Domestic Policies of Ala-ud-din Khilji - Medieval India History Notes

Alauddin Khilji was a powerful and capable monarch. He established a powerful central government. He was the state's greatest authority, and he believed in divine right's history. The Sultan began to regard himself as a divine representative or "Shadow of God." As a result, he forbade secret gatherings and parties, as well as marriage contacts between nobility and officers. He assigned spies to keep an eye on them and attempted to seize their assets. His domestic policies include administrative, economic (revenue) and military reforms. In this article, we will discuss the Domestic Policies of Ala-ud-din Khilji which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

Domestic Policies of Ala-ud-din Khilji - Background

• Alauddin Khilji was the nephew and son-in-law of his predecessor Jalaluddin Khilji and became a king after killing Jalaluddin.
• He brought many reforms in the domestic policies to establish a solid foundation for his kingdom.
• He believed in the divine right theory and distinguished between religion and politics.
• Alauddin Khalji enacted the famous 4 administrative ordinances.
• Under first ordinance, he took away free gifts from various persons in the form of Inam (grant for meritorious work), Milk (given to a pious man), Idrar (grant to a destitute person), and Waqf (grant to a religious institution - example Mosque).
• The wealth of intermediaries and peasants were also taken away as part of this ordinance.
• Alauddin Khalji increases the spy system with his second ordinance and throughout the Sultanate, effective spies were appointed.
• The third ordinance was enacted to make drinking illegal, as Alauddin Khalji had given up the habit himself. The wine barrels were delivered to the palace and broken publicly.
• The fourth ordinance outlawed inter-marriage in Nobel without his approval. Nobels were also forbidden to socialise and to play gambling.
• Apart from administrative reforms, revenue reforms were also taken, for that he established a separate revenue agency as Diwan-i-Muskharaj.
• He also devised a scientific method for measuring land and calculating land revenue.
• Sardars, jagirdars, and ulemas were all subjected to severe levies.
• Market Reforms includes the checking of prices so soldiers were paid less.
• He established an intricate intelligence network to collect information on black-marketing and hoarding in order to limit the cost of critical commodities.
• While Military Reforms include keeping a large and powerful standing army.
• To avoid false musters and unscrupulous acts, he instituted a system of horse branding (dagh) and the keeping of complete military registration.

Administrative Policies of Ala-ud-din Khilji

• Alauddin Khilji's administrative changes were an important part of his domestic policy.
• They were a response to the Sultan's power being challenged by recurrent revolts and insurrection.
• Turks brought with them new political ideas and institutions, resulting in transformational changes in the Indian political system.
• For the first time in many centuries, the age of political fragmentation had come to an end with the establishment of a central authority in North India.
• The political unification of India was carried out by Alauddin khilji's military victories, which were initially limited to Northern India but gradually extended to Peninsular India.
• The Alauddin Khilji introduced a new system of administration, in which they maintained specialised departments to fulfil specific administrative functions. These were:
  • Diwan-i-Wazir – Department of Prime Minister & finance minister
  • Diwan-i-Arz – Military department
  • Diwan-i-Insha – Department of royal correspondence
  • Diwan-i-Risalat – Department of foreign affairs
• Alauddin Khilji developed these four major pillars of their political system.
• But at the local level, he did not intervene directly in Indian rural life. The practices of the present institution were allowed to continue.
• With the introduction of Turkish Rule, the age of secular governance came to an end. They followed the Islamic state system.
• Another aspect introduced by Alauddin khilji was the Iqta system. Originally, it was an Arabic custom. It was adopted by the Turks and brought to India by the Arabs.
• The nobles and military commanders were given the job of administering a section of the territory known as Iqta.
• Iqtadar was the name given to the holder of Iqta.
• Due to his long rule, the administrative changes were exceedingly successful in reaching the stated goal.
• Also, the people become rebellious when they have too much wealth because they have more time to ponder about the Sultan's strengths and flaws.
• The consumption of wine has also been identified as a contributing factor because when people are under the influence of alcohol, they lose sight of their true status and begin to believe that authority can be questioned.
• So, wealth accumulation and wine consumption were prohibited by Alauddin khilji.
• Nobel matrimonial alliances were another key cause of periodic revolts against the Sultan because Nobel obtains the strength to challenge the Sultan's rule through matrimonial connections.
• So, Alauddin Khalji also annulled the matrimonial alliance between nobles if carried out without his permission.
• During Alauddin Khilji's rule, peace and stability prevailed, resulting in great economic growth.

