Thread by @syedurahman

#AlauddinKhilji ascended to throne #OTD, 19 July 1296 and remained in power for two decades. His reign lasted till 4th January 1316. His reign would be remembered for stability, rule of law, strong central leadership and a powerful standing army.
#भारत_का_ख़िलजी
#AlauddinKhalji

Political upheaval and his lack of administrative skills made it look unlikely that he would be able to rule for long. Initial years of his rule were spent in putting down one uprising after the other and taking on the Mongols who attacked India at least six times during his rule

Later, after repeated defeats, at the hands of Alauddin Khalji and his able generals, especially Zafar Khan, and after being hounded by Khalji generals in Lahore and Punjab who counter attacked Kabul on numerous occasions, Mongols didn’t dare to cross the Indus.

He introduced far reaching administrative reforms that had lasting impact across India. It is indeed surprising that a man who was completely illiterate when he ascended to the throne, not just learnt how to read and write, but also grasped the nuances of the administration

Abolition of Zamindari system
If there was a king in the medieval period who understood the importance of land and zamindari in repeated revolt against the king and his kingdom, it was Alauddin Khalji. This was one of the foremost changes in the revenue system that he introduced

By a ‘stroke of the pen’, the Sultan did away with the zamindari system across his realm and confiscated the jagirs and estates of the nobility. With abolition of Jagirdari system he also brought to an end the long held practice of doling out grants of land for state service.

He stopped paying to soldiers in form of jagirs and villages that had earlier sustained soldiers, their families and horses they maintained. Over the years the soldiers had assumed that their assignments were almost hereditary, and despite getting old and infirm.

Fiscal Policy and Revenue Reforms
Alauddin, in order to fund a huge standing army to face the continued menace of the repeated Mongol threat to his sultanate, figured out that he could manage it only when the essential commodities in the country become affordable to common people

He issued two regulations to fill the exchequer. His first zabita, or the order dealt with measurement of the cultivable land across the country. Biswa was declared to be the standard unit of measurement by the Sultan and half of the produce was to be given to the state.

Under no circumstance landlords were able to cut the state’s demand. Even a slight difference would be met with brute force and this actually deterred people from corruption. He also taxed the cattle and devised a foolproof plan where no animal could escape this taxation.

Pasture for all milk giving animals was fixed and thus they were taxed accordingly. It is very clear that “in collection of revenue (khiraj); burden of the strong was not to be thrown on to the weak; the weak and the strong were to pay according to the same principle (hukm) .”

Price Control
Imperial coffers were filled resulting in sustained price rise during Alauddin's time. As Sultan had fixed the salaries of his soldiers and other officials in his vast army, he felt compelled to regulate the price in order to make his soldiers stick to their jobs

Therefore he devised a successful plan to control the price of almost every essential that a household could need in normal circumstances. It is said that he fixed the prices of goods on the progressive principle of 'production-cost’ .

He issued as many as eight regulations in this regard. The first regulation was concerned with the most important essentials, the corn and cereals. Wheat was priced at 7.5 jitals a man, barley at 4 jitals, good quality rice at 5 jitals while mash was sold 5 jitals a man.

He ordered grains to be stored in the state warehouses and to be taken out in the case of emergencies and sold at the fixed market rates.
He also issued clear instructions against hoarding or ihtikar.

Ihtikar is an Islamic terminology that means the practice of purchasing essential commodities of daily use including food and storing them in anticipation of an increase in future price.

Alauddin Khalji enforced this rule so tightly or rather brutally that neither landlord, nor farmer or the middleman could hold back even a small quantity of the produce. Severe punishments were publicly awarded and the entire grain forfeited.

Establishment of Ministry of Commerce (diwan e riyasat)
By establishing it and bringing trade under its purview, he ensured there was no confusion in implementing reforms that he undertook. Malik Yakub, the erstwhile nazir, a ruthless administrator, was appointed diwan i riyasat.

Establishment of a standing army
Due to the constant threat of the Mongol invasion he decided to raise a standing army. Prior to him only Balban had thought of doing so, but as managing a large army required huge resources, he couldn’t really manage it much.

However, he not just planned but also succeeded in keeping a huge standing army that must have been among the best during his time. In order to improve the quality of his armed forces he also “introduced the branding system (dagh) of the horses so that the soldiers may not bring

horses of poor quality to the muster” . A register, with all details of each soldier was maintained by an office. Barani says there were at least 3,00,000 soldiers in Sultan's Army that he deployed in different parts of his empire, besides keeping a sizeable part of it in Delhi.

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