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Mughal Administration c6: Chapter II.

Mughal Administration c6

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English

Contents

Chapter II.

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The Sovereign and the Departmental Heads

§ 1. The Mughal Sovereign's legal position and powers.

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According to the theory of the Quranic law, the sovereign is only the commander of the true believers (*āmīr-ul-mumnin*) and is responsible to the general body (*jamāit*) of the Muslims for the proper discharge of his duties. But no constitutional machinery for controlling or judging him, such as a parliament or council of ministers responsible to the people, was in existence in any Muhammadan country or even conceived of. The Muslim State was essentially a military State, and depended for its existence on the absolute authority of the monarch, who was also its supreme general. The Roman Imperator's functions were similar, but according to the constitution of Rome, the sanction of the Senate to important measures of State and the popular election of the chief officials were devised as checks (however futile in practice) on the Emperor's absolutism. No such check existed in the Islamic world even in theory, though in practice the sovereign's action was often influenced by his fear of the Muslim soldiery and his reluctance to incur social odium.

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No doubt, it was open to a number of theologians (*ulema*) to issue a decree deposing the sovereign as a violator of the Quranic law and therefore unfit to reign. But the only means of enforcing such a decree was a rebellion. There was no constitutional body that could peacefully depose one king and set up another. In fact, the successful removal of a tyrannical Sultan always implied the rise of a pretender with a superior military force at his back. The regular forces of the State were bound to obey the king *de facto* and not the *ulema* nor the council of ministers.

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The Mughal Emperor had no regular council of ministers. The *wazir* or *diwān* was the highest person below the Emperor, but the other officers were in no sense his colleagues. They were admittedly inferior to him and deserved rather to be called secretaries than ministers, because nearly all their work was liable to revision by the wazir, and royal orders were often transmitted to them through him.

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As a matter of practice, when the Emperor held his private consultation or *diwān-i-khās*, the other high officers (*viz.*, the chief Paymaster, the chief Qazi, the High Steward and the Commander-in-chief, if any), usually attended along with the wazir, and were consulted. But many important questions were decided by the Emperor and the wazir alone without the knowledge of the other ministers. It need hardly be said that neither the lower ministers nor even the wazir could serve as a check on the royal will. They could advise but never vote, and the insecurity and dependence of their position made it impossible for them to contradict the king even when he was clearly going on a wrong course. The Mughal government was, therefore, a one man rule, and Aurangzib, like his contemporary Louis XIV, was really his own prime-minister.

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From this it will be seen that the Mughal Emperor had no Cabinet in the modern sense of the term. His ministers were mere secretaries who carried out the royal will in matters of detail ; but they could never influence his policy except by the arts of gentle persuasion and veiled warning ; they never resigned if he rejected their counsels. In short, the ministers directed the administration only when the Emperor slept. Such ministerial control was really a violation of the spirit of the constitution, (if I may use the name, where the thing did not exist) ; it indicated a state of anarchy like the periods when the Witenagemot effectively controlled the royal government of Anglo-Saxon England.

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The immensity of the Mughal Emperor's power can be judged from the fact that he was the head of the Church and the State alike. Every Muslim sovereign is, in strict theory, the Khalif of the age, or the latest successor of the Prophet in the command of the faithful, and so long as he is not deposed by the verdict of the Quranic lawyers, his power is supreme.

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The Mughal Emperors, like all other Islamic sovereigns, had to play a twofold part; *viz.*, to govern all the people in their dominions as their king, and also to be the missionary defender and agent of the creed of a *section* of their subjects. Therefore, from the Muhammadan portion of their subjects they levied the *zakāt* or tithes, amounting to one-fortieth of every man's annual increase, which they were bound to spend for the benefit of the faithful only,—by building mosques, subsidizing pious men and theological teachers, endowing saints' tombs and monasteries, relieving Muslim paupers and providing dowries for Muslim maidens. This zakāt passed into the public treasury in the same way as the land-tax or the custom duty. The best illustration of the Emperor's headship of the Church and the State alike is furnished by the fact that in later ages the Muhammadan rulers abused their trust by spending the zakat on their personal needs or for the general purposes of the Government.

