Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c6.s3.t1: I. The Standards of Life of Different Social Classes

Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c6.s3.t1

Language: English

I. The Standards of Life of Different Social Classes

c6.s3.t1.1

It will help the better understanding of the subject if we examine some items of expenditure, income and earnings of the different social classes we have mentioned earlier.

To take an instance, Sultan Muhammad Tughluq used to present two robes of honour, one in the cold and the other in the hot season to each of his nobles.¹ The number of these robes, according to the account of *Masalik-ul-absar* (which we have quoted earlier), comes to 200,000. Even a modest estimate of the expense of a dress of honour, in which brocade, velvet, and costly material were used, would come to an enormous sum in this case. Take similarly, some items of the supply of royal stores or *karkhanas*. In the reign of Sultan Firuz Tughluq there were 36 different stores full of choice and rare goods. The superintendents of the stores were instructed to buy every rare and equisitely finished article wherever and at whatever price it was available.² A single pair of royal shoes, for example, once cost the treasury 70,000 Tankas.³ Most of the articles of royal use were worked in gold and silver, costly embroidery, and jewels. Consider again, the annual estimate of expenditure of various departments in the *karkhanas*. The fodder and provisions of the royal stables cost the State from sixty to one hundred thousand Tankas, without including in this sum the pay of the permanent staff or the expenditure incurred over the equipments of the establishment. The replenishing of these provisions from time to time cost a similar amount. The expense incurred on the royal wardrobe came to 600,000 Tankas for the cold weather alone. Similarly, the royal standards and ensigns cost 80,000 Tankas, and the carpeting and furnishings 200,000 Tankas annually. These are only a few and by no means the most burdensome items of permanent expenditure.¹ It is easy to guess what the *haram*, the slaves, the body-guards, the establishment of domestic and skilled workmen, the building of palaces, the costly jewels, and precious stones would have cost the State. We may cite in this enumeration a very negligible but amusing item of domestic provisions, from the records of the last Sur Sultan named Adali. It is reported that His Majesty was very delicate and sensitive to bad smell, so that two or three loads of camphor were daily picked up by scavengers from the royal lavatories.²

c6.s3.t1.4

¹ Compare K.R., II, 69-70, for corroboration.

c6.s3.t1.5

² A., 99.

c6.s3.t1.6

³ Ibid., 401.

c6.s3.t1.7

¹ Compare A., 337-338.

c6.s3.t1.8

² Compare M.T., I, 435.

c6.s3.t1.9

Let us now consider some items of extraordinary expenditure, which, however, were a regular feature of the Sultanat. Take, for instance, the expense incurred on royal gifts every year. Every Sultan gave away something to somebody for almost any excuse and almost every day. A royal gift, moreover, was distinguished by its quality and value. We will explain elsewhere the utility and the value of these royal gifts. Let us examine here certain characteristic cases. Sultan Ala-ud-din Khaiji is not particularly famous for his liberality, but his gifts, when he ascended the throne, were enormous. On other occasions too, he was not quite what one may call frugal or economizing³ The name of Muhammad Tughluq is a classic example for fabulous gifts of money. To put it in the figurative language of the contemporary chronicler, ‘he was anxious to bestow the treasures of Qarun, ‘the Oriental Korah’ on one and the hoards of the Kayanis, the Persian Emperors, on the other, all in a single gift. His indiscriminate liberality did not stop to differentiate between the deserving and the undeserving, between an acquaintance and a stranger, between a new and an old friend, between a citizen and a foreigner, or between the rich and the poor. All of them appeared to him just the same. Nay more, the gift of monarch preceded the request and the amount or the value of the donation exceeded the wildest expectations of the receiver; so that the latter was literally confounded. The recipients of the royal bounty numbered thousands and were scattered over many countries. In giving his gifts, it appears he did not take into consideration a lower unit than a *lac* (hundred thousand) and a *kror* (ten millions) of Tankas or a measure less than a maund of gold, silver or valuables. The chronicler then goes on to explain that the high-minded Sultan disdained to look upon gold, silver, pearls, and emeralds except as potsherds and stones.¹ Many of the administrative measures of this monarch can be better appreciated in the light of these propensities. It is true that an unfortunate successor of a great Sultan had to be content with some sort of economy as a virtue of necessity. But it was only just so long as the necessary funds were not forthcoming. These examples always left a glorious precedent for the successors to follow; and if their means did not permit them, the fault was not theirs.²

c6.s3.t1.10

³ Compare, for instance, his reward to his *kotwal* of an embroidered robe of honour, 10,000 Tankas in cash, two horses with trappings, and a gift of two rent-free villages, in return for common-sense advice (*vide* B., 271).

c6.s3.t1.11

¹ Compare the estimate of Barani, B., 460.

c6.s3.t1.12

² Compare M.T., I, 418, for a very amusing example of the last Sur monarch, Adali, who wanted to go down in history as a second Muhammad Tughluq. On coming to the throne, he elaborated a novel idea of making himself conspicuous for his royal gifts. He had special arrows made for himself which he used to shoot out indiscriminately in all directions. The lucky person who chanced to pick up one of these arrows was entitled to draw 500 Tankas from the royal treasury. Unfortunately the meagre resources of his kingdom did not permit even such a modest amount of display and the plan had to be abandoned, perhaps not without genuine grief on the part of the monarch and his admirers.

c6.s3.t1.13

Besides these occasional gifts, some occasions were particularly marked out for lavish expenditure, the accession of a monarch being one of them. On the accession of Ala-ud-din Khalji, gold and silver were showered for crowds from catapults; gifts of gold were given to nobles by weight and one gift did not debar the recipient from receiving another. As a result, his homicidal crime was completely forgotten and instead of discontent and disapprobation, there was a general spirit of rejoicing throughout the country.³ The gifts of Ala-ud-din Khalji, though somewhat exaggerated in volume, were a rule and not an exception. Sultan Muhammad Tughluq, Sultan Firuz Tughluq, the latter in spite of a depleted treasury, and the Mughal emperors, all made it a point to spend huge sums of money in their own way on coming to the throne.¹

c6.s3.t1.14

³ Compare the comments of Barani, B., 248. Barani gives a vivid description of these catapults which Ala-ud-din used on every stage in his march towards Delhi. He scattered 5 maunds of gold coins in basketfuls (or *jhawwas*) and before he arrived in Delhi, he had gathered round him 50,000 to 60,000 adherents on the way. Every noble who deserted to him received 20 to 30 maunds of gold, and in some cases even 50 maunds. Every soldier who came over to him received 300 Tankas (*ibid.*, 243-244). Like Barani, Amir Khusrau also uses the term *Jhawwas* (*vide* K.F., 6, 8)

c6.s3.t1.15

¹ Compare the account of Barani for the accession of Muhammad Tughluq—when the royal procession passed the streets in Delhi, handfuls of gold and silver coins were scattered to the crowds throughout, in obscure lanes, on the roofs of houses, and into the arms of passers-by. When the royal procession entered the palace the nobles and high officials scattered platefuls of gold and silver as an offering to the health of the Sultan (*Nisar*) In short, according to the chronicler, the city of Delhi looked like a garden strewn with ‘red and white flowers’ enhancing its glory (*vide* B., 456.7). Similarly when Firuz Tughluq came to the throne, six triumphal arch pavillions were constructed to welcome him at the capital, each one costing a lac of Tankas (*vide* A., 88). At the royal banquet in honour of the coronation of Humayun 10,000 tiaras, to speak only of one item, were awarded to the nobles, besides excellent horses and robes of honour (*vide* T.A., I, 194. Lucknow, edition).

