History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c33.s5.18

v3.c33.s5.18

Nor do we think that Lane-Poole's remark that Mahmud was not a statesman can be justified. The reason why his empire fell as soon as he passed away was entirely different. In the first place we do not know for certain that Mahmud did not initiate any new methods of government or that he made no attempt to organise and consolidate his acquisitions. There are no records either to prove or disprove this statement. We have no author like Abul Fazal who wrote the Ain-i-Akbari and gave us full details about Akbar's administration, to tell us how Mahmud administered his empire. But that it was a well-organised and well-conducted government we cannot doubt. We are told by Utbi that full records were kept at Ghazni even of his expeditions and that Mahmud himself, like Babar, wrote memoirs in the midst of his wars and sent them home. An extract is given by Utbi from his memoir written from Mathura in the very bustle and turmoil of fighting and plundering, admiring the beauties of the temples of Mathura. There were registers of the provinces and of their revenues and expenditures and provincial governors were strictly supervised by the minister who regularly attended the Diwan or office. The working of an ordered administration clearly appears from the gossipping tales of Baihaki also. Although, therefore, we do not know the exact nature of the system of Mahmud's administration, there is no doubt that it was a well-ordered system. Whether it was new or whether it was copied from the system of administration of the Samanide empire of which Ghazni was originally a subordinate member, we do not know. But even if Mahmud followed carefully and strictly an old system it would itself prove his statesmanship. Even Shivaji kept on, to a large extent, the old system of administration at Bijapur, while introducing many changes which were necessary for his Swaraj and the new spirit of a Hindu king. Akbar's administrative system was no doubt new and original but he had to rule an extensive empire inhabited by aliens in race and religion and comprising provinces differing in every detail such as land, climate, and people.