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By the time Alauddin Khalji ascended to the throne, the Delhi Sultanate's position in the empire's central region, which included the upper
Ganga valley and eastern Rajasthan, was fairly well established. This emboldened the sultans to embark on a series of internal reforms and
experiments aimed at improving administration, strengthening the army, beefing up the machinery of land revenue administration, expanding and
improving cultivation, and providing for the welfare of citizens in rapidly expanding towns. In this article, we will discuss the Internal Reforms
and Experiments of Delhi Sultanate which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

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Market Control and Agrarian Policy of Alauddin Khilji

Alauddin's market-control measures were regarded as one of the world's great wonders by his contemporaries.
Following his return from the Chittor campaign, Alauddin issued a series of orders attempting to set the price of all commodities ranging
from foodgrains, sugar, and cooking oil to a needle, and from expensive imported cloth to horses, cattle, and slave boys and girls.
He established three markets in Delhi for this purpose: one for foodgrains, another for expensive cloth, and a third for horses, slaves, and
cattle.
Each market was overseen by a high officer known as a shahna, who kept a register of merchants and strictly regulated shopkeepers and
prices.
Price regulation, particularly for foodgrains, was a constant concern of medieval rulers, because without a steady supply of cheap foodgrains
in the towns, they could not hope to maintain the support of the citizens and the army stationed there.
But Alauddin had another reason for dominating the market. The Mongol invasions of Delhi highlighted the need for a large army to counter
them.
However, such an army would quickly deplete his resources unless he could lower the prices, and thus their wages. Alauddin took his time
to accomplish his goals.
To ensure a steady supply of cheap foodgrains, he declared that the land revenue in the doab region, that is, the area extending from Meerut
near the Yamuna to the border of Kara near Allahabad, would be paid directly to the state, i.e., the villages in the area would not be assigned
in iqta to anyone. Furthermore, the land revenue was increased to half of the produce.
By increasing state demand and generally requiring peasants to pay in cash, peasants were forced to sell their food grains at low prices to
banjaras who were to transport them to towns and sell them at state-determined prices.
 To prevent hoarding, all banjaras were registered, and their agents and families were held jointly liable for any violations.
As an additional safeguard, the government established warehouses and stocked them with foodgrains, which were released whenever there
was a famine or a threat of a supply shortfall.
Alauddin kept himself constantly informed of everything, and harsh punishment was meted out if any shopkeeper charged a higher price or
attempted to cheat by using false weights and measures.
Even during times of famine, prices were not allowed to rise by a dam or a paisa, according to Barani. Thus, wheat sold for 712 jitals per
man, barley for 4 jitals, and good quality rice for 5 jitals.

Other Relevant Links

Expansion of the Delhi Sultanate Decline of delhi sultanate

Muhammad Tughlaq’s Experiments Administration of delhi sultanate

Successors of the delhi sultanate Religious Freedom under the Sultanate

Economic and Social Life of delhi sultanate Challenges leading to the decline of the Sultanate

Food Grains

Alauddin attempted to control not only the supply of foodgrains from the villages and their transportation to the city by grain merchants
(karwanis or banjaras), but also their proper distribution to the citizens, in order to control food prices.
Alauddin's first effort was to ensure that the government had adequate stocks of food grains so that traders did not try to raise prices by
creating an artificial scarcity or engage in profiteering.
The task of transporting food grains from the countryside was generally carried out by karwaniyan or banjaras, some of whom had 10,000
or 20,000 bullocks.
An official (shuhna) was appointed to supervise them. Normally, these banjaras brought in so much food grain into the city that it was
unnecessary to raid the royal stores.
Alauddin took stringent measures to ensure that the prices he set were strictly adhered to.
An officer (shehna) with sufficient force was appointed in charge of the market, with strict instructions to punish anyone who violated the
orders. During times of scarcity, Alauddin also instituted a rationing system.
Each grocer was given an amount of grains from the government stores based on the population of the ward. No one could buy more than
half a man at a time.
This, however, did not apply to the nobles. If they did not own land, they were given grains based on the number of dependants.