c6.s3.t1.16

Besides such occasional expenditure, minor occasions also cost the treasury a large amount. For instance, if the Sultan went to a place for the first time, his august visit was celebrated with suitable gifts and entertainments.² For the State, the Sultan and his vast *entourage* was a very great drain of public money.³ Unfortunately his requirements did not cease with his earthly existence, and were looked after by the State even after his death. When a monarch died, a big establishment with a special staff was created to look after his spiritual assistance in the next world; a costly mausoleum was constructed over his grave; charity houses were opened around it; and special reciters of the Holy Book were constantly busy offering prayers for the benefit of the royal soul. An immense quantity of food was spent in charitable feeding which attracted an unusually large crowd of professional beggars to the capital.⁴

c6.s3.t1.17

² Compare M.T., I, 409-10 for the visit of Salim Sur to Kalpi, when he ordered the universal distribution of sweetmeats and mangoes of Bayana to the cost of 2 lacs of rupees, to celebrate the royal visit among the people of Ranthambhor.

c6.s3.t1.18

³ Compare for instance Q.S., 77, how when the Sultan Kaiqubad and his entourage halted at Jaipur ‘the earth was denuded of all grass and the river dried of water and thanks to the compulsory requisitions of the royal party the people were left without any food for themselves or grass and fodder for their animals’.

c6.s3.t1.19

⁴ Compare K.K. 864 for beggars in Delhi. Compare the account of Ibn Batuta for the establishment of the mausoleum of Sultan Qutb-ud-din

c6.s3.t1.20

which has been confused with *akhtar* and translated golden ‘stars’ instead of ‘basketfuls’ (*vide* E.D., III, 158). The term in its original sense is still used in the United Provinces.

c6.s3.t1.21

We have already said something about the resources of the Sultan of Delhi and the royal hoards of silver and gold. It remains to add that over and above the heavy land taxes, the cesses (abwabs) and special taxes, import duties and tributes, the whole kingdom and its resources was at the command of the Sultan. He had absolute power to confiscate and appropriate the property of others.¹ If the resources of his kingdom failed to meet his demands, there was no international law or moral opinion to stop him from invading a neighbouring kingdom and converting his conquest into a new source of income.

c6.s3.t1.22

¹ Compare B., 250-1 for an illustration from the reign of Sultan Ala-ud-din Khalji.

c6.s3.t1.23

B. The bureaucracy and State employees.—With an obvious difference of degree, the State nobles followed the royal traditions. The idea of a family budget or of domestic economy was as foreign to their scheme of life as it was to the monarch's. One of the main reasons for the development of this peculiar outlook, as has been pointed out before, was the fact that all their honours and emoluments were personal. There was thus no incentive for saving or economizing and no room for the development of social virtues which foster it.² The noble, in his turn, played the part of a Sultan (or of a Raja in a Hindu State). He must have as big an establishment as possible. He must have his musicians and poets and he must give them thousands of Tankas and beautiful horses and dresses in reward. The marriage of his children, as of the royal princes and princesses, must be celebrated with conspicuous display and distinction; and he should also provide for his spiritual care in the next world by creating suitable institutions of charity and by appointing a goodly number of Qur'an-reciters during his lifetime. The amount of expenses which the nobles incurred is almost

c6.s3.t1.24

² Compare an exposition of Sher Khan T.F., I, 416.

c6.s3.t1.25

Aibak in Delhi. Muhammad Tughluq assigned for it an allowance of 100,000 maunds of wheat and rice. The rations for the poor and needy were fixed at 12 maunds of flour and a similar quantity of corn per day. In times of scarcity Ibn Batuta (who was supervising the arrangements) raised the allowance to 35 maunds of wheat and flour with a proportionate addition to the quantity of sugar, ghi and betel-leaves. (Vide K.R., II, 85); also G., 25-6. Compare also Macauliffe I, 181 for the offer of Guru Nanak of his famous minstrel, Mardana, to raise a mausoleum over his grave after the death of the latter.

