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A History of Agriculture in India v2.c55: Chapter 3. The Rule of the Turks: Mahmud Ghaznavi, Muhammad Ghori, and the Slave Kings

A History of Agriculture in India v2.c55

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English

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Chapter 3. The Rule of the Turks: Mahmud Ghaznavi, Muhammad Ghori, and the Slave Kings

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THE RULE OF THE TURKS

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A.D. 998-1290

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INCURSIONS OF MONGOLS

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The spread of Islam was in three waves. The first was the Arab wave from the seventh to the early ninth century which ebbed in A.D. 809, when Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid died. After his death his empire fell into civil war and confusion. The second was the Turkish wave in the eleventh century. The Turks came from Turkistan in Central Asia. They became converts to Islam and, led by the chiefs of the family of the Seljuks, they conquered the Arab empire of Baghdad and also Asia Minor. They started a fanatical struggle against Christianity. The Christians of Europe led seven Crusades against them from A.D. 1099 to 1244. The third was the Mongol wave in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Mongols were heathens, but in the fourteenth century embraced Islam.

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The Arab wave in India ended with the conquest of Sind and a part of the Punjab. The Rajputs checked further Islamic advance in India for about three centuries.

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Afghanistan has a key position in regard to the Indian subcontinent. It was ruled by Hindu Shahi dynasty in the ninth century. The last of them, Lagaturmān, who reigned at the end of the ninth century, was thrown into prison by Kalar, his Brahman minister, who usurped the throne, and founded a new dynasty of Brahman Shahis. The names of seven kings of this dynasty are recorded by Alberuni. The last of them were Jaipal, Anandapal, Trilochanpal and Bhimpal. It was Jaipal who, after this retreat from Kabul, made Bhatinda the capital of his Punjab kingdom.

Sabaktigin

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Alpatgin, a Turk serving Abdul Malik, the Samanid king of Bokhara, settled at Ghazni with about eight hundred followers, in A.D. 961. Alpatgin died in A.D. 969. Sabaktigin, originally a Turki slave of the governor of Khorasan, married Alpatgin’s daughter. He carved out from himself a kingdom at Ghazni in A.D. 977. Sabaktigin made his first raid into India and conquered Peshawar from Jaipal in A.D. 991.

Mahmud Ghaznavi (A.D. 998-1030)

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In A.D. 997 Mahmud succeeded his father, Sabaktigin. Mahmud was a religious fanatic, and he vowed to invade India every year. He raided India seventeen times according to Sir Henry Elliot. His custom was to leave Ghazni early in October, and utilize the cold weather for his marauding operations. At the beginning of summer he used to return from Hindustan to enjoy the cool climate of his native country Afghanistan. He used to bring large number of prisoners as slaves, and these included skilled masons whom he employed for the construction of mosques and palaces at Ghazni.

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In A.D. 1001 he defeated Jaipal, Raja of the Punjab, whose dominion extended on the West to Kabul. In the course of four campaigns Jaipal lost all his territory west of the Indus, and Peshawar was occupied by the Moslems. In A.D. 1022, Mahmud annexed the Punjab and became an Indian ruler. In the succeeding years, Mahmud plundered the temples of Kangra (A.D. 1009), Mathura (A.D. 1018), and Somnath (A.D. 1024), and on each occasion he returned to Ghazni with fabulous quantities of gold, silver and diamonds.

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Here we may refer to Kazwini's *Asaru-l Bilad* (Monuments of Countries). Kazwini, an encyclopaedist, was born in the town of Kazwin (in Iran). He compiled his works from the writings of other travellers in A.D. 1263. About Somnath he writes, ‘A celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnat. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. When the king asked his companions what they had to say about the marvel of the idol, and of its staying in the air without prop or support, several maintained that it was upheld by some hidden support. The king directed a person to go and feel all around and above and below it with a spear, which he did, but met with no obstacle. One of the attendants then stated his opinion that the canopy was made of loadstone, and the idol of iron, and that the ingenious builder had skilfully contrived that the magnet should not exercise a greater force on any one side—hence the idol was suspended in the middle. Some coincided, others differed. Permission was obtained from the Sultan to remove some stones from the top of the canopy to settle the point. When two stones were removed from the summit the idol swerved on one side, when more were taken away it inclined still further, until at last it rested on the ground.’¹ It was application of science for achieving a practical objective, which was paraded as a miracle. Nevertheless it indicates that knowledge of science was advanced in India.