§ 2. The Daily Life of a Mughal Emperor.

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In the Persian histories we find full descriptions of the way in which the Mughal Emperors used to spend the day. [See Studies in Aurangzib's Reign ii.]

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After doing his morning prayer and devotional reading, and appearing at the balcony of the salute (darshan) where he looked at elephant-combats and the parade of cavalry, the Emperor held his public audience in the Diwān-i-ām hall for two hours. The Paymaster-General reported to him the petitions of the military officers and immediately received His Majesty's orders on them, giving promotions to some, new posts to others. Officers who had come from the provinces and those newly appointed to some province or post were then presented by the heads of their departments...Next came the clerks of the department of the Crownlands or the Emperor's Privy purse. Through their chiefs they submitted their various proposals and received orders.

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Then the courtiers who enjoyed the Emperor's confidence placed before him the despatches of the princes, governors and other provincial officers and also the presents sent by them. The letters of the princes and chief officers were read by the Emperor; the purport of the rest was reported to him. When this work was over, the Chief Sadar reported the important points in the despatches of the provincial Sadars. He also brought to the Emperor's notice cases of needy scholars, Sayyids, Shaikhs, and pious men, and secured grants of money for them.

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Then, the orders previously passed about mansabs, jagirs, cash grants and other financial matters, were submitted to the Emperor a second time for confirmation. Next, the officers of the imperial stables paraded before His Majesty the horses and elephants, in order to show whether they were well-nourished, or whether their fixed rations had been stolen.

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The Public Audience being over, the Emperor met his highest ministers and a few select persons in the hall of Private Audience (*Diwān-i-khās*) and transacted business of a confidential nature. Answers to the most important despatches received were here written, and *farmāns* were ordered to be drafted in reply to the others, according to the Emperor's verbal instructions. The highest revenue officers now reported on very important matters connected with the Crownlands &c. and learnt the Emperor's pleasure on each point. The Head Almoner brought to His Majesty's notice special cases of needy men, who received gifts. Then the works of skilful artisans, jewellers &c. and the plans of royal buildings to be constructed were examined and discussed.

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This was followed when necessary by a secret council in the Shāh-burj tower to which only the wazir, and sometimes one or two specially invited officers, were admitted.

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In the afternoon, a short public darbār was held after 3 P.M., if there was any business to be done. The courtiers and the officers of that night's guard made their evening salute, and the royal standards (qur) were presented.

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In the evening, after candles had been lighted, the Emperor held a soiree in the Diwān-i-khās. Shah Jahan used to spend nearly two hours here, with his chosen associates, partly in attending to the administration and partly in pleasure.—such as vocal and instrumental music and dances. Aurangzib, however, was a Puritan. There was no music or dance at his Court ; he only transacted business. The wazir reported on all affairs of the revenue department and took his orders. Other kinds of State business were also done here.

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This routine was varied on three days of the week, namely Friday (which was the Islamic Sabbath), Thursday (which was a half-holiday), and Wednesday (which was the day of justice,—when no public audience was held but the Emperor sat in the Diwān-i-khās for trying cases.)

§ 3. The chief departments and their heads.

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The chief departments of the Mughal administration were :—

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1. The Exchequer and Revenue (under the High Dīwān.)
2. The Imperial Household (under the Khān-i-sāmān or High Steward.)
3. The military Pay and Accounts Office (under the imperial Bakhshi.)
4. Canon Law, both civil and criminal (under the Chief Qāzi.)
5. Religious endowments and charity (under the Chief Sadar.)
6. Censorship of Public Morals (under the Muhtasib.)

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Inferior to these, but ranking almost like departments, were :—

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7. The Artillery (under the Mir Atish or Dārogha-i-topkhānah.) and 8. Intelligence and Posts (under the Dārogha of Dāk chauki.)

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The innumerable kārkhānahs (i.e., factories and stores), each under a dārogha or superintendent, were not departments. Most of them were under the Khān-i-sāmān.