c6.s3.t1.26

staggering in modern money values.¹

c6.s3.t1.27

¹ Compare the remarks of Tod regarding Rajput vassals. The court and the household economy of a great chieftain is a miniature representation of the sovereigns, the same officers, from the pradhan, or minister, to the cup-bearer (paniyari) as well as the same domestic arrangement. He must have his *shish-mahal*, his *bari-mahal*, and his *mandir* like his prince. He enters the *dari-sala* or carpet-hall, the minstrel preceding him rehearsing the praises of his family; and he takes his seat on his throne, while the assembled retainers marshalled in the right and left, simultaneously exclaim ‘Health to our chief!’ (*Vide* Tod I, 199-200.) For the establishments of the nobles see Chapter III. Compare B., 113 for the gift of all his horses and 10,000 Tankas to poets and minstrels by Kishli Khan, a noble of Balban; compare *ibid*., 197 (MS. 220) for Sultan Jalal-ud-din maintaining many poets even when he was a muster-master. He used to pay 1,200 Tankas a year to the father of Amir Khusrau. Compare K.R., II, 36 for a noble of Muhammad Tughluq named Mir Qabula (Mir Maqbul) spending three and a half million Tankas on his personal establishment. Compare B., 118 for a noble of Balban named Malik Ali who never gave horse to anyone without a purse of silver and always gave a gold or silver coin to a beggar. Compare *ibid*., 202 how Mlaik Quth-ud-din Alawi, a noble of Jalal-ud-din Khalji, spent 200,000 Tankas in days of scarcity on the marriage of his eldest son. He further distributed 100 horses with trappings and one thousand robes to celebrate the event. Similarly the nephew of Jalal-ud-din, Ahmad Chap once invited the royal musicians to sing at his house and gave them 100,000 Tankas, 100 horses, and 320 dresses (*vide ibid*., 203). Compare also the example of Fakhr-ud-din Kotwal, a noble of Balban, who used to maintain 12,000 Qur’an-reciters and provided 1,000 dowries for poor girls every year. He is reported never to have slept on the same bed twice or worn the same suit of clothes a second time. (*Vide* B., 117-8) Compare also the instance of Imad-ul-mulk, the muster-master of Balban, who entertained all his staff once a year when he gave them 20,000 Tankas collectively and a dress each. He further provided his staff every day with a mid-way meal when no less than 50 trayfuls of choicest dishes were served (*vide ibid*., B. 115-7).

c6.s3.t1.28

Let us now consider some facts about the pay and the emoluments of the nobles, for a better appreciation of their expenditure and general extravagance. We have spoken of their revenue-assignments in an earlier part. We have also had occasion to mention the emoluments of certain officials. The pay and emoluments of officials were personal and not in virtue of their office. It is therefore difficult to lay down a uniform rule of incomes. However, the few facts we have gathered will give some idea. Sultan Jalal-ud-din Khalji was pleased to appoint an old friend as his *vakil-i-dar* and assigned for him the sum of 100,000 Jitals.² Under Muhammad Tughluq, the *Naib* of the Sultan enjoyed the income of a province as large as Iraq; the *wazir* was paid a similar amount; the *four ministers* received from 20,000 to 40,000 Tankas each, every year; the *secretarial staff*, of about 300 persons, received the minimum salary of 10,000 Tankas per year, some of them getting as much as 50,000 Tankas; the *Sadr-i-Jahan* and the *Shaikh-ul-Islam* were paid 60,000 a year; even the *Muhtasib* or the Public Censor had a whole village assigned to him.¹ Now, let us examine some figures from the reign of Sultan Firuz Tughluq. The wazir of the Sultan, the famous *Khan-i-Jahan* was paid a million and a half Tankas on the revenue-assignment and a separate personal allowance. He had a few thousand females in his *haram* and was prolific in children. The State assigned separate allowances to all his sons and sons-in-law whose number was unusually large.²

c6.s3.t1.29

² B., 195.

c6.s3.t1.30

¹ Compare E.D., III, 578-579 for the account of *Masalik-ul-absar*.

c6.s3.t1.31

² Compre A., 297, 400.

c6.s3.t1.32

Let us now give some idea of the individual wealth of certain nobles. Among the nobles of Firuz Tughluq, Malik Shahin bequeathed a fortune of 50,000 Tankas, exclusive of valuables, jewels, and other property³; Bashir, another noble of Firuz, accumulated the vast sum of 160 millions.⁴ At a later date, an Afghan noble named Miyan Muhammad Kalapahar is reported to have possessed 300 maunds of gold.⁵ The Hindu nobles of the Sultans of Bengal were not very far behind. Hiranya and Govardhan Das owned seven villages and more than a million Tankas in cash.⁶ We have already referred to a minister of Malwa and to Hemu, the Hindu General of the last Afghan monarch. The emoluments of other high officials and nobles of the kingdom can be imagined accordingly.⁷ For the lesser nobility and for retired officials, a general rule was laid down that they were to be paid sufficient funds by the State to maintain them in dignity and honour.⁸ Among other employees of the State the more important were minor military officers, the soldiers, and the revenue agents or *Muqaddims*.

c6.s3.t1.33

³ A., 297.

c6.s3.t1.34

⁴ Ibid., 440.

c6.s3.t1.35

⁵ T.S.S., 346.

c6.s3.t1.36

⁶ Sircar 196.

c6.s3.t1.37

⁷ Compare B., 294.

c6.s3.t1.38

⁸ Compare Barani, B., 292.

c6.s3.t1.39

We are not able to trace the pay of the various grades of military ranks. In one important case we know that when some aged military officers were dismissed by Sultan Balban, he assigned for them a pension or a monthly allowance of 40 to 50

c6.s3.t1.40

Tankas.¹ The pay of the soldier was fixed by Sultan Ala-ud-din at 234 Tankas per year or 19½ Tankas per month with an extra annual allowance of 78 Tankas in the case of a *do-aspa* soldier for the additional horse.² The soldier was always paid in cash, annually or in periodical instalments.³ The *Muqaddim*, the village headman or the revenue agent occupied a semi-official position. He realized the land revenue for the government from his village and was paid a certain percentage of commission on the realized amount. He was also allowed certain other privileges in matters of personal cultivation. The gains of the Muqaddim could not be controlled by the administration. His clandestine and open appropriation of realized revenue in times of trouble, his realization of unjust and excessive taxes and perquisites and his financial gain from every period of administrative disorganization brought him a respectable fortune.⁴ Sultan Ala-ud-din was greatly annoyed because like other big nobles the village headman had also cultivated a fondness for beautiful dresses, for Persian bows and arrows, and for going to the chase riding on a beautiful horse. In the interest of a strong and stable administration, the oppressive and dishonest tendencies of this class had to be curbed with a strong hand. But even when Ala-ud-din Khalji was anything but indulgent and kind towards them, he did not forget to fix the minimum standard of their life at a much higher level than that of the most prosperous among the peasants. He permitted them to retain ‘four bullocks for purposes of cultivation, two buffaloes, two milking cows and twelve goats’.⁵

c6.s3.t1.41

¹ B., 62-3.

c6.s3.t1.42

² *Ibid.*, 303.

c6.s3.t1.43

³ *Ibid.*, 319.

c6.s3.t1.44

⁴ B., 291 for an estimate of Barani.

c6.s3.t1.45

⁵ Compare Firishta, 191.

c6.s3.t1.46

It would be advisable to give some idea of the life of a domestic servant or a slave in this place, as most of them were employed by government officials. We have already emphasized the fact that the amount of labour expended in the performance of personal services is an outstanding economic fact of the period. To illustrate from the life of the highest officials, we will give the example of the Muster-master of Sultan Balban who employed 50 to 60 domestics for the service of betel-leaves.

c6.s3.t1.47

alone.¹ In one case, Amir Khusrau informs us that a wet nurse was paid 10 Tankas for suckling a child.² We are better informed regarding the lives of domestic slaves. The slave of an ordinary person did not require any wages or payment whatsoever, as will appear from the discussion of the status of a slave earlier. The Sultan alone gave his slaves a recognized status and fixed their wages. Sultan Muhammad Tughluq is reported to have paid his slaves a daily ration of three seers of meat together with other ingredients and spices and a monthly ration of 2 maunds of wheat and rice. Besides these allowances, they were paid 10 Tankas per month and four suits of clothes every year.³ Firuz Tughluq who was more solicitous for the welfare of his slaves paid them from 10 to 100 Tankas per month from the royal treasury according to arrangements.⁴

c6.s3.t1.48

¹ Compare B., 117 referred to in a previous paragraph. Compare the remarks of Moreland for conditions under Akbar. India etc., 87.