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¹ Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India*..., Vol. I, pp. 98, 99

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Mahmud was a patron of scholars. Among them was the famous Persian poet Firdausi, who wrote the *Shah-nama*. Khondamir in the *Habibu-s Siyar* thus mentions how Firdausi came to Ghazni and what treatment he received from the Sultan. ‘Firdausi was another one of the poets contemporary with Sultan Mahmud; his history is well known. It is written in the books of learned authors that during his first years Firdausi took great pleasure in versification. It happened that at one time he received ill-treatment from somebody, upon which he set out for Ghazni, which was the royal residence of the Sultan Mahmud, with the intention of lodging his complaint. When he arrived near that city, he saw in a certain garden three persons who were sitting together, and seemed to be very intimate. He conjectured that they were the servants of the Sultan, and said within himself, "I will go to them, and tell them some of my business; perhaps I shall gain some advantage by it." When he came near the resting-place where 'Unsuri, 'Asjudi and Farrukhi were sitting, those individuals were astonished at him and said, "He will spoil our quiet converse." They communed with one another, and agreed to tell this person that they were the poets of the Sultan, and that they held no intercourse with any one who was not a poet; that they would recite three verses, to which it would be difficult to add a fourth, and that they would say that whoever would make a fourth verse would be admitted into their society, and unless he could do so he would be excluded.

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'When Firdausi arrived where they were sitting, they played off upon him that which they had determined among themselves. Firdausi said, "Recite your verses". 'Unsuri said, "The moon has no brightness like your cheek." Farrukhi said, "There is not a rose in the rose-garden like your face." 'Asjudi said, "Your eye-lashes pierce through a coat of mail." Firdausi, upon hearing those verses, instantly replied, "Like the spear of Geo in the fight with Pushan." The poets were astonished at his readiness, and inquired about the story of Geo and Pushan. Firdausi told them the story at full length, and accordingly, when he arrived at Court, he experienced kind treatment, and Mahmud told him that he had made a paradise of his Court, and it was owing to this that he assumed his titular name of Firdausi.

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'Having afterwards been appointed to compose the *Shah-nama*, he wrote a thousand verses, and took them to the king, who highly applauded them, and made him a present of a thousand dinars. When Firdausi had finished writing the *Shah-nama*, he took the book, which contained 60,000 verses, to the Sultan, expecting that he would get a *dinar* for each verse, as he had done before; but some envious persons of mean disposition, indulging their malignity, wondered what must be the value of that poet who was worth being exalted by such a large gift, and they made the Sultan give him 60,000 *dirhams* instead. When Firdausi came out of the bath, and they brought those *dirhams* before him, he was exceedingly vexed at the circumstance, and gave 20,000 *dirhams* to the bath-keeper, 20,000 to a sherbet-seller who had brought some beverage for him, and the remaining 20,000 *dirhams* he gave to the person who brought the money. Having composed about forty verses, as a satire upon the Sultan, he introduced them into the beginning or conclusion of the *Shah-nama*, and fled to Tus.

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'One day, some little time after this circumstance, Ahmad bin Hasan Maimandi was out hunting with the Sultan, and having come close to him, he repeated several verses out of the *Shah-nama*, which were exceedingly applauded by the Sultan, who asked whose poetry it was. He answered that the verses were the produce of the genius of Firdausi. The Sultan repented of his neglect of that incomparable poet, and ordered them to take 60,000 dinars with rich robes of honour to Tus, and to ask Firdausi's pardon. In the *Baharistan* it is written that when those presents came in at one gate of Tus, the coffin of Firdausi was carried out at the other. An only daughter was his heiress, to whom the emissaries of the Sultan offered those honourable presents; but she, from the pride inherent in her disposition, refused them and said, 'I have enough wealth to last me to the end of my days; I have no need of this money.'²

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² Khondamir, *Habibu-s Siyar*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India*..., Vol. IV, pp. 190, 191, 192 and 166

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Summing up the character of Mahmud, Khondamir observed, 'From generosity he derived no honour. As the shell guards the pearl, so he guarded his wealth. He had treasuries full of jewels, but not a single poor man derived benefit therefrom.'

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Mahmud died in A.D. 1030. 'It is said that two days before his death he ordered all the bags of gold and silver coins which were in his treasury, and all the jewels, and all the valuables which he had collected during the days of his sovereignty, to be brought into his presence. They were accordingly all laid out in the court-yard of his palace, which, in the eyes of the spectators, appeared like a garden full of flowers of red, yellow, violet, and other colours. He looked at them with sorrow, and wept very bitterly. After shedding many tears, he ordered them to be taken back to the treasury, and he did not give a farthing to any deserving man, notwithstanding he knew that in a day or two he must depart from this world. When the king had seen the valuable contents of his treasury, he sat in a litter and went out to the field. There he reviewed all his personal slaves, his cattle, Arab horses, camels, etc., and after casting his eye upon them, and crying with great sorrow and regret, he returned to his palace.'

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Mahmud built an empire which extended from the Punjab to the Caspian. Vincent Smith observed. 'So far as India was concerned Mahmud was simply a bandit operating on a large scale.' He killed thousands of people, and destroyed priceless monuments. Alberuni correctly observed, 'Mahmud utterly ruined the prosperity of India.'

Muhammad Ghori

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The foundation of Islamic rule in India was laid by Shihab-ud-din Mahummad Ghori. He was the governor of Ghazni. In A.D. 1175 he conquered Multan. In A.D. 1182 he conquered Sind and the Punjab. He defeated Prithviraj Chauhan at Taraori or Tarain in Karnal District in A.D. 1192, and thus broke the power of the Rajputs.

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FIG. 2, India at the death of Mahmud Ghaznavi, 1030. Chola kings ruled South India. Rest of India was ruled by Rajput dynasties.

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The Islamic expansion in India in the close of the twelfth century was rapid. In A.D. 1194 the Moslem armies began to move eastwards. The sacred city of Benares was captured by Qutb-ud-din Aibek, Muhammad Ghori's general.

Bakhtiyar

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In A.D. 1199 Bihar was ravaged by Muhammad ibn Bakhtiyar, an intrepid Turk. The University of Nalanda was destroyed, its library burnt, and all the Buddhist monks, or shaven Brahmans, as the Moslems called them, slaughtered. As Minhaju-s Siraj states, ‘Muhammad Bakhtiyar with great vigour and audacity rushed in at the gate of the fort and gained possession of the place. Great plunder fell into the hands of the victors. Most of the inhabitants of the place were Brahmans with shaven heads. They were put to death. Large numbers of books were found there, and when the Muhammadans saw them, they called for some persons to explain their contents, but all the men had been killed. It was discovered that the whole fort and city was a place of study (madrasa). In the Hindi language the word Behar (vihar) means a college.’³

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³ Minhaju-s Siraj, *Tabakat-i-Nasiri*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India*..., Vol. II, p. 306

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After the conquest of Bihar, Bakhtiyar turned his attention to Bengal, which was ruled by Lakshmansena. Leaving his army behind, with only eighteen horsemen, Bakhtiyar surprised Lakshmansena at his dinner. Lakshmansena fled in panic, and his wives, maidservants and treasure fell into the hands of the invader. Bakhtiyar destroyed Nuddea, the capital of Bengal, and established the seat of his government at Lakhnawti.

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Bloated by success, Bakhtiyar invaded Assam and marched towards the mountains of Tibet. The tribesmen followed the scorched-earth policy and not a sir of food nor a blade of grass or fodder was to be found. The Moslem invaders were compelled to kill and eat their horses. The Rai of Kamrup collected his men and surrounded the Moslem army. The Moslem army tried to cross the Tista. Bakhtiyar crossed the river with about a hundred horsemen, and all the rest were drowned.

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Soon after A.D. 1200, the whole of northern India except Rajasthan, Malwa and part of Gujarat, were conquered by the Moslem armies.