§ 4. The Wazir or Chancellor.

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'Wazir'* in the Mughal empire meant the prime-minister. It was an honorific title, without necessarily implying the charge of any particular branch of the administration. He was, no doubt, always the head of the revenue department, but it was in his capacity of *diwān*. All *diwāns*, however, were not wazirs, and we read of no Hindu *diwān* being given the high title of wazir. In Akbar's reign, however, the prime-minister was designated as *wakil*, while the finance minister was called *wazir*; there were also a *diwān-i-kul*, and *diwāns* of *jagir*, of *buyutāt*, and of charitable grants (*sadāt*). [*Ain.* i. 260-268.]

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∗ Scholars derive the word wazir from the Pahlavi root vichir (? Sanskrit vichār), meaning 'to judge'. Under the earlier Khalifs the Secretary of State was called the Kātib,

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Originally, the wazir was the highest officer of the revenue department, and in the natural course of events control over the other departments gradually passed into his hands. It was only when the king was incompetent, a pleasure-seeker or a minor, that the wazir controlled the army also. Thus, in its origin the wazir's post was a civil one, and his assumption of the supreme military direction was abnormal and a mark of imperial decadence. No doubt, the wazir, like every other high official

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*i.e.*, writer. But the Abbasides who borrowed much of the Persian administrative system, were the first to style him *wazir*. Gradually the wazir added to his original function of letters that of the head of the Treasury and even the right to decide petitions. Under the Ottoman Turks the number of wazirs varied, sometimes reaching seven. "As a rule, *wazir* in later times was simply a title of the high officials." [*Enc. Isl.* iv. 1135.] This was also the case in the Deccani Sultanates, where any high official (like Shahji Bhonsle or the Abyssinian Yaqut Khan of Janjira) was called a wazir. Not so in North India.

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of the Mughal Government, was expected to command an army and often did actually lead a short expedition, but the necessity of his constant attendance on the Emperor prevented him from taking charge of military operations for a long time or at a distance from the imperial camp.

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The wazir's office received all revenue papers and returns and despatches from the provinces and the field armies. He also acted as the king's representative on many ceremonial occasions. He wrote letters "by order" (hasb-ul-hukm) in his own person though under the Emperor's directions. All orders for payment, except for small sums or money previously allotted, had to be signed by the diwān, and the payment (except to the field army and the workmen of the State factories) was made through his department only. So, too, all questions connected with the collection of the revenue were decided by the diwan, who consulted the Emperor in important cases and frequently reported to him the state of the Treasury. Some of the famous wazirs of the Mughal period were also masters of Persian prose and they acted as secretaries in drafting royal letters to foreign rulers on behalf of their masters.

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It was only under the degenerate descendants of Aurangzib that the wazirs became virtual rulers of the State, like the Mayors of the Palace in mediæval France.

§ 5. The Bakhshi or Paymaster.

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Every officer of the Mughal Government was enrolled as a commander of so many horsemen.

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This title was only a convenient means of calculating his salary and status. It did not mean that he had actually to maintain so many horsemen in his service. Thus, theoretically even the civil officers belonged to the military department, and therefore the salary bills of all officers had to be calculated and passed by the paymasters of the army. These paymasters (*bakhshis*) were increased in number with the growth of the empire, till at the end of Aurangzib's reign we have one chief Bakhshi, called the *Mir Bakhshi* or Imperial Paymaster and popularly as the First Bakhshi, with three assistants called the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Bakhshis.

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Each field army of the Mughal empire was placed under a general appointed for the occasion, being usually a prince of the blood (if available), under the guardianship of a senior noble when the prince was a mere youth. Though on several occasions we have officers invested with the title of *sipah-salar* or 'commander of troops,' it was only a mark of honour and they did not really command the *entire* Mughal army. The Emperor was the only commander-in-chief.

