The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c8.s3: Administrative Apparatus
The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c8.s3
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Administrative Apparatus
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This aim of the Muslim state could be achieved through its administrative set up and military might. Actually the theocratic nature of the state and fealty to the Caliph formed the moral bases of the regimes authority; administration and army its material strength. All these components were alien and exotic and were implanted from abroad. In its core the administration was Islamic and was based on Quran and Hadis, though Persia also contributed much to its development and application in India.
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The administrative system of Islam had evolved gradually. In Arabia, in its earliest stages, the problem was to provide the new converts made by Muhammad with subsistence. They were indigent and poor, and to help them, poor tax (*zakat*), voluntary contributions, and war-booty (*ghanaim*) formed the revenue of the state at the start. Muhammad was followed (632 C.E.) by a succession of Caliphs at Medina.⁷⁷ According to Mawardi (who wrote in the fifth century of Islam), the Imamate, or Caliphate, was divinely ordained and the Khalifa inherited all the powers and privileges of the Prophet.⁷⁸ The four Schools of Islamic jurisprudence also made the Khalifa ecclesiastical as well as secular head of the Muslim world. The title of *Amir-ul-Mauminin* indicated and emphasised the secular, that of Imam the religious leadership of the Caliph.⁷⁹ His name had a hallow and a charm, and the institutions which developed under his rule became models of governance in the world of Islam. The Caliph Muawiyah (66189 C.E.) transformed the republican Caliphate into a monarchy and created a governing class of leading Arab tribes.⁸⁰ These two institutions - kingship and nobility became an integral part of Islamic polity. After the Umayyad came the Abbasid Caliphs. They established their capital in the newly built city of Baghdad situated on the borders of Persia. The Abbasids were more religious and devoted to the mission of Islam, but they came under the irresistible influence of superior Persian culture and Persian institutions. The Abbasid dynasty lasted for full five centuries (752-1258 C.E.), and under it different branches of administrative machinery were greatly elaborated and new departments and offices created. If the Quran contained almost nothing that may be called civic or state legislation, Persian theories and practices filled the lacuna. Persian court etiquette, Persian army organisation,⁸¹ administrative system, postal service, conferment of robes of honour, and many similar institutions were all adopted and developed under the Abbasids.
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The Turks brought these institutions into India, adding some more offices and institutions while keeping the core intact. Ziyauddin Barani openly asserts: Consequently, it became necessary for the rulers of Islam (the Caliphs) to follow the policy of Iranian Emperors in order to ensure the greatness of True Word, the supremacy of the Muslim religion overthrow of the enemies of the Faith and maintenance of their own authority.⁸² Therefore, when Fakhr-i-Mudabbir or Ziyauddin Barani⁸³ recommend the Sassanian pattern of governance to the Sultans of Delhi,⁸⁴ they neither saw anything new nor un-Islamic in their advice.
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The four schools (*mazahib*) of Islamic jurisprudence also arose during the period of the Abbasids. Even in the compilations of Hadis the contribution of Persia was great. Of the Traditionists, only Imams Malik and Hanbal belonged to the Arab race; the rest were from Ajam, who sojourned in Arabia for years together collecting and compiling the *Hidaya*. In matters of law where the Quran and Hadis were silent, the jurisconsults resorted to *qiyas* or analogy, that is, the extension of an acknowledged principle to similar cases. Where *qiyas* was not possible, they appealed to reason⁸⁵ or judgement, known in Arabia as ray. Ray has become a technical term in Arabic jurisprudence. Consensus of opinion of the learned was known as *ijma*. The principle of *istihasan* (or regarding as better) was developed by Abu Yusuf, disciple of Abu Hanifa which gave him great freedom of interpretation and allowed him to adopt local customs and prejudices as part of the general laws of Islam.⁸⁶ Mawardi felt himself compelled to admit that the acts of administration were valid in view of the circumstances of the time.⁸⁷ In the case of any doubt about interpretation of rules, administrative manuals like Abul Hasan Al-Mawardis *Ahkam-us-Sultaniya*, Abu Ali Nizam-ul-Mulk Tusis *Siyasat Nama*, Jurji Zaydans *Attamadun-i-Islami* or Fakhr-i-Mudabbirs *Adabul-Harb* (also known as *Adab-ul-Muluk*) were readily available for consultation and guidance.
