Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c6.s3.t2: II. Prices of Commodities
Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c6.s3.t2
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II. Prices of Commodities
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After enumerating some facts about the standard of earnings, it would be worth while to consider some facts about the prices of necessities. We have numerous references to prices of commodities in the accounts of contemporary chroniclers and other writers who speak of prices in times of famine and scarcity as well as those of the periods of over-production and therefore of exceptional cheapness. We will try to form some idea of normal prices by a comparison of rates from the reigns of a few monarchs which are not marked by any violent dislocation of economic life. However, one has to guard against emphasising the accuracy of the results so obtained or the inferences based on them. The means of communication and transport had a great influence on the variation of prices between years of good and bad harvests. The fact that a certain district was physically isolated and found no outlet for its surplus produce in times of plenty or facilities for supply in times of scarcity and famine, produced a standard of prices which were either much lower (in the case of abundance of harvests) or much higher (in scarcity and famine) than can be reached under modern conditions. There is a second consideration which is still more important. When prices are expressed, as is the Indian custom, in terms of the number of the seers sold for a Tanka or Jital, it should not be forgotten that while money prices vary inversely with quantity prices, the percentage of the rise or fall of prices according to the two methods of notation is quite different. ‘Thus’ as the *Imperial Gazetteer of India* (Vol. III, 457) explains ‘if the number of seers obtainable for a rupee (otherwise, the Tanka) is halved, *i.e.*, decreased by 50 per cent., the money price is doubled, *i.e.* rises 100 per cent.; but if the quantity price becomes 50 per cent. more, that is cheaper, the corresponding money price is 33 per cent. lower’. After these considerations, we may further add that our results only answer for Delhi with any confidence and for a small adjoining area. But it is worth while considering the question even within these limitations.
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Let us begin with famine prices. Under Jalal-ud-din Khalji when there was a famine, corn was sold at one Jital per seer.¹ Under Muhammad Tughluq, in exceptionally severe conditions, the price of corn rose to 16 and 17 Jitals per seer.² As a result, people began to die of starvation.² Similarly when Firuz Tughluq attacked Sind and scarcity followed as a result, the price of corn rose to 2 and 3 Tankas per maund (or 3.2 and 4.8 Jitals respectively per seer).³ On his subsequent attack on the same province the corn rose to 8 and 10 Jitals per 5 seers and the pulses to 4 and 5 Tankas per maund (or 6.4 and 8 Jitals per seer respectively).¹
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¹ Compare B., 212.
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² Compare, *ibid.*, 482.
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³ Compare A., 200.
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¹ Ibid., 232-3. ² Elliot, 292. Compare text T.D., 63. ³ Compare the account in J.D.L., 1929, 247-8. ⁴ Compare the opinion of Thomas, 159. ⁵ Compare for figures Thomas, 160, 260, and 283 respectively, Also Barani and Afif.
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Let us now consider some records of exceptionally low prices. The reign of Ibrahim Lodi is an extreme but typical case in this respect. One *Bahloli* bought 10 maunds of corn, 5 seers of oil and 10 yards of coarse cloth. The same coin (which was 1.6 Jital in value) was sufficient to convey a person together with a horse and an attendant and to feed them on the way between Delhi and Agra. According to the chronicler 5 Tankas in those days were sufficient for the maintenance of a whole family and its retainers (who were quite a few then) for a whole month. Even then, the pay of the soldier ranged from 20 to 30 Tankas. The fall in food prices reacted unfavourably on gold and silver, which could be procured only with the greatest difficulty.² Gupta similarly gives instances of exceptionally low prices from Bengal, without, however, appreciating the necessary inference that they either indicate over-production or a decrease of outside demand and are certainly not normal. For instance, the whole marriage ceremony of Chaitanya was performed for a few cowries and the event was ‘referred to as a magnificent instance of costly marriage by the poets who described it’.³
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Barring these cases of an abnormal rise or fall in prices, let us examine the prices under Ala-ud-din Khalji which have been considered to represent the norm.⁴ A comparison between the reigns of Ala-ud-din, Muhammad Tughluq and Firuz Tughluq will show that as a whole the prices of most of these articles as probably of all other goods in proportion, went up under Muhammad Tughluq, but again dropped to the previous level of Ala-ud-din under the latter’s successor. Sugar, for some special reasons, does not follow this movement of prices.⁵
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Let us now examine the prices under Ala-ud-din which we have roughly considered as normal. We give them under three heads :—corn and articles of common use, cloth, and
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| Commodities. | ‘Ala-ud-din. | Muhammad Tughluq. | Firuz Tughluq. |
| | | (Prices in Jitals per maund). | |
| 1. Wheat ... ... ... | 7½ | 12 | 8 |
| 2. Barley ... ... ... | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 3. Paddy ... ... ... | 5 | 14 | ... |
| 4. Pulses ... ... ... | 5 | ... | 4 |
| 5. Lentils ... ... ... | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 6. Sugar (white) ... ... | 100 | 80 | ... |
| 7. Sugar (soft) ... ... | 60 | 64 | 120, 140 |
| 8. Sheep (mutton) ... ... | 10 | 64 | ... |
| 9. Ghi (clarified butter) ... | 16 | ... | 100 |
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domestic slaves.
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(a) *Corn etc.*—(Prices are given per maund). Wheat, 7 Jitals; Barley, 4 Jitals; Paddy (or rice), 5 Jitals; Vetch, 5 Jitals; Pulses, 5 Jitals; Lentils, 3 Jitals; Sugar—white, 100 Jitals, soft, 60 Jitals, unrefined, 20 Jitals. Among other articles :—mutton, cost 10 to 12 Jitals per maund; *Ghi* (clarified butter), from 16 to 26.3 Jitals; sesamum, about 14 Jitals; salt, 2 Jitals. Among animals :—camels could be purchased in two qualities at 12 and 24 Tankas each respectively; the mating bull, at 3 Tankas; beef cows, at 1½ to 2 Tankas each; milking cows, from 3 to 4 Tankas; and buffaloes, from 10 to 12 Tankas; those for beef from 5 to 6 Tankas. Prices of other articles of consumption may be judged accordingly.¹
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¹ Compare Thomas, 159.
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(b) *Cloth* : 1. Muslins.—of Delhi, cost 17 Tankas a piece, of Koil (Aligarh) 6 Tankas. The finest quality muslin cost 2 Tankas a yard.² Another variety called *Mushru* cost 3 Tankas per piece.
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² Compare the estimate of Amir Khusrau I.K., IV, 174.
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2. *Woollen stuffs.*—Blankets of coarse quality (usually with red borders) cost 6 Jitals and those of finer quality 36 Jitals each (*vide* B. MS., 153).
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3. Among other costly materials.—*Shirin* was sold in three varieties at 5, 3, and 2 Tankas per piece respectively; similarly *Salahiya* at 6, 4, and 2 Tankas.
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4. *Linen.*—Ordinary linen was sold at 20 yards for a Tanka and other of a coarser quality at 40 yards a Tanka. A *chadar* or an over-all sheet was sold for 10 Jitals a piece.
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(c) *Domestics and Slaves.*—The prices of slaves and concubines were uncertain, fluctuating according to the fortunes of wars and famines. A skilled slave may have cost anything. No rule could be laid down in these cases. Under Ala-ud-din slaves of rare skill cost 120 Tankas. Badr Chach, the poet, claims to have bought a slave named Gul-chehra (Rose Face) for 900 Tankas (vide Q., 39). Masalik-ul-absar is of opinion that in exceptional cases, slaves even cost as much as 20,000 Tankas and even bigger sums. (Vide E.D., III, 580). For domestic service, under Ala-ud-din a female cost from 5 to 12 Tankas, a concubine, from 10 to 15 Tankas, and a becoming male slave, from 20 to 40 Tankas.¹ Later, in the reign of Muhammad Tughluq, a female domestic cost 8 Tankas and a concubine, 15 Tankas.²
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¹ Compare B., 314.
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² Compare, E.D., III, 580.
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We have very few references to the normal prices in outlying provinces. The prices of those regions depended upon local conditions, and were not likely to be affected as a rule by the conditions prevailing in the Doab area or the surroundings of Delhi. It is therefore very difficult to establish a relation between the prices of Delhi market and those of the provinces. Ibn Batuta who went to Bengal from Delhi quotes the prices as follows :—
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1 chicken at 1 Jital. 15 pigeons for 8 Jitals. 1 ram for 16 Jitals. Excellent cloth, 30 cubits long, for 2 Tankas. Rice for 8 Jitals per maund. Goats for 3 Tankas each. Sugar for 32 Jitals per maund. Refined Sugar for 1 Tanka per maund. Unrefined Sugar for 16 Jitals per maund. Slaves for 8 Tankas.
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It was a popular proverb among the foreign Muslim merchants (the Khorasanis) that ‘Bengal is a hell full of good things’, which indicates the extremely cheap cost of living and the unhealthy climate of the province.³ Gulbadan Begum considered life very cheap at Amarkot in Rajputana, considering that one rupee fetched four goats there.¹
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³ K.R., II, 142-3.
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¹ G., 58.