Caste-System—Cause of Defeat of Hindu Armies

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The main cause of the defeat of the Hindus was their caste-system. Fighting was the profession of the Rajputs, the Kshatriyas, who were the rulers. There must have been lakhs of able-bodied persons among the other castes, who, given an opportunity, would have fought the Islamic armies with greater valour. However, all this talent and prowess was not available to the Indian army due to caste monopoly of the Rajputs. Besides the Hindu army had no national feeling. Rather than making a united front against the invaders, they were riven with petty jealousies, viz. the ire of treacherous Jai Chand of Kanauj against Prithviraj Chauhan for abducting his daughter, with the result that they were both destroyed one by one. The Islamic armies had a strong cavalry force which functioned as an offensive weapon in the open field. Elephants, on which the Rajputs relied, could not stand cavalry charges of the Moslems and, in panic, turned tail and trampled the Rajput soldiers. The Rajputs, lacking confidence, believed in defence and shut themselves up in their strong forts. The Islamic commanders adopted the device of construction of pashebs, rising mounds of earth made by heaping sand-bags right up to the ramparts of the fort and thus invading the fort. Besides the besieged armies could also be starved into submission by cutting off their food supplies.

The Slave Dynasty—A.D. 1206-1290

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Muhammad Ghori was assassinated in A.D. 1206 on the banks of the Indus. Qutb-ud-din Aibek, the Commander-in-Chief of Ghori's army, was elected Sultan by the Turkish army officers. He is remembered for the construction of the victory pillar, known after his name as Qutb Minar, and for the mosque called Quwat-ul-Islam which was built with stones taken from twenty-seven Hindu temples. Both these monuments are in Mehrauli, a suburb of Delhi. Qutb-ud-din Aibek died in a polo accident in A.D. 1210.

Iltutmish—A.D. 1210-1236

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The next king was Iltutmish, son-in-law of Qutb-ud-din, who completed the Qutb Minar. He was a builder as well as a conqueror and administrator. During his reign India was threatened by the heathen Mongol hordes of Chingiz Khan, whose real name was Temujin. Chingiz Khan was his official title. Minhaju-s Siraj, the author of the Tabakat-i-Nasiri, thus describes the physical appearance and character of Chingiz Khan. ‘Trustworthy persons have related that the Chingiz Khan, at the time when he came into Khurasan, was sixty-five years old, a man of tall stature, of vigorous build, robust in body, the hair on his face scanty and turned white, with cat’s eyes, possessed of great energy, discernment, genius, and understanding, awe-striking, a butcher, just, resolute, an overthrower of enemies, intrepid, sanguinary, cruel.’ Fortunately, the Mongols deterred by summer heat turned back at Peshawar and proceeded to Western Asia and on to the banks of the Dnieper. The Mongols conquered the whole Chinese Empire. They reduced west-central Asia including Afghanistan and Iran and invaded eastern Europe, overrunning southern Russia, Poland, and Hungary. In A.D 1227, when Chingiz Khan died, his empire extended from the Pacific to Black Sea (Fig. 3). In A.D. 1258, the Mongols overthrew the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad and attacked the Moslems in Syria. Wherever they penetrated, whether into Moslem or Christian lands, they recklessly destroyed life and property. As Jawaini, the Persian chronicler observed, ‘They came, burnt, slaughtered, plundered and departed.’

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FIG. 3. The Mongol Empire in 1290 (shown in white). It embraced China, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq and a good bit of Russia. The principal trade routes between China and Europe are shown.

The Sultan Raziya—A.D. 1236-1240

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Realizing that his sons were worthless, Iltutmish nominated his daughter Raziya as his successor as he discerned in her countenance the signs of power and bravery. In *Tabakat-i-Nasiri* she is described as a great monarch, who was wise, just, generous, the protector of her subjects, and the leader of her armies. Minhaju-s Siraj comments that though she was endowed with all the qualities befitting a king, she was not born of the right sex, and so all these virtues were worthless. The Sultan Raziya discarded the dress and veil of women and put on a coat and a cap, and thus clad rode on an elephant to show herself to her people. She appointed Yakut, an Abyssian, as her personal attendant. This led to jealousies among her Turkish amirs, and in A.D. 1240 they deposed her. Later she married Altuniya, the Governor of Bhatinda. Her husband attempted to occupy the throne, but both husband and wife were killed in October 1240.

