- The period between 1540 and 1556 A.D. was like a break in Medieval History in which Surs showed their role. Surs were those Afghans who came India at the time of Delhi – Sultans. They got Jagirs due to their bravery. They were administrating their Jagirs as Jagirdars.
Jagirdari
It is a land tenure system developed during the Delhi Sultanate. Under the system the collection of the revenue of an estate and the power of governing it were bestowed upon an official of the state.
- The founder of the Sur dynasty was Sher Shah, whose original name was Farid. He was the son of Hasan Khan, a jagirdar of Sasaram in Bihar. Later, Farid served under the Afghan ruler of Bihar, who gave him the title Sher Khan for his bravery.
- We have already seen how he defeated Humayun at the Battle of Chausa and became the ruler of Delhi in 1540.
- Sher Shah waged extensive wars with the Rajputs and expanded his empire. His conquests include Punjab, Malwa, Sind, Multan and Bundelkhand. His empire consisted of the whole of North India except Assam, Nepal, Kashmir and Gujarat
Sher Shah’s Administration
- Although his rule lasted for five years, he organized a brilliant administrative system. The central government consisted of several departments. The king was assisted by four important ministers:
Diwan –i- Wizarat – also called as Wazir – in charge of Revenue and Finance.
Diwan-i-Ariz – in charge of Army.
Diwan-i-Rasalat– Foreign Minister.
Diwan-i-Insha– Minister for Communications
- In addition to the four departments or Ministers, there was also the Diwan-i-Qaza and Diwan-i-Barid. The first was under the Chief Qazi. The duty of the Chief Qazi was the supervise the administration of Justice. Diwan-i-Barid was the Intelligence Department of the Government.
- Sher Shah’s empire was divided into several sarkars. Chief Shiqdar (law and order) and Chief Munsif (judge) were the two officers in charge of the administration in each sarkar. Each sarkar was divided into several parganas.
- Shiqdar (military officer)
- Amin (land revenue)
- Fotedar (treasurer)
- Karkuns (accountants)
These were in charge of the administration of each pargana. There were also many administrative units called iqtas.
Sher Shah’s Army
- It was only with the help of the army he was able to drive out Humayun and subdue practically the whole of northern the army. He took great personal interest in the recruitment of the troops. Troops were permitted on the basis of merit. Sher Shah re-introduced the system of Dagh or Branding or Horses and Chera or the preparation of the descriptive rules of the soldiers. In this way, fraudulent musters were checked. Sher Shah put a lot of emphasis on the cavalry. His intantry was armed muskets and the troops were skilful in their use.
Revenue Administration
- Sher Shah changed the system of assessment of land revenue and also introduced some improvements in the methods of its collection. He aimed at introducing a system of Land Revenue where the cultivator was asked to pay primarily in kind one-third of the expected produce of the crop from the land under cultivation. Land was measured and the same was recorded against every cultivator. All cultivable lands were classified into three classes – good, middle and bad. His revenue reforms increased the revenue of the state.
- The Pargana was the main unit for revenue collection. It consisted of a large number of villages. The Shiqdar was responsible for the collection of land revenue. He had one clerk to help him to keep local records in the local language. Another clerk prepared the records in Persian for submission to the capital.
Justice
- Sher Shah is very famous for giving justice to all concerned. No person could escape punishment on account of his status. The courts presided over by the Qazi and Mir Adl tried civil cases. The Hindus settled their disputes in their Panchayats. However in criminal cases, everybody was subject to the law of the state.
Police
- The functions of the police were performed by the soldiers in the time of Sher Shah. It was the duty of the Shiqdar-i-Shiqdaran to maintain peace and order in the Sarkar. A similar position was occupied by the Shiqdar in a Pargana. It was the duty of these officials to keep a strict watch over the thieves and robbers. Sher Shah also introduced the system of local responsibility. The result was that it was the duty of the officials in-charge of the various areas, to find out the culprit in every case.
Currency
- The currency system at the time of his accession had no fixed ratio between the coins of various metals. Coins of various Governments were allowed to circulate at the same time and they created a lot of confusion. Sher Shah introduced a new coin called Dam. He also abolished the old and mixed metal currency. The names on the coins were given in Devanagari script.
Means of Communication
Sher Shah Sur was a great road-maker. He built four big roads from
- Sonargaon in Bengal to the Indus This road was known as the Sarak-i-Azam and was 1,500 Kmsin length.
- Agra to Burhanpur.
- Agra to Jodhpur and Chittor
- Lahore to Multan.
- Trees were planted on both sides of the roads. Sarais (Rest Houses)were built at a distance of every Kroh. Separate provision was made for Hindus and Muslims in these Sarais.
Charity and Estimate of Sher Shah
- Sher Shah practiced charity on a large scale. He gave stipends from the treasury to destitute people. Sher Shah was an orthodox and devout Sunni. He is said to have dispensed justice without bias, punishing the oppressors even if they were nobles or his relatives. Through stern punishments to rebellious zamindars and nobles and to thieves and robbers he ensured effective maintenance of law and order in the empire.
- The fiscal administration for which Akbar and Todar Mal have been so highly praised was largely based on the methods of Sher Shah. During his short rule, Sher Shah did not have much time for building new cities and palaces. He started building a new walled city in Delhi, which later came to be known as Purana Qila (Old Fort). He built his own mausoleum in Sasaram. It is considered as one of the master pieces of Indian architecture. Sher Shah also patronized the learned men. Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote the famous Hindi work Padmavat during his reign.
- After Sher Shah’s death in 1545 his successors ruled till 1555 until when Humayun reconquered India.
Humayun’s Return from Exile
- After Sher Shah’s death in 1545 his weak successors ruled for ten years. Humayun, who had fled after his defeat at Kanauj, had taken asylum in Persia. Humayun then went to Afghanistan with Persian troops. He succeeded in capturing Kandahar and Kabul. But his brother Kamran did not allow him to hold them in peace. The struggle between the brothers intensified, and yet in the end Kamran had to seek a compromise with Humayun. Meanwhile the Sur Empire had fragmented, and so Humayun’s invasion became easy. The Afghan forces in Punjab, on the approach of Mughals, began to flee. Humayun became the Emperor once again. He died very soon after regaining Delhi when he slipped down the stairs of the library in the fort at Delhi. In the colourful words of Lane Poole, “Humayun stumbled out of his life, as he has stumbled through it.”
Fig: Humayun’s Tomb