Economic and Revenue Policy of Ala-ud-din Khilji

• Alauddin Khilji altered expenditure methods solely to build his treasury, fulfil his obligations, and stockpile for his expansionist wars.
• He hiked agricultural taxes from 20% to 50%, payable in grain and rural produce or cash, and he eliminated payments.
• He imposed four different types of taxes on non-Muslims in the Sultanate: Jizya (poll tax), Kharaj (land tax), Kari (house tax), and Chari (field duty).
• He proclaimed that his Delhi-based officers, as well as local Muslim jagirdars, mukkadims, chaudharis, and zamindars, would be able to seize half of every produce as a cost on standing yield in order to fill sultanate storerooms.
• For the assessment of land tax, he established a systematic way of measuring land.
• To combat bribery and corruption, he boosted the wages of revenue officials.
• The role of "Mustakhraj," a special officer, was formed to collect land revenue from peasants.
• All agribusiness produce, animals, and slaves in the kingdom were subject to quality regulations, which included restrictions on where, how, and by whom they could be sold.
• Shahana-i-Mandi markets were created. In this mandi, Muslim shoppers were given special licences and instructions on how to acquire and sell.
• No one else could buy from farmers or sell in urban areas except these merchants.
• There was a large group of investigators who could screen the mandi and catch anyone attempting to buy or sell something outside of the proposed limit.
• He took steps to protect peasants from corrupt revenue officials' demands by enforcing strong penalties even for minor offences.
• The private stockpiling of food was prohibited. Alauddin introduced the distributing system, as well as a quality control system.
• These limitations reduced expenses and lowered wages to the point that ordinary people were not affected.
• After the death of Alauddin Khilji, the quality control method could no longer be used.

Military Policy and Reforms

• Alauddin khilji was a dictatorial monarch whose autocratic control was dependent on military might.
• To confront the Mongol threat and accomplish imperialistic plans, he needed a powerful and competent army.
• He gathered a huge standing force in the city under his direct command.
• He practised paying soldiers in cash, and every soldier he paid in cash.
• Sultan Alauddin khilji created the Dagh (branding horse) to ensure that soldiers and horses were treated equally. This was mainly to arrest proxy practice during wars and fights.
• Iqtadars were ordered to bring their warriors to the capital on a regular basis for inspection.
• The state provided weapons and horses to the soldiers to ensure that they had the best fighting capability possible.
• These reforms changed the nature and character of the Indian military.
• The age of feudal levies came to an end as the Turks maintained a central standing army directly controlled by Sultan.
• The elephants were no longer the army's mainstay; instead, the Turks relied more on the cavalry to assure speed.
• New weapon systems were introduced by the Turk. They brought new fighting strategies to India as well.

Conclusion

Under the Khilji dynasty, economic policy and administration were strictly controlled by the King. Alauddin's administrative policy was very concise and clear. He introduced the ‘Dagh system’ (branding of horses) and appointed ‘Mustakhraj’ for the purpose of collection of revenue. Along with that, he enacted four ordinances to avoid future rebellions. He also seized religious grants and free land grants. He reorganised the spy network, prohibited social gatherings and the consumption of alcohol. He instituted the establishment of a permanent standing army. All these reforms were very brute and only based on force. Thus within a short duration, all these reforms failed and khilji dynasty declined.