The political system of the Muslim kings is generally divided into two categories; first, that governed by the Shariah and secondly the policies guided by political exigencies.
The first one i.e. Shariah, is the law ordained by God, such as, that regulating the five tenets of Islam and other virtuous deeds.
The political policy, on the other hand, concerns itself with the administrative business of the state and the maintenance of law and order.
Political policy too can be classified into two parts, viz:
- Administering the country in accordance with the concepts of justice and equity
- Enforcement of equitable laws
- Spreading education
- Promotion of public weal
- Defence of the land, etc. as also required by the Shariah.
Deviation from these principles, which is denounced by the Shariah, can be termed as unjust or tyrannical polity.
Islam however, rejects the division of religion and politics which is purely a Christian concept, accepted by the Muslims under the influence of the West. The above classifications have been mentioned here for a better appreciation of the political and administrative policies followed by the Muslim rulers of India.
Contents
Code of Chingiz Khan
Chingiz Khan had also formulated a code of laws, called Yassa from which Siyasah meaning politics is derived—which continued to be the supreme law of the lands ruled by his progeny.
They scrupulously adhered to the Yassa until they captured the south-eastern lands of Kirghiz steppe, Iran, Iraq and other countries.
By the time the Mongols entered India they had accepted Islam and had become conversant with the Shariah, the teachings of the Quran and Islamic way of life.
Nevertheless instead of accepting the Shariah as the only rule of conduct governing both public and private life, they contrived an amalgam of laws, some divinely ordained and others upheld by their national conventions.
On the one hand, they allowed the Qazis to guide them in religious matters, to administer the trusts and settle personal affairs having a direct bearing on religion, such as, marriages, inheritance, etc.
But on the other hand, they continued to follow the Yassa in political affairs and other matters taken out of the purview of Shariah as,for example, interdiction of quarrels amongst them.
The Mongols used to appoint another dignitary known as Hajib for the administration of these customary usages.
An interesting incident cited by Wolseley Haig shows how even the Moghul kings of India occasionally had recourse to the code of Yassa, overlooking the injunctions of the Shariah, to meet their personal ends.
He writes that Akbar chanced to see and tall in love with an extremely beautiful woman, the wife of one Sheikh Abdul- Wasl, and sent a message to the Sheikh reminding him of the article in the code of Chingiz Khan to the effect that the husband of any woman whom the sovereign may desire is bound to divorce the wife and surrender her to his lord. The Sheikh was complaisant, divorced his wife and retired to Bidar in Deccan.1
Punishment of Crimes under Yassa
Theft, adultery, wilful lies, lying or giving of false evidence, sorcery and spying were punishable by death under the Yassa.
It dealt with in a similar manner with those who caused loss to their business partners thrice or did not restore the runaway slave to his owner.
If the arms left behind or dropped by a soldier were not restored to him by the man following him, he too was to be put to death.
Religious Freedom under Yassa
The code of Chingiz Khan treated matters of religion indulgently. Religious teachers, mendicants, physicians, criers of the mosque and persons performing burial ceremonies were exempt from taxes and all religions were equally respected.
Administration of Army
Every soldier embarking for the battlefield had to present himself before the king and show him his entire baggage including even the needle and thread. Any default in this regard was punishable.
Every soldier was required to present some gift to the king on return from war and the women were to carry out the duties of their men folk drafted for active service.
The Mongol troops had commanders over every ten or hundred cavalry or infantry-men as described by Maqrizi in the Khutat-i-Misr.
The Muslim Dynasties of India
Quite a number of Muslim dynasties, such as the Slaves, Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Saiyids, Afghans and Moghuls have wielded the sceptre in India. In delineating their administrative set-up we have divided these dynasties into two categories.
- Slave and Khilji Dynasties
- Moghul Dynasty
Administrative Setup of Slave & Khilji Dyanasties
The Slave and Khilji kings followed more or less the same type of administrative system with a fairly extensive official hierarchy, of which the important offices are mentioned here.
Wazir
As the head of the imperial secretariat, he held the highest post and was next only to the King. His functions included administration of the realm, supervision of the state revenues and expenditure and all other important matters related to these.
The Wazirs were assisted by Mushrif (accountant) and Mustaufi (auditors) who used to keep him posted with the necessary details of income and expenditure. The Wazirs were also known as Khwaja-i-Jahan.
Arz-ul-Mamalik
The post was equivalent to Chief of the Staff of modern times. Being responsible for the maintenance and administration of armed forces, he also inspected the troops and approved the appointment to all ranks.
Anybody desiring recruitment as an archer had to bend the different types of bows ketp by the Arz-ul- Mamlik. The rank of the candidate depended on his ability and prowess to bend these bows.
Similarly an intending horseman had to strike a drum while riding a galloping horse.
The candidate for archer horseman had to shoot an arrow into a ball lying on the ground from the galloping horseback. The more expertise one showed in taking the correct aim, the higher one rank was given.
Hajib
There were different grades of Hajibs. Under the Chief Hajib were his deputies called Naib Hajib, and then Sharaf-ul-Hujjab, Saiyid-ul-Hujjab and their assistants.
Qazi
The Qazis were required to enforce the rules of the Shariah and decide the civil and criminal suits of the people. A Qazi was appointed in every pargana while the Chief Justice or Qazi-ul-Quzat had his headquarters in the Imperial capital. He was a member of the imperial court and was known as Sadr-i-Jahan.
Amir Dad
The officer was charged with the responsibility of deciding the disputes between the grandees of the king. The expenditure on this office, paid as remuneration to the officer was 50,000 dinars annually.
Kotwal
Combining the duties of committing magistrate and police, the officer was required to maintain law and order as well as to punish the criminals.
Amir Kalid-dar
A noble was appointed for the safe custody of the keys of royal apartments. It was his duty to open the gates when required, and keep a watch over imperial Haram and Its officers.
Amir-Wakil-dar
As the chief dignitary of the royal household, he supervised the royal kitchen, managed the supplies and held the charge over the imperial household servants.
Amir Jamdar
The officer was responsible for the preparation of royal dresses and all purchases relating to it.
Amir Salahdar
The officer held the charge of royal armoury as well as commanded the royal bodyguards during public and private audience of the king.
Amir Tuzak
Amir Tuzak was the master of ceremonies. It was his duty to notify the royal audience, make arrangements for functions and ceremonies and allocate seats to the dignitaries according to the ranks held by them.
Diwan-i-Arz
He presented the incoming despatches before the king and acted as an intermediary through whom the king communicated with his officials and the grandees.
Dabir
All the edicts, proclamations and books on which royal seal had to be affixed were presented to the king by Dabir. He also dictated letters on behalf of the king in accordance with the directions given to him.
Mushrif
He was charged with the duty of keeping an account of all State revenues.
Al-Mustaufi or Mustaufi-ul-Mamalik
He was the Accountant General who checked all accounts and kept a record of State expenditure.
Majmuadar
The officer was the book-keeper responsible for maintaining accounts of both the incomings and outgoings of the State exchequer.
Aqtadar
He was the governor or deputy of the king in the provinces. He held the command of the troops stationed in the provinces and supervised the collection of revenues.
Muqatta
He was the administrative head of the parganas.
Akhor Begi
He was the dignitary who headed the officers and servants attached to royal stables and grazing grounds reserved for the royal animals.
Shahna-i-fil
He was the superintendent of royal elephants who controlled the expenses on elephant stables, mahawats, etc.
Shahna-i-Imarat
The officer equivalent to Engineer- in-Chief was responsible for the execution of public works, specially the castles and palaces.
Administrative Setup of Moghuls
The administrative set-up of the Moghuls practically remained unchanged during the long period of their rule. They too had a long list of dignitaries which has been given here under two categories.
In the first category were included those nobles and dignitaries who always accompanied the emperor in camps and cantonments, and counselled him in the management of the State affairs.