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The artillery branch was, however, placed in charge of an officer called the *Mir Atish* or, popularly, *darogha-i-topkhanah*. Not only the artillerymen but also the musketeers were under his command. As the artillery of the Turks of Europe was much more advanced and efficient than that of the Mughal Emperors, the latter tried to get for their Mir Atish any good officer of the Turkish empire or even Persian that they could secure. On the whole, the Indian Muhammadans were remarkably incompetent in handling artillery, and this department was filled with Turkish and Feringi gunners and cannon-founders, while the musketeers were mostly recruited from certain Hindu tribes, such as the Bundelas, the Bahelias, and the men of Buxar. Each province and field army had its own special chief of artillery.

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I shall not discuss the military department any further, as it has been fully treated in William Irvine's *Army of the Indian Moghuls*.

§ 6. The Khan-i-saman or High Steward.

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The High Steward was a very important officer of the Mughal times, as he was the head of the Emperor's household department* and accompanied him during his journeys and campaigns. All the personal servants of the Emperor were under this officer's control, and he also supervised the Emperor's daily expenditure, food, tents, stores, etc. Naturally, the Khan-i-saman enjoyed great trust and influence, and there are examples of wazirs being appointed from among the Khan-i-samans.

§ 7. The Judiciary.

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The Emperor, as "the Khalif of the Age," was theoretically the highest judge and used to hold courts of justice and try select cases personally on Wednesdays. But the court held by him was a tribunal of the highest appeal rather than a court of first instance. The Qāzi was the chief judge in criminal suits, and tried them according to Muslim law. Not only all cases between Muhammadans, but also all important criminal cases in which one of the parties was a Muhammadan, had to be instituted in the Qāzi's court. Assisted by a mufti, who consulted the old Arabic books on jurisprudence and stated the abstract law bearing on the case, the Qāzi pronounced sentence.

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∗ Manucci writes :—"He had charge of the whole expenditure of the royal household in reference to both great and small things."—(*Storia do Mogor*, ii. 419). See, also, my *History of Aurangzib*, iii. Ch. 27 § 9.

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Naturally, the great power and irresponsible position of the Qāzi enabled him to turn his office into a vast field of corruption, and all the Qāzis of the Mughal period, with a few honourable exceptions, were notorious for taking bribes. (History of Aurangzib, iii. ch. 27 § 10.) The supreme Qāzi of the empire was called the Qāzi-ul-quzāt and also "the Qāzi of the imperial camp" and he always accompanied the Emperor. Every city and even large village had its local Qāzi, who was appointed by the Chief Qāzi. These posts were often sold for bribes, and the Qāzi's department became a byword and a reproach in Mughal times.

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The following is the customary charge of the diwan to a newly appointed Qazi: "Be just, be honest, be impartial. Hold trials in the presence of the parties and at the court-house and the seat of Government (muhakuma.)

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"Do not accept presents from the people of the place where you serve, nor attend entertainments given by anybody and everybody.

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“Write your decrees, sale-deeds, mortgage-bonds and other legal documents very carefully, so that learned men may not pick holes in them and bring you to shame.*

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• “Known poverty (*faqr*) to be your glory (*fakhr*)” [Manual, pp. 43-44.]

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The *Mufti* is urged to spend his days and nights in reading books on jurisprudence and the reports of cases from which one can learn legal precedents. When he finds the judgment proposed in a case by the Qazi under whom he serves to be opposed to all precedent, he should tell him politely, “Sir, in a similar case, reported in such and such a book, the judgment is given thus. It would be better if you pronounce your own judgment after reading that book.”

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The *Mufti* should train himself during his leisure-hours by copying learned legal decisions and discussions of judicial principles from authoritative text-books. [Manual, 45-46.]

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The Sadar was judge and supervisor of the endowments of land made by the Emperor or by the princes for the support of pious men, scholars and monks. It was his duty to see that such grants were applied to the right purpose and also to scrutinize applications for fresh grants. Assistance was often given in cash also. The rent-free land granted bore the names of *sayurghal* (Turkish), *madad-i-māsh* (Arabic), *aima*, etc. The Sadar was also the Emperor's almoner and had the spending of the vast sums which the Emperors set apart for charity in the month of Ramzan and other holy occasions,—amounting to 1½ lakhs of Rupees in the reign of Aurangzib, and at Court ceremonies. The Sadar's position offered him boundless possibilities of enriching himself by means of bribes and peculation, and the Sadars of Akbar's reign were notorious for their venality and cruel spirit.

