History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c12.130

c12.130

In reorganising the services of the state the Sultan made a marked departure from the accepted policy. The introduction of the alien element in the state to such a large extent was induced by two reasons—the competence of the foreigners to manage properly the affairs of his growing empire and the desire of the Sultan to make himself famous all over the Muslim world. The former was the stronger motive. When a foreigner came into the country, he had to enter into a covenant with the Sultan that he would join his service, otherwise he was not allowed to proceed on his journey. This agreement was attested by the Qazi and signed by the person concerned.³⁹ The highest offices in the state were thrown open to the foreigners. At times the Sultan carried his partiality towards the foreigners too far and showed a lack of discrimination, as is evidenced by the appointment of Ibn Batutah as the Qazi of Dihli. The traveller protested that he was not competent to administer justice according to the Hanafi law of which he was ignorant, but the Sultan overruled his objections and appointed Baha-al-Din Multani and Kamal-al-Din Bijnori to assist him in the performance of his duties.⁴⁰