Nasir-ud-Din—A.D. 1246-1266

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Nasir-ud-din, a kind and scholarly person, who patronized scholars, was made Sultan in A.D. 1246. He was the patron of the historian Minhaju-s Siraj, who named his work, *Tabakat-i-Nasiri*, after him. Nasir-ud-din appointed him Kazi of Delhi. In A.D. 1259, a campaign was carried against Meos of Aravalli hills on the outskirts of Delhi. The Meos led by their chief named Malka, plundered the goods of Moslems, stole cattle, and ravaged the villages in the districts of Haryana and Bayana. It is for the first time that we hear about Haryana in history of Mediaeval India. They were severely punished by Ulugh Khan Balban, Nasir-ud-din’s father-in-law and minister, who was virtually the ruler. About 12,000 Meos, men, women, and children, were slaughtered. To hold the Meos down, Balban built a fort and a line of police posts.

Balban—A.D. 1266-1267

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On the death of Nasir-ud-din in A.D. 1266, Balban, who was virtually in command of State affairs, succeeded him. He was a stern man, who ruled ruthlessly. He liquidated the clique of Turkish amirs who were a constant source of trouble. He put down brigands who plundered caravans. He refortified Lahore to ensure its safety from the Mongols. In his court were fifteen refugee kings and princes from Turkistan and adjoining area which had been occupied by the Mongols.

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The Doab was in disorder. He distributed the land in Doab in fiefs to Turkish nobles, who were asked to clear the jungles and to root out the Hindu rebels. Balban died in A.D. 1286.

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THE KHALJIS A.D. 1290-1320 THE PRICE CONTROL REGULATIONS AND REVENUE ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES OF ALA-UD-DIN KHALJI WRETCHED CONDITION OF THE PEASANTRY

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JALAL-UD-DIN FIROZ (A.D. 1290-1296), a seventy-year-old man, was the founder of the Khaljis Dynasty. The Khaljis were a Turkish tribe domiciled in Afghanistan. Jalal-ud-din was a mild old man, a poor administrator who knew neither how to punish his foes nor reward his friends. A thousand thugs arrested by his army were transported to Bengal and set free. He was murdered in A.D. 1296, and his successor was his nephew, Ala-ud-din Khalji (A.D. 1296-1316), a vigorous but unscrupulous man. He restored order by curbing the power of rebellious chiefs. Grants of land given to them were confiscated. He developed a system of espionage which kept him informed about the intentions of his officials. Drinking of wine and dinner parties were prohibited.

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In A.D. 1297, Gujarat was conquered by the army of Ala-ud-din and the renovated temple of Somnath was demolished. Ranthambor was captured in A.D. 1301, and its Rajput ruler Hamir Dev executed. The fort of Chitor was captured in A.D. 1303. The Raja of Malwa was defeated in A.D. 1305, and Ujjain, Mandu and Dhar were annexed. In A.D. 1308, Malik Kafur, Ala-ud-din's general, invaded south India and looted hoardes of gold and precious stones from the temples. He captured Devagiri, and the Kakatiya capital, Warangal. In A.D. 1311, Malik Kafur defeated the Hoysala King Ballala III, and invaded the Pandyan country, Ma'bar.

