The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c24.s3.1

c24.s3.1

During the thirteenth century there was no lower unit of administration than the *iqta*. But with the growth of the Sultanate and the effective suppression of the Hindu chieftains, it was found necessary in the fourteenth century to sub-divide the provinces into *shiqs*. Perhaps this was not done in every province. We know that Muhammad bin Tughluq divided the viceroyalty of the Dakhin into four *shiqs* and that the Doab was divided into *shiqs*. At the head of a *shiq* there was a *shiqdar*. He was, probably, a military officer and his duty was to maintain law and order in his jurisdiction. A little later, a smaller unit of administration than the *shiq* came into existence. It was an aggregate of a number of villages and was called *pargana*. Ibn Buttuta refers to a 'sadi' or a collection of a hundred villages as an administrative unit. We do not know definitely about the designation and the duties of the officers of the *parganas*. There were a *chaudhari* and a collector of revenue in each *pargana*. The lowest unit was the village which had its own indigenous administration. There was in every village a *panchayat* to settle disputes. The people of the village constituted a small commonwealth and looked after their affairs and arranged for defence, watch and ward, elementary education and sanitation. Normally, they were not interfered with by the Sultan. Every village had then, as now, a *chaukidar* and a revenue officer, called *patwari*.