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In brief, Muslim administration had evolved in Muslim lands through centuries and was highly developed before it was brought to India by the Turkish Sultans. At the head was the monarch or Sultan. He appointed and was assisted by a number of ministers. A brief list of ministers and officers will give an idea of the framework of the central administration. At the top were four important ministers (and ministries) which formed the four pillars of the State.⁸⁸ These were Wazir (Diwan-i-Wazarat), Ariz-i-Mumalik (Diwan-i-Arz), Diwan-i-Insha and Diwan-i-Rasalat. The Wazir was the Prime Minister who looked after revenue administration. Ariz-i-Mumalik or Diwan-i-Arz was head of the army. He was known as Mir Bakhshi under the Mughals and was the inspector-general and paymaster-general of the army. Diwan-i-Insha was incharge of royal correspondence, and Diwan-i-Rasalat of foreign affairs and pious foundations. Mushrif-i-Mamalik was the accountant-general and Mustaufi the auditor-general. Sadr-i-Jahan, also called Sadr-us-Sudur, was the Chief Qazi. Under him served several Qazis and Miradls. Barid-i-Mumalik was minister in charge of reporting and espionage. There were officers of the royal household like Vakil-i-Dar (Chief Secretary), Amir-i-Hajib (Master of Ceremonies) and Barbak, the tongue of the sultan, whose duty it was to present petitions of the people to the king. There were dozens of other officers and hundreds of subordinates both in the Central administration and in the *Subahs* or provinces. However, here only a few top ministers and officers may receive detailed attention to enable us to appraise the working and spirit of the government.
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The Central government was formed on the Persian model. As seen above, the Prime Minister was called Wazir and his ministry Diwan-i-Wazarat. All Muslim political thinkers attached great importance to this office. Fakhr-i-Mudabbir says that, as the body cannot exist without life so also no regime can sustain without the Wazir.⁸⁹ Ziyauddin Barani declares that, without a wise Wazir, kingship is vain a king without a wise Wazir is like a palace without foundations. If the Wazir is wise the folly of the king does not lead to the ruin and the destruction of the kingdom.⁹⁰ The main business of the Wazir was finance, the Wazirs ministry or the Diwan-i-Wazarat cannoted the Revenue Department. Other duties and obligations of the Wazir included all the constructive functions of the state in a broad sense. He was to recommend promotions of officers, enlist and inspect the army and take steps to make the people prosperous, happy and contended. It was his duty also to look after men of piety and learning and protect the weak and the indigent, the widows and the orphans. In short, Agriculture, Building, Charitable institutions, Intelligence Department, the *Karkhanas* and the Mint were all directly or indirectly under the Diwan-i-Wazarat.⁹¹ It was his duty to organise the offices and make them efficient in their work. The Wazir in a word was the head of the entire machinery of the governments.⁹² The Diwan-i-Arz or the Ariz-i-Mumalik was the controller-general of the military department.⁹³ The Ariz-i-Mumalik (Mir Bakhshi of the Mughals) had his provincial assistants and their duties comprised enlisting recruits, fixing their pay, inspecting the army and disbursing salaries to the troops.⁹⁴ The Diwan-i-Insha dealt with the correspondence between the sultan and the local governments, including all correspondence of a confidential nature. Since there was no typing, cyclostyling or printing in those days, dozens of hand-written copies of kings orders and *farmans* had to be prepared in this office for despatch to iqtas and *subahs*. The Diwan-i-Rasalat, as the term indicates,⁹⁵ looked after diplomatic correspondence, and as such this ministry was a counterpart of the present-day foreign office.
