Achievements of Muhammad bin Tughlaq
Reforms of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Can he be called a combination of opposites? Express your opinion in this regard.
Or, mention the main events of the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Why did they fail?
Or, evaluate the achievements of Muhammad bin Tughlaq in the history of the Sultanate.
Muhammad bin Tughlaq 1325 -1351 Reforms and achievements:-
Muhammad bin Tughlaq was a successful follower of Alauddin Khalji's ideology of kingship. In the context of contemporary political, social and cultural life of India, Alauddin's ideology indicates a great deal. That ideology prepared the ground for strengthening the foundation of monarchy in India and destroying the power of the Ulema and the aristocracy. Alauddin introduced a new ideology that freed the monarchy and the state from the domination and influence of religion and class, and Muhammad bin Tughlaq tried to implement it.
According to R. P. Tripathi, "Muhammad bin Tughlaq was eager to strengthen the monarchy on the basis of reasoning and justice, ignoring the laws and regulations regarding religion."
However, unlike Alauddin Khalji's ideal of humanity, Muhammad bin Tughlaq's ideal of humanity was not based on necessity. It was rational. Muhammad bin Tughlaq's ideal of humanity was the main goal of achieving the well-being of the people. He considered the state as a humanitarian institution rather than an instrument of oppression. Muhammad bin Tughlaq's intention was that the scholars and the elite would perform their duties instead of amassing the power of the state. It is not true that he was unnecessarily harsh on the scholars and the nobles. It is known from the account of Ibn Battuta that many of the scholars and nobles enjoyed the generosity and kindness of the Sultan. On the throne, he did not even try to get the blessing and approval of the Caliph to gain the support of the Muslim subjects. In a word, he adopted the policy of keeping the monarchy separate from the influence of all religions. When we discuss the history of the Sultanate, we see Muhammad bin Tughlaq as an exceptional character. During his reign, many plans and reforms, about which there is much criticism, give his character an exceptional form. The various reforms of his reign are discussed below.
Revenue Reforms Muhammad bin Tughlaq :-
After achieving power, Muhammad bin Tughlaq introduced various reforms in the revenue system. He made proper arrangements for maintaining the accounts of the income and expenditure of the state. In order to increase the earnings of the state, he increased the amount of taxes in the Doab region. Perhaps instead of increasing the land tax, his intention was to increase other taxes by five to ten times. But due to the oppression of the Sultan's officials, famine occurred in the countryside and the misery of the farmers reached its peak. In this situation, the Sultan tried to help the farmers by providing large loans and huge help in irrigation. But his efforts ultimately ended in failure. As a result, money was misused, taxes remained unpaid and the Sultan's popularity declined.
Agricultural reforms of Muhammad bin Tughlaq :-
Also, for the development of agriculture, he established a new agricultural department called "Amir-e-Kohi". The purpose of this department was to make the land suitable for agriculture at the government's expense. About 70 lakhs of rupees were spent in two years to implement this plan and many employees were employed. But ultimately this plan ended in failure.
The reasons for the failure were -
First: - Most of the lands included in this plan were unfit for cultivation.
Secondly, this plan was completely new and its success required the personal supervision of the Sultan.
Thirdly, most of the money was wasted as the Sultan could not supervise it himself.
Transfer of capital from Delhi to Devagiri :-
The most significant political plan of Muhammad bin Tughlaq was to transfer the capital from Delhi to Devagiri. The Sultan adopted this plan for several reasons.
Firstly, to establish the capital in the central part of the empire.
Secondly, since Delhi was located near the north-western border, there was always a risk of Mongol invasion. Therefore, the distant Devagiri was considered safer in this regard.
Thirdly, it was easier to administer the Sultanate of South India from Devagiri.
Fourthly, according to Ibn Battuta, the Sultan adopted the plan to transfer the capital due to resentment against the citizens of Delhi.
By the order of the Sultan, the capital along with all the residents of Delhi was shifted to Devagiri and the new capital was named Daulatabad. Shade trees were planted on the way for the travelers and inns were built there. The distance from Delhi to Daulatabad was 1500 km. There was no limit to the physical suffering and misery of the people during the long journey. People were anxious to return to Delhi. It is true that if they had been satisfied with just shifting the capital, this plan might not have failed, but the Sultan made a serious mistake by shifting the citizens of Delhi as well. After a few days, the Sultan realized his mistake and ordered everyone to return to Delhi from Daulatabad. The journey started again and many people died on the way, unable to bear the hardships of the long journey, and the suffering of those who returned to Delhi alive knew no bounds. It took a long time for Delhi to regain its former glory and Daulatabad was deserted and abandoned.
In the words of Lanepool, ‘‘Daulahatabad remained a monument of misdirected energy.’’
However, although the plan failed, the transfer of the capital to Devagiri did lead to some positive trends. For example, a link was created between South India and North India. In South India, Turkish social and cultural characteristics spread to North India. Apart from this, the establishment of an administrative center at Devagiri was politically indicative of the politics of South India.
Monetary reform and introduction of symbolic copper coins: -
The monetary reform was another significant event during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. He introduced new coins according to the changing value of precious metals. A new coin called ‘‘Dokani’’ was introduced. A new gold coin called ‘‘Dinar’’ was introduced and according to Ibn Battuta, its weight was two hundred grains or rati. In addition, a new silver coin (tonka) weighing 140 rati was introduced.