Cloth Market or Sarai-i-Adl

Alauddin ordered that all cloth brought by merchants from various parts of the country, including foreign lands, be stored and sold only in the
cloth market at government rates.
If any commodity was sold for even a jital more than the official price, it would be confiscated and the seller would be punished.
To ensure an adequate supply of all commodities, all merchants were registered and a deed was taken from them stating that they would
bring the same quantities of commodities to the sarai-adl every year and sell them at government rates.
To ensure that expensive cloth was not purchased and given to others who would take it out of Delhi and sell it at four to five times the price,
an officer was appointed to issue permits to amirs, maliks, and others for the purchase of these costly commodities in accordance with their
income.

Market for Horses, Cattles and Slaves

The supply of high-quality horses at reasonable prices was critical for both the military and the soldier.
The horse trade was essentially a monopoly, with Multanis and Afghans controlling the overland trade. However, they were sold in the
market by middlemen or dallals.
According to Barani, the rich dallals were as powerful as market officials, resorting to bribery and other corrupt practices. The horse-
merchants conspired with the dallals to raise the price of horses.
Alauddin took harsh measures against such dallals. They were expelled from town, and some were imprisoned.
The quality and price of horses were then determined with the assistance of other dallals.

Agrarian Reforms

Aside from market control, Alauddin made significant advances in land revenue administration.
He was the Sultanate's first monarch to insist that land revenue be assessed in the doab based on measuring the land under cultivation.
This meant that the rich and powerful in the villages, who owned more land, couldn't shift their burden to the poor.
Alauddin wanted the area's landlords, known as khuts and muqaddams, to pay the same taxes as everyone else.
As a result, they had to pay taxes on milch cattle and houses just like everyone else, and forego other illegal cesses that they were used to
collecting.
 The policy of direct collection of land revenue by the state based on measurement could only succeed if the amirs and other local officials
were honest.
Although Alauddin had paid these elements enough to live comfortably, he insisted on strict auditing of their accounts. Even minor
infractions would result in beatings and imprisonment.
Although Barani writes as if all of the above-mentioned measures were solely aimed at Hindus, it is clear that they were primarily aimed at
the countryside's privileged classes.
However, these are hardly socialist measures. They were primarily intended to deal with an emergency situation, namely the threat posed by
the Mongols.
Perhaps Alauddin would have been better off controlling only the prices of essential commodities such as food grains, etc. but, he tried to
control the price of everything, from "caps to socks, combs to needles, vegetables, soups, sweetmeats to chapatis."
This resulted in vexatious laws that were sought to be broken, resulting in harsh punishments and resentment.
Alauddin's agrarian policy was undoubtedly harsh, and it must have affected ordinary cultivators as well. But it wasn't so onerous that it
drove them to rebel or flee.

Conclusion

Alauddin's market regulations came to an end with his death, but he did achieve a number of gains. Not all of the measures were successful, but
they represent significant new developments. Some of the experiments failed due to a lack of experience, while others failed due to poor
planning or opposition from vested interests. The regulations enabled Alauddin to raise a large and efficient cavalry, allowing him to defeat the
subsequent Mongol onslaughts with great slaughter and drive them beyond the Indus. Alauddin's land revenue reforms were a significant step
toward a closer relationship with the rural areas. Some of his policies were carried on by his successors and later served as the foundation for the
agrarian reforms of Sher Shah and Akbar.

Other Relevant Links

Medieval India History Notes The Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 AD)

Major Dynasties (750-1200) Provincial Kingdoms of Medieval India

Lodi Dynasty (1451 to 1526) The Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451 A.D.)

Provincial Kingdoms of Eastern India Provincial Kingdoms of Western India

Provincial Kingdoms of Northern India Provincial Kingdoms of Deccan and Southern India

FAQs

Question: Which economic reforms were implemented by Delhi's sultans? ➕

Question: For what purpose did Alauddin Khalji strictly enforce market control or economic regulations? ➕

Question: Who was Ziauddin Barani? ➕

MCQs

Question: Who instituted the Market Regulation system?

(a) Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq

(b) Iltutmish

(c) Alauddin Khalji

(d) Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

Answer: (c) See the Explanation ➕

Question: Consider the following statements regarding Allaudin Khilji:

1. Alauddin Khalji imposed price controls in Delhi.

2. He desired to pay lower wages to artisans working on his Delhi palaces.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (a)  See the Explanation ➕

Other Relevant Links

Indian Polity Notes Indian Economy Notes

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Ancient India History Notes Medieval India History Notes

Modern India History Notes Geography Notes

Science And Technology Notes Environment And Ecology Notes

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