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∗ Two Marathi sanads of the middle of the 17th century give the duties of qāzis in the Deccan as—trying lawsuits, putting down oppressions and quarrels, arranging for the marriage of orphan girls, dividing the heritage of dead men according to Canon Law, writing out the papers of *chakbandi* and Canon Law decisions. Some of these qazis were also muhtasibs and had to discharge the duties of the latter in addition. [Mawjee and Parasnis, *Sanads and Letters*, pp. 79 and 81.]

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The Chief Sadar of the empire was called the *Sadar-us-sadur*, the *Sadar-i-Jahān*, or popularly the *Sadar-i-kul*. In addition, every province had its local Sadar. Practically the Sadar was exclusively a civil judge, but not of all civil cases. For the posts of Qāzi and Sadar, men of high Arabic scholarship and reputed sanctity of character, wherever available, were chosen.

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The Chief Sadar, when sending the provincial Sadars to their charges, is instructed to give them lists of the recipients of rent-free lands and daily allowances in their respective provinces, and copies of the Emperor's regulations concerning the death or flight of the servitors [of the mosques], *aimadārs*, *rozinadārs*, students and other persons in receipt of stipends (both hereditary and new), and to urge them to act according to the imperial orders. [Manual, 41-42.] 106995

§ 8. The Censor of Public Morals.

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According to Muslim law, it is the king's duty to appoint an Inspector or Censor of Public Morals (*Muhtasib*), for regulating the lives of the people in strict accordance with the scriptural rules. The Censor's functions are to enforce the Prophet's commands and put down the practices forbidden by him (*amr wa nahi*),—such as drinking distilled spirits and fermented beer, *bhang* (i.e., hemp or *Cannabis sativa*) and other liquid intoxicants, gambling and certain kinds of sexual immorality. Dry intoxicants were not condemned, and we find both opium and *ganja* (i.e., the dried hemp plant) allowed, though Aurangzib forbade the cultivation of the *bhang* plant throughout his dominions. The punishment of heretical opinions, blasphemy against the Prophet, and neglect of the five daily prayers and the fast of Ramzān by Muhammadans also lay within the province of the Censor. He used to go through the streets with a party of soldiers demolishing and plundering liquor-shops, distilleries and gambling-dens wherever he found them, breaking with blows the pots and pans for preparing *bhang*, and enforcing the strict observance of religious rites on the part of the Muhammadan population. Sometimes his retainers had armed conflicts with the bold sinners who showed fight. The demolition of newly built temples was one of this officer's duties. (*History of Aurangzib*, iii. Ch. 28§2 and 34 app. 5)

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The following instructions are given to a newly appointed *Muhtasib* (Censor) as to his duties:—

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"To those Muhammadans who do not know the rules of worship according to the true faith and Musalmani conduct or ceremonies, you should give instructions in these matters. If they plead inability, reprimand or chastise them.

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"In the bazars and lanes observe if any one, contrary to the regulations and custom, has screened off (*ābru*) a part of the street, or closed the path, or thrown dirt and sweepings on the road,—or if any one has seized the portion of the bazar area reserved for public traffic and opened his shop there; you should in such cases urge them to remove the violation of regulations.

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"In the cities do not permit the sale of intoxicating drinks nor the residence of 'professional women' (*tawāif*, literally dancing girls), as it is opposed to the Sacred Law.

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"Give good counsel and warning to those who violate the Quranic precepts. Do not show harshness [at first], for then they would give you trouble. First send advice to the leaders of these men, and if they do not listen to you then report the case to the governor." [Manual, 47-48.]

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In later times in some provinces the Censor had also to fix the prices of goods and enforce the use of correct weights and measures in the markets. [Sanads and Letters, p. 81, Mirat, Sup. 174] But elsewhere this work was done by some other officer, such as the *kotwal*.