But the most serious experimental plan of Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the introduction of symbolic copper coins. There is a difference of opinion among contemporary and modern historians about the reason for the introduction of this symbolic copper coin. According to Barani, the Sultan's immense generosity led to a shortage of coins in the treasury and a lot of money was needed to make the world conquest plan a success. For this reason, he introduced copper coins. Moreover, copper coins were introduced to compensate the treasury for the immense loss due to the transfer of the capital to Devagiri.
But the value of the coin decreased due to the free circulation of counterfeit coins. When foreign merchants refused to accept copper coins, trade and commerce almost came to a complete halt. Within 4 years of the introduction of the symbolic copper coin, the Sultan realized the failure of this plan and withdrew the copper coin in exchange for gold and silver coins. Therefore, the accusation that the Sultan cheated the people is not true.
Foreign Policy of Muhammad bin Tughlaq: Plan to conquer Khorasan:-
Within a few years of his accession to power, Muhammad bin Tughlaq took the initiative to conquer Khorasan and Iraq. Probably, he was tempted by this plan at the instigation of some Khorasani rebels. About 3 lakh 70 thousand soldiers were collected for this occasion and they were fed for a year. Finally, realizing the impossibility of the expedition to distant Central Asia through the inaccessible mountains of Hindu Kush, the Sultan abandoned this resolution. In this context, Barani writes - ‘’ The coveted countries were not acquired and his treasure was expended ‘’.
Review of the success and achievements of Muhammad bin Tughlaq:-
There are conflicting views among historians in judging the success and achievements of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Muhammad bin Tughlaq's contemporary historians Ibn Battuta and Barani have made contradictory comments about him. Barani has described the Sultan as bloodthirsty and barbaric. But Ibn Battuta has not made any such accusations against him. Rather, he has described him as a humble, truthful and generous man.
On the other hand, modern historians like Elphinstone, Smith, Havel, Edward, Thomas have criticized him as insane and deranged. On the other hand, Gardner Brown's description does not contain any accusations of the Sultan's deranged mind and bloodthirstiness.
It is true that Muhammad bin Tughlaq sometimes inflicted severe punishments for minor offences, and this was because he himself could not distinguish between offences. The death penalty was considered a very common punishment in medieval Europe and Asia. Another serious charge against Muhammad bin Tughlaq is that he was imaginative. This is undeniable; he was eccentric in nature; he had a strong attraction to innovation. But the signs of creative genius are found in all the plans he took up. For example, his reforms in revenue and monetary policy. But his plans were not in keeping with the times and ended in failure.
Judging from the point of view of learning, mental excellence and talent, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Muhammad bin Tughlaq was one of the greatest of the Indian emperors of the medieval period. His scholarship was well known. He was a philosopher, scientist and mathematician at the same time, he had an outstanding scholarship on astronomy and Persian language. His knowledge of linguistics was immense.
There were some special reasons behind the failure of Muhammad bin Tughlaq's plans. Such as:-
Firstly - in the words of Badauni - ''The king was freed from his people and they from the king''.
But, the historian Lenpool writes that, "Despite his good intentions, Muhammad bin Tughlaq failed due to lack of coordination." It is true that Muhammad bin Tughlaq did not lack versatile talent and the ability to adopt far-sighted plans; but due to lack of practical intelligence, his plans ended in failure.
Secondly: - His lack of practical intelligence is seen in the plan to transfer the capital. Transferring the capital is not a new thing in history but the Sultan made a serious mistake in transferring the inhabitants of Delhi.
Thirdly: - There was nothing unreasonable in the plan to conquer Khorasan. But when the whole country was immersed in unrest and rebellion - it was not at all timely to adopt such a plan.
Fourthly: - His plans indeed showed signs of basic talent but they were not suitable for the times and could not be implemented. This is why his attempt to introduce copper notes did not succeed.
Fifth: - By reducing the prestige of the Ulama in the administration of the state, the Sultan earned the opposition and hatred of the Ulama. The opposition of these two influential sections of the ruling class is largely responsible for the failure of his plan.
Sixth: - The Sultan's lack of insight, patience and common sense and his restlessness in the reform work made his failure inevitable.
Seventh: - He did not get the necessary cooperation from the royal servants either. That is why his revenue-related reforms ended in failure.
There is no doubt that his reign of 26 years ended in failure. The consequences of this were far-reaching.
1. The Sultanate's empire was degraded due to the failure of Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
2. The government's treasury was almost empty due to the failure of several plans.
3. Due to the great financial crisis, the empire's administrative machinery was completely broken.
4. Due to the destruction of administrative efficiency, anarchy and chaos arose throughout the empire.
5. Amidst the unrest, the Deccan became independent. Bangladesh severed all ties with the Sultanate. Sindh became independent and rebellions broke out repeatedly in the territories under the empire.
6. During the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the unity and stability of the state was greatly weakened.
Thus, without his knowledge, Muhammad bin Tughlaq paved the way for the fall of the Sultanate. However, Muhammad bin Tughlaq will always be known as an exceptional character in the history of the Sultanate. History remains incomplete if his achievements are not mentioned in some cases. For example, the political foresight he showed in the establishment of an impartial judicial system, the establishment of a secular government, the improvement of agriculture, etc., was unmatched by the medieval rulers. One of the achievements is deserved.
