The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c16.s8: Appendix H: Taxes Abolished by Fīrūz Shāh

The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehlī c16.s8

Language: English

Appendix H: Taxes Abolished by Fīrūz Shāh

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(i) as mentioned by 'Afīf :—
1. dāngānah.
2. mustaghil.
3. jazzārī.
4. dūrī, suggested readings, rūzī, rorī. Dūrī = distance; rūzī, from rūz = day; rorī, a Hindī word meaning old bricks. It may be any of these words for the trader had to spend a day in bringing old bricks from a distance.

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(ii) as mentioned in the Futūḥāt-i-Fīrūzshāhī [B.M. or 2039, f. 300a : Printed text, pp. 5, 6]:—
1. mandwī barg —mandwī = market, barg = leaf; but this cannot be a tax on vegetables, for the Sīrat mentions a tax called khuḍrāwāt which must have been a vegetable tax. Barg means 'leaves'; in all probability this was a tax on leaves sold in the state market. Leaves are used even now in Hindu homes and shops instead of utensils.
2. dalālat-i-bāzārhā = a tax on brokers (dallāl = broker).
3. jazzārī —vide Chapter VI.
4. amīrī-ṭ-ṭarab = amusement tax, probably paid to the amīr-i-ṭarab appointed by the state to control musicians, dancers and festive gatherings.

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5. *gul-farūshī* = tax on the sale of flowers.
6. *darībah-i-tambūl* = tax on the sale of betel leaves sold in the state market. The printed text has *jiziyah-i-tambūl* which means 'a tax on betel leaves.' *Sīrat-i-Fīrūzshāhī* also has *darībah*.
7. *chungī-i-ghallah* = octroi on grain and cereals (*chungī* = handful).
8. *kitābī* = a tax on letter-writers, legal scribes, etc.
9. *nilgarī* = a tax on the manufacture of indigo. The printed text has *belgarī* which is unlikely. *Sīrat-i-Fīrūzshāhī* has *nilgarī*.
10. *māhī-farūshī* = a tax on the sale of fish.
11. *nadāfī* = a tax on the carders of cotton
12. *ṣābungarī* = a tax on soap-making.
13. *rīsmān-farūshī* = a tax on selling ropes.
14. *rūghangarī* = a tax on oil-making.
15. *nakhūd-i-biryān* = a tax on parched gram.
16. *tah-bāzārī* = a tax on stall-keepers on public land (used in this sense in parts of North India even to-day).
17. *jhabbah* = This is probably *chhappah*, meaning print. A tax on printed cloth. *Jhabbah* may mean a basket and the tax might be on petty hawkers of fruit and vegetables who carry their wares in baskets or it might have been levied from the makers of such baskets. The printed text has *chhattah* which means a covered passage. When a citizen owns property on either side of a lane, he may connect the two by building a roof like a bridge between the two. Such a structure is called a chhattah and this tax might be on such buildings. This reading is however unlikely.

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18. qimār-khānah = a tax on gambling places.
19. dādbekī = court-fees.
20. kotwālī = police dues.
21. iḥtisābī = perquisites of the muḥtasib.
22. karhī = vide Appendix I.
23. charā’ī = grazing tax, vide Appendix I.
24. muṣādarāt = fines of various kinds.

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[These names have been reproduced in accordance with the latest readings.]

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The printed text (p. 5) adds the following :—

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Qaṣṣābī a tax on butchers, this is the same as jazzārī, hence several manuscripts omit it.

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Kūzah-i-khishtpuzī this should be kūzah-wa-khishtpuzī—a tax on potteries and brick kilns.

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(iii) as mentioned in the Sīrat-i-Fīrūzshāhī :—

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All the taxes mentioned in (ii) with the following exceptions :

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kabābī instead of kitābī. In this case the tax would be on roast mince sausages.

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khiḍrāwāt = a tax on vegetables.

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dāngānah = mentioned in (i).

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Most of the taxes mentioned in this appendix fall under the category mentioned in Inshā-i-Māhrū (Letter XXXI) as kharāj-i-muḥtarifah-i-Muslim, that is, the tax levied from Muslim artisans. This authority also mentions a few taxes peculiar to Multān.

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It will be useful to compare this list with the taxes mentioned by Kautilya in his Arthaśāstra (pp. 63-65) :—

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Sources of income.

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1. mines.
2. buildings and gardens.
3. forests.
4. herds of cattle.
5. roads.
6. tolls.
7. fines.
8. weights and measures.

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9. town clerk. 10. superintendent of coinage.
11. superintendent of seals and passports.
12. liquor. 13. slaughter of animals.
14. threads.
15. oils.
16. clarified butter.
17. sugar.
18. state goldsmiths.
19. warehouse of merchandise.
20. prostitutes.
21. gambling.
22. building sites.
23. corporation of artisans and handicraftsmen.
24. superintendent of gaols.
25. taxes collected at the gates.
26. produce from crown lands.
27. portion of produce payable to the state.
28. religious taxes.
29. kara (taxes paid in money).
30. merchants.
31. superintendent of rivers, ferries, boats and ships.
32. towns.
33. pasture land.
34. road cess.
35. ropes.
36. ropes to bind thieves.
37. all produce from mines.
38. corals, conch shells, etc.
39. gardens of flowers, fruit and vegetables.
40. fields.
41. forests for game, timber or elephants.
42. herds of cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, asses, camels, horses and mules.
43. land and waterways.
44. compensation for damages.
45. property of men dying without heirs etc.

Linked texts (1)

Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit