Administrative System of the Marathas c27.s8: 8. Standardisation of Price
Administrative System of the Marathas c27.s8
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8. Standardisation of Price
c27.s8.1
Before concluding this chapter on the revenue principles we may take a passing notice of a Hindu practice transmitted to the Marathas by the Muslims. All Maratha rulers from Shivaji to Baji Rao II actively interfered in the manufacturing industries of their land and tried to control the prices of the necessaries of life. This practice is as old as the Artha Shastra of Kautilya. But it must be conceded that the Muslim rulers of India did much to keep it alive. Allauddin Khiliji tried to keep down his military expenses by keeping down the price of all necessaries of life. He did not try to achieve his purpose by a skilful balancing of demand and supply. These principles were perhaps undreamt of in his time in Europe and Asia. But like a true autocrat he arbitrarily fixed the price of all necessary articles of food. Anybody who was detected in demanding a higher rate was severely punished.³¹ But Alla-uddin was not the only prince to aim at a standardisation of prices. In Mughal days it was one of the duties of the Kotwal to supervise the purchase and sale of goods in the market place. Akbar fixed the price of building materials after a careful enquiry to the satisfaction of all as Abul Fazl informs us.³² And the principle of state-controlled price survived till the English introduced the idea of free trade and economic non-interference in India.
c27.s8.2
³¹ Briggs' Ferishta, Vol. I, pp. 355-360.
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³² Blochmann, Ain-i-Akbar, Vol. I, pp. 221-223. From papers mentioned in Catalogo does Manuscriptos da Bibliotheca publica Eborense, it appears that the Portuguese Government also deemed it their duty to regulate the price of rice, etc. See p. 360.
c27.s8.4
MILITARY ORGANISATION.
Linked texts (1)
- Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit