Abraham Eraly - The Age of Wrath - A History of the Delhi Sultanate

Ala-ud-din’s second measure was to set up an elaborate intelligence network, to gather information on all that was going on in the empire, which he considered to be the absolute prerequisite for running an efficient government. This intelligence gathering was done with such thoroughness that, according to Barani, ‘no one could stir without the sultan’s knowledge, and whatever happened in the houses of nobles, great men, and officials was communicated to the sultan by his reporters. Nor were the reports neglected, for explanations … [on the matter reported] were demanded [from the nobles]. The system of reporting went to such a length that nobles dared not speak aloud even in the largest palaces, and if they had anything to say, they communicated it by signs. In their own houses, night and day, dread of the reports of spies made them tremble. No word or action which could provoke censure or punishment was allowed to transpire. The transactions in the bazaars, the buying and selling, and the bargains made, were all reported to the sultan by spies.’

‘THIRDLY, HE PROHIBITED wine-drinking and wine-selling, as also the use of intoxicating drugs. Dicing also was forbidden … Vintners and gamblers and beer-sellers were turned out of the city,’ reports Barani. The sultan, according to his courtier poet Amir Khusrav, considered wine as ‘the mother of all wickedness,’ and he himself now entirely gave up drinking wine and holding wine parties. All the china and glass vessels in the royal banqueting room were smashed, and jars and casks of wine in the royal cellars were emptied on the road — so much wine was poured into the streets that pools and puddles formed there as in the rainy season, reports Barani.

To enforce prohibition, Ala-ud-din ordered that ‘taverns should be set on fire, and that drummers should go around proclaiming vigorously that whoever drinks will be punished severely,’ reports Isami. All prohibition violators who were caught were imprisoned. And when jails became filled up with prisoners, which they soon did, a number of them were, according to Barani, confined in ‘pits for the incarceration of offenders dug outside the Badaun gate [of Delhi], which is a great thoroughfare.’ Many died in these pits, and many ‘were taken out half-dead.’

But nothing could prevent the habitual imbibers from finding some way to circumvent the prohibition rules and gratify their craving. Clandestine distilling and consumption of liquor now became common, and many travelled to the suburbs of Delhi to enjoy their drinks in peace and at leisure. A good amount of liquor was also smuggled into Delhi ‘by hundreds of tricks and devices, and by all sorts of collusion.’ These widespread violations of prohibition rules eventually constrained Ala-ud-din to modify the rules and permit private distillation and drinking of liquor, provided that liquor was not sold or consumed publicly, and that ‘drinking parties were not held.’ Prohibition was the only measure of Ala-ud-din that did not quite succeed.

Ala-ud-din also banned prostitution, as a companion measure to prohibition. The prostitutes then had to ‘sit in their houses, patching up their skirts with the greatest repentance and rubbing their hands together,’ states the Khusrav. ‘All the roots of sin and avarice have been cut off.’

The last of Ala-ud-din’s socio-political regulations was to virtually forbid the holding of convivial parties by nobles, by ordering that ‘noblemen and great men should not visit each other’s houses, or give feasts, or hold meetings,’ reports Barani. Marriage alliances between noble families were now required to be formed only with the consent of the sultan. Inevitably, ‘feasting and hospitality fell quite into disuse’ in Delhi.

ALONG WITH THESE socio-political regulations, Ala-ud-din also introduced certain administrative reforms, which were essential for the effective implementation of his policies and for the smooth functioning of the government. He paid special attention to the lower rungs of bureaucracy, particularly to those working in the districts, for these officers, Ala-ud-din knew, were the foundation stones of the state’s administrative superstructure, and any weakness in them would adversely affect the efficiency of the entire government. All through the history of the Delhi Sultanate, nearly all subordinate government officers were Hindus, and among them the conduct of the hereditary revenue collectors was a major concern for Ala-ud-din, for many of them were notoriously corrupt, lording over the peasants and gorging on the produce of their hard labour, and also cheating the government of its dues.

Ala-ud-din therefore sought to curb the powers of the traditional village officers by depriving them of their privileges and withdrawing the perquisites and concessions that they had traditionally enjoyed, thus in effect reducing them to the level of common peasants. ‘I have discovered that the khuts and muqaddams (village headmen) ride upon fine horses, wear fine clothes, shoot with Persian bows, make war upon each other, and go out hunting; but of the tribute, poll tax, house tax and pasture tax, they do not pay even one jital (coin),’ Ala-ud-din observed. ‘They levy separately the khut’s share from the villages, give parties and drink wine, and many of them pay no tax at all … Nor do they show any respect for my officers … I have therefore taken measures … so that at my command they are ready to creep into holes like mice.’ The suppression of the arbitrary powers of village chieftains and revenue collectors not only facilitated the efficient functioning of the government at the local level, but also benefited peasants, as it freed them from the oppressions and extortions of by chieftains.

Another important administrative measure of Ala-ud-din was to deal with the corruption of royal officials, which was endemic in the Delhi Sultanate. Government servants, the sultan noted, ‘were in the habit of taking bribes and committing embezzlements … They falsify accounts and defraud the state of revenue.’ Ala-ud-din dealt with this problem with a two-pronged measure. On the one hand, he kept strict surveillance over the work of government servants, and inflicted severe punishments on the corrupt, so that ‘it was no longer possible for anyone to take one tanka (coin) or any single thing from either a Hindu or Mussulman by way of bribe.’ At the same time the sultan increased the salaries of officials so that they would not have any survival compulsion to resort to corruption—‘I have directed that the salary of superintendents and other officials shall be fixed at such a rate as to allow them to live respectably,’ he announced.

ONE OF THE topmost concerns of Ala-ud-din throughout his reign was to maintain the strength and discipline of his army. That was essential for preserving the integrity of the empire against the persistent problems of provincial rebellions and Mongol raids. Besides, the booty that military campaigns brought was a major source of revenue for the Sultanate. In view of all this Ala-ud-din quite early in his reign decided, according to Barani, that the one indispensable requirement for the maintenance of the stability and security of the empire was to have a large standing army—‘and not only a large, but a choice army, well-armed, well-mounted, with archers, and all ready for immediate service.’

But the maintenance of such an army would involve enormous expenditure, which would empty the royal treasury in just a few years, Ala-ud-din realised. The only way that this could be managed was to substantially lower the salaries of officers and soldiers. And for this to be feasible, it was necessary to bring down the prices of provisions and other essential supplies, so that soldiers could maintain a good standard of living on a low salary. But how could the prices of provisions be brought down? ‘The sultan then consulted with his most experienced ministers as to the means of reducing the prices of provisions without resorting to severe and tyrannical punishments,’ reports Barani. ‘His councillors replied that the necessaries of life would never become cheap until the price of grain was fixed by regulations and tariffs.’