c6.s3.t1.49

² I.K., II, 152.

c6.s3.t1.50

³ Compare the version of Masalik-ul-absar, E.D., III, 577.

c6.s3.t1.51

⁴ Compare Afif's accounts, A., 270.

c6.s3.t1.52

C. Trades and skilled professions.—We have spoken about the traders in the previous part. We will only observe in this connection that the state carefully protected the property and the rights of tradesmen within certain limits. It also appears that while the private property of the nobles was looked upon with suspicion, the possessions of the traders were scrupulously respected. In fact, Sultan Firuz Tughluq severely reprimanded the vile informers who maliciously directed the attention of the Sultan towards the growing wealth of some trader or banker with a view to appropriate it in part or whole.⁵ It is no wonder then, that the class of merchants (vaisyas) as a whole were literate and prosperous, and held much land free of rent.¹

c6.s3.t1.53

⁵ Compare Firuz Shah's own declaration to this effect F., 15. Compare for instance B., 283 for the measures of confiscation of Sultan Ala-ud-din Khalji which definitely excluded the property and wealth of the Hindu bankers and Multanis from their sphere of operation. Compare also the case of Sultan Muhammad Tughluq who transported the whole population of Delhi en masse to Deogir and paid suitable compensation to people who sold their houses and property. The officials in this instance did not require any compensation. We believe these measures were designed in part to compensate people for the loss of independent professions and trades. Compare also Raverty, 729 for an armourer who offers his slave for sale (and not as a gift) to Sultan Iltutmish; I.K., 272 Amir Khusrau's advice to his son on the choice of a career; P., 123-126 on the prospects of profit in trading. Compare also Macaulay I, 23, 30 for the advice of Kalu the father of Nanak who insists that his son should take to trade.

c6.s3.t1.54

¹ Compare Gupta, Bengal, etc., 157 for a characteristic prayer of the Vaisyas to Saraswati the goddess of prosperity: ‘The goddess Vani is bountiful to us all, we can all read and write. We are the ornaments of a town. Decide to give us the best lands and houses and make them rent free’.

c6.s3.t1.55

Among skilled professions, that of the physician was fairly well established in all big towns and capital cities of Hindustan.² Some of them who were employed in the royal household have been mentioned earlier. Any new discovery in medical treatment or the introduction of an improved method brought fame and a fair measure of wealth to the enterprising physicians.³ We have already dealt with skilled workers in the previous chapter and noted the fact that information about their wages and the standard of their life is not available.

c6.s3.t1.56

² Compare B.M.M.S. of Basatin-ul-uns for an interesting and detailed description of a Muslim physician of Delhi. Compare also Macauliffe I, 26 for the attendance of a physician when Nanak was supposed to be suffering from an ailment.

c6.s3.t1.57

³ Compare Sircar, 157, how some Hindu physicians had become famous by introducing the ‘mercurial treatment prescribed in the Tantras’.

c6.s3.t1.58

Among minor workmen, we know the wages of some who were employed in conveying people between Delhi and Firuzabad (a distance of 5 krohs or about 10 miles). The charge of riding a carriage came to 4 Jitals, of mules 6 Jitals, on horseback 12 Jitals and in a palanquin (palki) 25 Jitals.⁴ It is not clear how much the animals cost to keep, or how many persons hired them on an average every month. Very low figures, which are clearly unreliable, are quoted from Bengal for such religious services among Muslims as the butchering of fowl or goats, and the performing of nikah or marriage ceremony.⁵

c6.s3.t1.59

⁴ Compare A., 135-6; also Amir Khusrau of ‘earners of honest wages’, M.A., 128.

c6.s3.t1.60

⁵ Compare Gupta, Bengal, etc., 91. The equivalents in present money values, as given by the author, do not give any correct idea of wages of those times.