soldiers. The horse trade was essentially a monopoly of
the Multanis and the Afghanis. According to Barani, the rich Dallals were as
powerful as the officers in the market. They often indulged in a lot of corrupt
practices. So Alauddin takes harsh measures against such Dallas. Besides, they
were sometimes even exiled from the town and some of them were
imprisoned in forts.
100 to 120 tankas - horses of the first category
80-90 tankas - horses of second category
65-70 tankas - horses of third category Ordinary horses were priced from 10 to
25 tankas.
Alauddin also did not allow or permit the rich Dallal and the rich men to go to
the horse market. It was only the horse merchants that could sell the horses to
the military department (Diwan-i-Arz). However, despite such efforts, Alauddin
would not eliminate the middlemen. Besides, there was a set price for the
slave boys and girls and of cattle. However, we are not clear why they need
slave or cattle because even the military doesn’t require them. The prices are
fixed to make the lives easier for nobles, the more affluent sections, including
government servants and the soldiers who buy slaves for domestic and
personal service. Likewise, there was a need for animals for meat, transport,
milk, and milk products.
Barani says that the stability of the prices under Alauddin was a case of
wonder, and it was successful because they followed the rules strictly. The
sultan himself kept information of all prices through informers. Sometimes he
even sends small boys to the market to ensure that the shopkeeper did not
cheat them. If a shopkeeper was found guilty of under weighing, twice the
amount of flesh was cut off from his body. After the death of Allauddin the
market reforms vanished. His successor threw out the laws which were,
according to him, denying freedom and he also released a number of persons
from the prison.
According to Barani these reforms were restricted to Delhi only and we don't
find any account about the other cities. He tried to control the price of
everything from “Caps to socks, comb to needles, vegetables, sweets to
chapati.” such huge control is bound to be violative. Amir Khusro considered
the measure to be of immense generosity taken for the welfare and comfort of
all the elite, the public at large. Nasiruddin Mehmud Chiragh Delhi was a
chishti saint who attributed it to the Sultan's effort to do good to all people.