Birth of Islamic Architecture and Hindustani Music

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The rule of Khaljis was not totally sterile. During this period, Indian architecture saw a remarkable development by the introduction of the Islamic arch and the dome. It also witnessed the birth of Hindustani music. The pioneer of the cultural movement was Amir Khusrau (A.D. 1253-1325), the celebrated poet and musician, known as *Tuti-i-Hind*, or Parrot of India, a tribute to his eloquence. He was the son of a Lachin Turk, who came as a refugee to India from Balkh. His father settled in Patyali, where Khusrau was born. In due course Khusrau shifted to Delhi, where he received the patronage of the Khalji and Tughlaq kings. His preceptor was Nizamuddin Auliya, the celebrated Sufi saint. Khusrau acquired such proficiency in Indian music that he even defeated Naik Gopal, a renowned Hindu musician from South India. Gopal used to be carried about by a band of twelve hundred disciples, who served as his palanquin-bearers. The contest between the two was held in the court of Ala-ud-din Khalji. He composed three poems, viz. the *Qiran-us-Sa'dain*, the *Miftah-ul-futuh*, the *Nuh Sipahr*, and a book of prose, the *Khaza'in-ul-futuh*. They contain information about contemporary history and social conditions. His poem called *Dewalrani Khizr Khan* is intermixed with contemporary historical events, and the *Tughluk-nama* deals with the rise and fall of Khusrau Khan, the usurper, and the accession of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlak.

Mongol Invasion

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In A.D. 1299 India was menaced by a Mongol invasion. Their leader, Qutlugh Khwaja, planned the conquest of Delhi. Amir Khusrau, who saw the Mongol horde, thus describes them. 'There were more than a thousand Tatar infidels and warriors of other tribes, riding on camels, great commanders in battle, all with steel-like bodies clothed in cotton; with faces like fire, with caps of sheep-skin, with their heads shorn. Their eyes were so narrow and piercing that they might have bored a hole in a brazen vessel. Their stink was more horrible than their colour. Their faces were set on their bodies as if they had no neck. Their cheeks resembled soft leathern bottles, full of wrinkles and knots. Their noses extended from cheek to cheek, and their mouths from cheek-bone to cheek-bone. Their nostrils resembled rotten graves, and from them the hair descended as far as the lips. Their moustaches were of extravagant length. They had but scanty beards about their chins. Their chests, of a colour half black, half white, were so covered with lice, that they looked like sesame growing on a bad soil. Their whole body, indeed, was covered with these insects, and their skin as rough-grained as chagreen leather, fit only to be converted into shoes. They devoured dogs and pigs with their nasty teeth. Their origin is derived from dogs, but they have larger bones. The king marvelled at their beastly countenances, and said that God had created them out of hell-fire. They looked like so many white demons, and the people fled from them everywhere in affright.'¹

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¹ Amir Khusrau. *Kiranu-s Sa'dain*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India...*, Vol. III, p. 528

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The Mongols were defeated by the army of Ala-ud-din. Thousands of them were taken prisoners and were killed by trampling them under the feet of elephants.

Condition of the Peasantry

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The rural area was populated by the Hindu peasants, while the Moslem population was confined to small towns (*qasbas*). According to Muhammed Habib, the religion of Islam is fundamentally a city creed. 'The Moslem requires certain social amenities, which are available only in urban areas. These are—the congregational mosque for his five prayers; the common graveyard where his fellow Muslims may bury him neatly and tearlessly and pray for the forgiveness of his sins; a school for the education of his children; a *hafiz*, preferably blind, who may recite the whole of the Quran in the month of Ramazan; and last, but not the least, social intercourse with an academic flavour in it.¹ Even now in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the most populous states of northern India, which received the fullest impact of Islamic rule, the distribution of population follows this pattern.

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¹ Habib, M. Introduction to Elliot and Dowson’s History of India..., Vol. II, p.69

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In the towns adequate number of educated Moslem were available to fill the administrative posts. In the rural area, the Moslem rulers had to rely on Hindu rent-collectors, who were called *khutas* and *muqaddams*. The peasants were called *bilahars*. They were ruled by Rais, Rawats and Chaudharis. Some of them were defiant and paid nothing to the government and even imprisoned its agents. They had their small private armies and indulged in the game of mutual destruction and looting of caravans of traders. The Sultan sent his army from time to time to realize dues from the Hindu rural aristocracy and dealt with the rural population savagely and created a reign of terror.

