The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c15.s1.14

c15.s1.14

It does not appear that the judicial organisation of the province was under his control, or that he had any judicial function to perform. Apart from his general duties of maintaining law and order, which incidentally, was ordinarily limited to the chief cities and fortresses, and could be performed by the kotwal appointed by him, his duties were confined, besides what has been described above, to the raising of the king’s share of the revenue from the peasants, and the Hindu chiefs. We have little information respecting the existence of Muslim peasants at this period, but in the cities there were owners of land who were liable to the payment of kharaj. Hindus formed the bulk of the peasantry and in most of the provinces they paid the revenue through their village headmen, called muqaddam and chaudhuri². Some of the tributary Hindu chiefs were under the muqti while others paid directly to the diwan-i-wazarat.