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The Diwan which dealt with religious charities was presided over by the Sadr-us-Sudur. The Diwan-i-Qaza, or the department of justice, was presided over by the Chief Qazi, and the two offices of the Chief Qazi and the Chief Sadr were generally held by one and the same person. Administration of justice⁹⁶ was given a place of importance in Islamic polity, and there were elaborate rules about administering justice to civil and military men.⁹⁷ Similarly there were detailed rules about the functioning of the police departments⁹⁸ and awarding of punishments.⁹⁹ One department of considerable importance was that of the Barid-i-Mumalik, who was the head of the State Information Bureau. Through this department the centre was kept informed of all that was happening all over the empire. A net-work of news agents or intelligencers was spread out in all localities. They acted both as secret information agents as well as open news-reporters. There were also a large number of spies in every place and chiefly in the houses of the nobles to report their affairs to the Sultan.
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The kings court, palace and household had an elaborate administrative set up of its own. The Vakil-i-Dar, or keeper of the keys of the palace gate was the most important.¹⁰⁰ The Amir-i-Hajib, also called Barbak ¹⁰¹ (or Lord Chamberlain) made arrangements for functions and ceremonies and enforced court etiquette. Other officers were Amir-i-Akhur (Master of the Horse), Shahna-i-Pilan, (Superintendent of the Elephants), the Amir-i-Shikar (Superintendent of the Royal Hunt), Sharabdar (Incharge of the Sultans Drinks), Sar Chashnigir (Incharge of the Royal Kitchen), Sar Silahdar (Keeper of the Royal Weapons), Muhardar (Keeper of the Royal Seals), Sarjandar (Commander of the Kings Bodyguards who were called Jandars),¹⁰² and a host of others with specific duties and functions. Such an elaborate administrative system strengthened the position of the Sultan and roots of the Sultanate in India.
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The provincial government was a miniature model of the central. The governors were called Walis and Muqtis. An expert in accounts called Sahib-i-Diwan was appointed in each province. He kept the local revenue records and submitted them to the Wazir. The army maintained by the governors and garrison commanders was subject to control and inspection by the provincial Ariz, who was responsible to the central government. Similary, administrative arrangement of *parganas*, *shiqqs* and later *sarkars* was also clearly laid down. During the Mughal period, some new offices were created while nomenclatures of some others were changed.¹⁰³ The administrative system also got the stamping of the Chingezi *Yassa* and the Institutes of Timur.¹⁰⁴ But the core of administration remained Islamic.
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The Sultanate of Delhi, and more particularly the Mughal empire, possessed a highly unified and systematized bureaucratic apparatus the central point of which was the mansab or numerical rank. *Mansab* (introduced by emperor Akbar in 1573) defined the status and income of the holder, although titles of nobles in Persian, Turkish and Arabic sometimes make it difficult for us to form an idea of the exact grading. An elaborate bureaucratic administrative set up tends to be top-heavy and slow-moving. But the Turkish and Mughal administrative system was not so. Decision making was quick and so was action. It did not mean that the administration was all good. For example, if the theory of taxation was clear there were just four taxes-*Kharaj*, *Jiziyah*, *Khums* and *Zakat*-and collection rates and procedures clearly defined.¹⁰⁵ But the taxes actually levied far exceeded these. Many *abwabs* (cesses) were cropping up from time to time so that, in spite of the measures taken by Alauddin Khalji, Firoz Tughlaq, Sher Shah and Akbar to increase and also keep control over the income of the state, no system of assessment and collection could be discovered that was satisfactory both to the cultivator and the state.¹⁰⁶
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Just as the administrative system implanted in India had evolved in Iran and adjoining Islamic countries, important administrators also came from these regions to run it. With the establishment of Muslim rule, batches of Muslims began to arrive in Hindustan from Central Asia, Persia, African Muslim countries and what is now called Afghanistan. India was rich and fertile as compared with their own lands and with the extension of Muslim political power in India, many emigrants - soldiers and administrators - attracted by the abundance of wealth in cash and kind - began to flock to Hindustan. Minhaj Siraj says that people from Persia (and adjoining countries) came to India in various capacities.¹⁰⁷ Fakhr-ul-Mulk Isami, who had been Wazir at Baghdad for thirty years, but then had suffered some disappointment, arrived in India and was appointed Wazir by Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish.¹⁰⁸ Qazi Hamiduddin Nagori had also come from abroad. Thus from Wazir downwards the foreign Muslim elite filled all important offices in administration. Because of the Mongol upheaval twenty-five princes with their retinues from Iraq, Khurassan and Mawaraun Nahr arrived at the court of Iltutmish. During the reign of Sultan Balban fifteen more refugee princes came from Turkistan, Mawaraun Nahr, Khurasan, Iran, Azarbaijan, Rum and Sham.¹⁰⁹ From among these hundreds of officials must have been appointed to administrative positions in the Sultanate of Delhi. The Abbasid tradition thus gained a firm footing in the administration of the Sultanate of Delhi.¹¹⁰