Wakil-i-Mutlaq
He was the prime-minister2, and one of the highest grandees, who was the custodian of the royal seal. The importance of his office placed him only next to the emperor, above all other nobles and dignitaries. Wakil-i-Mutlaq normally held one of the ranks between Panj-Hazari (Commander of 5000 troops) and Nuh-Hazari (Commander of 9000 troops).
Madar-ul-Muham
He held the rank of a Wazir and his business was to keep a watch over State expenses. The officer could be deemed as the Chief Secretary of the emperor. He was assisted by a number of Mustafis.
Nobles holding the rank of Chahar-hazari (Commander of 4000 troops) to Haft-hazari (Commander of 7000 troops) were appointed as Madar-ul-Muham.
Diwan-i-Ala
He was the auditor of State revenues and expenditure. An officer holding the rank of a Hazari (Commander of 1000 troops) was appointed to this post.
Mir-Bakshi
He supervised the administration of armed forces, approved the appointment of new recruits, presented them before the emperor and fixed their ranks and pay. The Mir-Bakhshi had three more Bakhshis under him, one each for the horsemen, archers and artillery.
The Mir Bakhshi was also appointed from amongst the nobles holding the rank of the commanders of a few thousand troops.
Sadr-us-Sudur
The function of the Sadar-us-Sudur was to look after the welfare of religious teachers, men of piety, orphans, widows and other poor and needy persons, to sanction stipends for them and to appoint the Qazis. He had also to be a grandee holding the rank of the commander of a few thousand troops.
Qazi-ul-Quzat
He was required to enforce the rules of the Shariah and ensure their observance by the people in their daily lives. He also decided cases relating to dissolution of marriages, payment of loans etc. Qazi-ul-Quzat was also a dignitary of the State holding a high rank.
Mufti-ul-Askar
Appointed from amongst the grandees of rank and authority, his function was to pronounce juristic opinion in accordance with the Hanafi school of Jurisprudence.
Muhtasib
He acted as the censor of public morals. It was his duty to check the use of intoxicants like liquor, opium and hashish, to suppress immoral practices and to interdict the entry of women of dissolute character in public gatherings and fairs.
He was also required to control the market and put down hoarding, fraud and other malpractices.
Daroga-i-Adalat
Acting as a special court of appeal for those who could not gain access to the king, he held the court daily from morning till noon and decided the law-suite in accordance with the rules of the Shariah or the customary usages, as the case required.
Cases which he thought fit to be decided personally by the king were referred to the latter for hearing in the imperial court held on each Wednesday.
Dabir
He was the royal amanuensis who took down the royal orders and edicts which were later copied by calligraphers. Such letters or orders bore king’s titles at the top in golden letters and the royal seal was affixed by the Amir-ul-Umra before being despatched.
Mir Tuzak
He was the Lord Chamberlain responsible for enforcing court etiquettes and making arrangements for the royal functions. It was his duty to obtain the orders of the emperor and notify the holding or cancellation of such functions.
Mir Atish
As the Lord of Artillery, he supervised all affairs relating to the establishment of the Imperial heavy and light artillery. It involved the command of the imperial artillery, which was always parked round the fortress or palace or the tents occupied by the emperor. This office carried with it the custody of the emperor’s person and the guarding of the palace gates and walls.3
Mir Saman
He looked after the royal wardrobe, jewellery and ornaments.
Khan-i-Saman
He was a trusted grandee and had the charge of the imperial kitchen. Blochmann gives the name of this officer as Mir Bakawal 4. It however appears that the designation of Mir Bakawal in Akbar’s time was subsequently changed to Khan-i-Saman.
Darogha-i-lbtiya
The officer was responsible for the purchases required for the royal household.
Darogha-i-Jawahirkhana
A Darogha was appointed for the imperial treasury of precious stones. The officer had to be a skilful jeweller capable of classifying the jewels and other precious stones5. ‘
Darogha-i-Kutub Khana
It was his duty to properly maintain the royal library.
