Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c8.46

c8.46

The purchasing power of the Tanka and the standard of incomes.—We have already referred to the difficulty of fixing the average income. We shall only recapitulate some figures for better appreciation and comparisons. Taking the wages of the slaves of Muhammad Tughluq and Firuz Tughluq, we may say that 10 Tankas per month was about the minimum wage for an employee of the Sultan. The soldier was paid at 19½ Tankas per month. The cost of living works out at a figure of 5 Tankas per month for the average family, if we take as a basis the evidence furnished by *Tarikh-i-Daudi* and *Masalik-ul absar*. All these figures, however, are obviously rough and tentative and do not take into account the bewildering variety of the incomes of various social classes.