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The condition of Hindu peasants was never so wretched as during the oppressive rule of Ala-ud-din. It was the result of a deliberate policy of the Sultan to impoverish them. Talking to a Mullah, Ala-ud-din said, ‘Be assured then that the Hindus will never become submissive and obedient till they are reduced to poverty. I have, therefore, given orders that just sufficient shall be left to them from year to year, of corn, milk, and curds, but that they shall not be allowed to accumulate hoards and property.’²

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² Zia-ud-din Barni. Tarikh-Firoz Shahi, in Elliot and Dowson, The History India..., Vol. III, p. 185

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The measures taken by this Sultan were:

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1. The standard of the revenue demand was fixed at one-half of the produce without any allowances or deductions.

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2. The Chiefs’ perquisites were abolished, so that all the land occupied by them was to be brought under assessment at the full rate.

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3. The method of assessment was to be measurement, the charges being calculated on the basis of standard yields.

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4. A grazing-tax was imposed apart from the assessment on cultivation.

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Zia-ud-din Barni, the Moslem historian, thus details these measures. ‘After the promulgation of these interdicts, the Sultan requested the wise men to supply some rules and regulations for grinding down the Hindus, and for depriving them of that wealth and property which fosters disaffection and rebellion. There was to be one rule for the payment of tribute applicable to all, from the *khuta* to the *balahar* (peasant), and the heaviest tribute was not to fall upon the poorest. The Hindu was to be so reduced as to be left unable to keep a horse to ride on, to carry arms, to wear fine clothes, or to enjoy any of the luxuries of life. To effect these important objects of government two regulations were made. The first was that all cultivation, whether on a small or large scale, was to be carried on by measurement at a certain rate for every *biswa*. Half of the produce was to be paid without any diminution, and this rule was to apply to *khutas* and *balahars*, without the slightest distinction. The *khutas* were also to be deprived of all their peculiar privileges. The second related to buffaloes, goats, and other animals from which milk is obtained. A tax for pasturage, at a fixed rate, was to be levied, and was to be demanded for every inhabited house, so that no animal, however wretched, could escape the tax. Heavier burdens were not to be placed upon the poor, but the rules as to the payment of the tribute were to apply equally to rich and poor. Collectors, clerks, and other officers employed in revenue matters who took bribes and acted dishonestly were all dismissed. Sharaf Kai, *naib wazir-i-mamalik*, an accomplished scribe and a most honest and intelligent man, who had no rival either in capacity or integrity, exerted himself strenuously for some years in enforcing these regulations in all the villages and towns. . . . They were so strictly carried out that the *chaudharis* and *khuts* and *mukaddims* were not able to ride on horseback, to find weapons, to get fine clothes, or to indulge in betel. The same rules for the collection of the tribute applied to all alike, and the people were brought to such a state of obedience that one revenue officer would string twenty *khuts*, *mukaddims*, or *chaudharis* together by the neck, and enforce payment by blows. No Hindu could hold up his head, and in their houses no sign of gold or silver, *tankas* or *jitals*, or of any superfluity was to be seen. These things, which nourish insubordination and rebellion, were no longer to be found. Driven by destitution, the wives of the *khuts* and *mukaddims* went and served for hire in the houses of the Musulmans. Sharaf Kai, *naib-wazir*, so rigorously enforced his demands and exactions against the collectors and other revenue officers, and such investigations were made that every single *jital* against their names was ascertained from the books of the *patwaris* (village accountants). Blows, confinement in the stock, imprisonment and chains, were all employed to enforce payment. There was no chance of a single *tanka* being taken dishonestly, or as bribery, from a Hindu or Musulman. The revenue collectors and officers were so coerced and checked that for five hundred or a thousand *tankas* they were imprisoned and kept in chains for years. Men looked upon revenue officers as something worse than fever. Clerkship was a great crime, and no man would give his daughter to a clerk. Death was deemed preferable to revenue employment. Oft times fiscal officers fell into prison, and had to endure blows and stripes.’⁴

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⁴ Zia-ud-din Barni, *Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi*, in Elliot and Dowson, *The History of India*..., Vol. I, pp. 18, 183

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The net result of these measures was universal poverty and degradation among the peasantry. Their standard of living was reduced to the lowest level. All the surplus which was taken from them was spent on the maintenance of a large standing army. Above all, they had lost their freedom, and were governed by aliens who had no respect for their culture.

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