Darogha-i-Ghusalkhana
This officer was charged with the responsibility of informing the emperor about the presence or absence of dignitaries entitled to attend the Diwan-i-Khas (court of private audience).
Darogha Arz-i-Mukarrar
The cases relating to revenue affairs and grant of jagirs requiring a revision of the earlier orders were brought to the notice of the emperor by Darogha Arz-i-Mukarrar.
Darogha Dak Chauki
He read out all letters and communications to the emperor received from the outlying areas and subas.
Darogha-i-Khawasan
He was the superintendent of all the menial and maid servants attached to the royal household. Abul Fadl says that there were several daroghas, appointed from chaste women for each section of the Harem. Darogha-i-Khawasan should therefore be the Chief of these daroghas6.
Akhor Begi
He was responsible to the emperor for proper maintenance of royal stables, grazing grounds reserved for them and the establishment required for these.
Shahna-i-Fil
He was responsible for the royal stables of elephants and all matters relating thereto.
Kotwal
He was the custodian of law and order with extensive powers to protect the life and property of the citizens and to root out theft and brigandage.
The provincial set-up of the Moghul administration consisted of the following officers:
Subedar
He was head of the civil administration as well as the armed forces stationed in a suba. Holding a mansab between Seh-Hazari (Commander of 3000 troops) and Haft-Hazari, he had the overall charge of provincial administration ranging from maintenance of law and order and collection of revenues to the maintenance of imperial forces.
Normally the Subedars were paid 24 lakh rupiahs annually but they were also granted a Jagir and were occasionally rewarded for meritorious work. The Subedars had their headquarters in the capital of the provinces or in some important and central town of the Suba.
Bakshi
He was also a mansabdar (One holding the rank of the commander of few thousand troops), appointed by the Emperor. His duties comprised selection and posting of military personnel, superintendence of the mustering for branding and verifying the troopers’ horses and similar other matters connected with the armed forces7.
Diwan
Being the book-keeper of the provincial government, he was responsible for keeping the accounts of income and expenditure of the suba.
The Diwan was appointed by the emperor but the order for his appointment was issued under the seal of the prime-minister.
He was assisted by a Peshkar (personal assistant), Darogha Kachehri (Court Inspector), Mushrif Daftar (Accountant) and Tahwildar (Treasurer). These officers were provided with a contingent of subordinate staff consisting of Munshi Kachehri, Huzur Nawis, Suba Naws, Muharir Khalsa, Muharir Daftartan, Muharir Daftar-pai-baqi and Muharir sar-rishta.
Faujdar
He was the officer at the provincial level, charged with the responsibility for maintaining law and order, imposing punishment on the criminals and gangs of robbers and putting down rebellions.
Sadar
He was an officer appointed by the emperor on the recommendation of the Sadr-us-Sadur, and was attached to the Subedar to look after the welfare of theologians, mystics and the poor. He was authorised to grant stipends to such persons.
Qazi
A Qazi was appointed in every pargana tor the administration of Justice. His office consisted of a Mufti (Legist), Wakil Sharai (expounder of the Shariah laws), Muharir Munaskha (registrar of law suits) and Mushrif (accountant).
Muhtasib
Like the Muhtasib of the imperial capital, one was appointed in each city or a Mohal, by the Sadr-us- Sudur. His monthly remuneration was one hundred and fifty’rupiahs in addition to a horse allowance often rupiahs.
Darogha-i-Adalat
He was required to hold his court from early morning till afternoon for the hearing of cases instituted against nobles and dignitaries so that the persons who could not approach the king or the governor should not be deprived of justice.
The plaintiffs were allowed to present their cases in person or through their attorneys.
The Darogha tried to compound the cases through mutual agreement of the parties but if his efforts failed, he asked the witnesses to be produced and communicated his decision to the civil authorities for execution of his judgement. The civil authorities were also required to devote two days in a week for this purpose.
Waqai Nigar
Reporters were appointed in each suba, sakar and pargana to inform the centre about every event, big or small.