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Balban had a weakness for things Persian. He introduced the Persian ceremonial in his court; his royal processions were organised on the Iranian pattern. His sons and grandsons were given Persian names of Kaimurs, Kai-Khusrau and Kaiqubad.¹¹¹ Thus under the Ilbari Sultans many Persian and Persian-knowing nobles and officers served as administrators and officers.¹¹² The Khaljis and Tughlaqs employed them too. Muhammad Tughlaq secured the services of many foreign nobles and patronised, among them, Khorasanis and Arabs.¹¹³ In the medieval period, heredity and lineage were taken into account in the selection of officers and nobles, and as far as possible low-born Indian Muslims were not appointed to high offices. Foreign Muslims were generally preferred, not only in the Sultanate of Delhi or the Mughal Empire, but also in the independent kingdoms of Gujarat and Malwa and the Adil Shahi and Qutbshahi kingdoms of the Deccan.
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With the coming of the Mughals, Persian element in administration became
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more prominent. Both Babur and Humayun depended upon Persia for help at one time or the other.¹¹⁴ In their days of distress, they were served by Persian nobles with loyalty and distinction. In all his trials and tribulations of exile, Bairam Khan proved a valued guide to Humayun.¹¹⁵ Bairam Khans services in the reestablishment of the Mughal empire, and management of the affairs of the government in the early years of Akbars reign, are praiseworthy. The flow of immigration of Persian nobles and officers remained continuous under all the great Mughals - Akbar, Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb. In Jahangirs reign Persian influence increased much more because of the powerful queen Nur Jahan. Her father and brother, Itmad-ud-Daulah and Asaf Khan, rose to dizzy heights. Three of Shahjahans chief nobles-Asaf Khan, Ali Mardan Khan and Mir Jumla-were Persian. Their meritorious services added to the glory of the Mughal Empire. Jadunath Sarkar sums up the situation thus: The Persians were most highly valued for their polished manners, literary ability and capacity for managing the finance and accounts. There was always a keen desire on the part of the Mughal emperors to seduce to their service the higher officers of the Shah of Persia For such officers, when they fell into disgrace in their homeland a flight to India opened a road to honour, power and wealth.¹¹⁶
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Persians alone did not monopolise high offices in the Mughal empire. Young Akbar, insecure on his throne, made overtures to the Ottoman Sultan, Sulaiman the Magnificent, for friendship so as not to remain dependent entirely on Persian goodwill. Qandhar was a bone of contention between the Persian Shah and the Mughal Emperor. Many Persian nobles while serving the Mughals, secretly sympathised with the Safavids. Because of suspicion, Mughal Emperors Shahjahan and the more orthodox Sunni Aurangzeb, began to favour Turani nobles, and a struggle between Irani and Turani nobility hastened the decline if not the fall of the Mughal Empire. With this background, it needs no reitreration that, by and large, Muslim administration drew neither on Indias native tradition nor on native manpower and the development of Muslim administrative system and its implementation and execution in India owed much to foreign elements.
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In the Sultanate of Delhi; in the independent Muslims kingdoms of Gujarat, Malwa, Bengal and the Bahmani kingdom; and in the Mughal empire, that is almost in the whole country Muslim administration based on Muslim law prevailed for five hundred years, at the minimum from the end of the thirteenth to the end of the eighteenth century. Therefore, it did not fail to leave its impress on the administrative system of contemporary or later Indian states. The Rajput, the Maratha and the Sikh kingdoms in particular adopted many institutions and offices of Muslim administration. The British administration in India was partially influenced by Muslim administration. Persian administrative terms were in common use in Indian executive and judiciary right up to the middle of the twentieth century. Therefore, the importance of the legacy of Muslim administration in India has to be assigned its proper place.