The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.295

v3.c20.295

'Alā-ud-dīn next framed a special code of laws against Hindus, who were obnoxious to him partly by reason of their faith, partly by reason of the wealth which many of them enjoyed, and partly by reason of their turbulence, especially in the Doāb. The Hindu hereditary officials enjoyed a percentage on revenue collections and the wealthier Hindus and those of the higher castes were inclined to shift to the shoulders of their poorer brethren the burdens which they should themselves have borne. All this was now changed, and it was decreed that all should pay in proportion to their incomes, but that to none was to be left sufficient to enable him to ride on a horse, to carry arms, to wear rich clothes, or to enjoy any of the luxuries of life. The government's share of the land was fixed at half the gross produce, and heavy grazing dues were levied on cattle, sheep, and goats. The officials and clerks appointed to administer these harsh laws were closely watched, and any attempt to defraud the revenue was severely punished. Hindus throughout the kingdom were reduced to one dead level of poverty and misery, or, if there were one class more to be pitied than another, it was that which had formerly enjoyed the most esteem, the hereditary assessors and collectors of the revenue. Deprived of their emoluments, but not relieved of their duties, these poor wretches were herded together in droves, with ropes round their necks, and hauled, with kicks and blows, to the villages where their services were required. The Muslim officials, under Sharaf Qāī, the new minister of finance, earned the hatred of all classes, and were so despised that no man would give his daughter in marriage to one of them. This measure of 'Ala-ud-dīn's is remarkable as one of the very few instances, if not the only instance, except the *jizya*, or poll-tax, of legislation specially directed against the Hindus.