They sent two despatches every day; in the evening covering the news of the day and in the morning covering the happenings during the night.
These despatches were delivered to Darogha Dak Chauki who immediately sent them to the capital for the perusal of the monarch.
Thus the emperor kept himself informed of all happenings from Qandahar to Bengal.
Since the Waqai Nigars could distort or misrepresent any event, four other officials holding different ranks viz. special Waqai Nigars, Sawaneh Nigars (biographers), Khufia Nawis (secret agents) and Harkaras (postmen) were also required to send their reports.
If any discrepancy was found in the reports received from different sources, the emperor instituted enquiries through other agencies.
Kotwal
He was posted in each city by the Mir Atish. His duties were analogous to the Kotwal in the capital.
Thanadar
He performed the duties of the Kotwal in the parganas.
Amal Guzar
It was his duty to collect Ushr and Khiraj as well as to adopt measures for the improvement of the quality of land and bringing waste land under cultivation.
Literally Ushr is the one tenth of agricultural produce and Khiraj is the tribute paid by a dependency.
Amal Guzar was thus the collector of land revenue.
The Moghuls had actually taken over the system which they found in operation—a system which in its main lines was consistent with Islamic law but was based on the customary system of the land since the time of Hindu period.
Khazanadar
The officer was the local custodian of state income and was responsible for remitting it to the imperial treasury.
Qanungo
A qanungo or registrar of cultivated lands was appointed in every pargana to supervise the measurement of area sown and to maintain necessary records in this connection.
Tipakchi
A junior official was charged with the responsibility of recording the units of cultivated area, quality of land, name of the cultivators, the yield harvested and the revenues assessed thereon. One tipakchi was appointed for each big village or a group of villages.
Additional Departments under Muslim Rule
Diwan-i-Sair
This was also a part of the Tax Collection Department and was manned by a Darogha, Amin, Krora, Mushrif, Tahwildar and a few other officials. The tax levied on an income of forty rupiahs, was one rupiah from the Muslims and two rupiahs from the Zimmis.
Zimmis are non-Muslim subjects of the Muslim government whose security, personal freedom and religious rights was guaranteed by the State, but who were unlike the Muslims, exempt from active service of defence of the State.
The Christians were liable to pay 3.5 per cent of their income while Harbis (A people at war with the Muslim government) had to pay four per cent.
Diwan-Baghat
This was the department for promotion of horticulture. Its personnel consisted of a Darogha, Amin, Karora, Mushrif, Tahwildar, Baghban and a hundred cultivators.
Diwan-i-Bait-ul-Mal
The department was the custodian of properties left by persons without any legal heir. It also had a Darogha, Amin, Mushrif, Tahwildar, and Farrash.
Diwan-ul-Amarah
This department was constituted for execution of public works. Placed under the charge of a Darogha, it was provided with a Mushrif and a Tahwildar and a number of engineers.
Balghorkhana
These were the poor-houses established at public expenses for giving shelter to the old and incapacitated persons. Six such poor houses existed in 1611 when their number was doubled by setting up new Balghorkhanas at Dacca, Allahabad, Lahore, Delhi, Agra and Ahmadabad by Jahangir.
Maristan
Also known as Darusshafa, the staff of these hospitals consisted of a Muslim and a non-Muslim physician and one Jarrah (surgeon) along with one Amin, Mushrif Mutawalli.
These hospitals normally existed in big cities like Agra, Delhi and Lahore.
By an edict issued by Jahangir in 1611, Maristans were established in all the cities where in addition to the free medicines and diet provided to the patients, a fixed amount was also awarded to them on discharge from the hospital.
References:
- Cambridge, Vol. IV, p. 86
- Ain-i-Akbari (Blochmann), p. 595
- Malumat ul-Afaq, British Museum No. fol. 79b cited in The Army of the Indian Moghuls, p. 155
- Ain-i-Akbari, p. 60-61
- Ain-i-Akbari (Blochmann) pp. 15-16.
- Ibid, p.46
- Dastur-ul-Insha, p. 232