The rights of the tenants were duly recognised and the liabilities of each were clearly defined in the kabuliyat (deed of agreement), which the State took from him, and the patta (title-deed), which it gave him in return. Remissions of rents were made, and probably loans were advanced to the tenants in case of damage to crops, caused by the encampment of soldiers, or the insufficiency of rain. These revenue reforms in the resources of the State and at the same time conduced to the interest of the people.
The currency and tariff reforms of Sher Shah were also calculated to improve the general economic condition of his Empire. He not only introduced some specific changes in the mint but also tried to rectify ” the progressive deterioration of the previous Kings”. He reformed the tariff by removing vexatious customs and permitting the imposition of customs on articles of trade only at the frontiers and in the places of sale. This considerably helped the cause of trade and commerce by facilitating easy and cheap transport of merchandise.
This was further helped by the improvement of communications. For the purpose of imperial defence, as well as for the convenience of the people, Sher Shah connected the important places of his kingdom by a chain of excellent roads. The longest of these, the Grand Trunk Road, which still survives, extended for 1,500 kos from Sonargaon in Eastern Bengal to the Indus. One road ran from Agra to Burhanpur, another from Agra to Jodhpur and the fort of Chitor, and a fourth from Lahore to Multan. Following the traditions of some rulers of the past, Sher Shah planted shade-giving trees on both sides of the established road, and sarais or rest-houses at different stages, separate arrangements and the Hindus. These sarais also served the purpose of post-houses, which facilitated quick exchange of news and supplied the Government with information from different parts of the Empire. The maintenance of an efficient system of espionage also enabled the ruler to know what happened in his kingdom.
To secure peace and order, the police system was reorganized, and the principle of local responsibility for local crimes was enforced. Thus the village headmen were made responsible for the detection of criminals, and maintenance of peace, in the rural areas. The efficiency of the system has been testified to by all the Muslim writers. “Such was the state of safety of the highway, ” observes Nizam-ud-din, who had no reason to be partial towards Sher Shah, ” that if any one carried a purse full of gold (pieces) and slept in the desert (deserted places) for nights, there was no need for keeping watch.”
Sher Shah had a strong sense of justice, and its administration under him was even-handed, no distinction being made between the high and the low, and not even the near relatives of the King being spared from its decrees. In the paragana, civil suits were disposed of by the Amin, and other cases, mostly criminal, by the Qazi and the Mir-i-Adal. Several paraganas had over them a Munsif-i-Munsifan to try civil cases. At the capital city there were the Chief Qazi, the imperial Sadr, and above all the Emperor as the highest authority in judicial as in other matters.
Though a pious Muslim, Sher Shah’s treatment of the Hindus in general was tolerant and just. He employed Hindus in important offices of the State, one of his best generals being Brahmajit Gaur. “His attitude towards Hinduism,” observes Dr. Qanungo, “was not of contemptuous sufferance but of respectful deference; it received due recognition in the State.”
Sher Shah realised the importance of maintaining a strong and efficient army, and so reorganized it borrowing largely the main principles of ‘AIa-ud-din Khalji’s military system. The services of a body of armed retainers, or of a feudal levy, were not considered sufficient for his needs; he took care to maintain a regular army, the soldiers being bound to him, through their immediate commanding officer, by the strong tie of personal devotion and discipline. He had under his direct command a large force consisting of 150,000 cavalry, 25,000 infantry, 300 elephants and artillery. Garrisons were maintained at different strategic points of the kingdom; each of these, called a fauj, was under the command of a faujdar. Sher Shah enforced strict discipline in the army and took ample precautions to prevent corruption among the soldiers. Besides duly supervising the recruitment of soldiers, he personally fixed their salaries, took their descriptive rolls and revived the practice of branding horses.
Sher Shah is indeed a striking personality in the history of Medieval India. By virtue of sheer merit and ability he rose from a very humble position to be the leader of Afghan revival, and one of the greatest rulers that India has produced. His “military character” was marked by “a rare combination of caution and enterprise”; his political conduct was, on the whole, just and humane; his religious attitude was free from medieval bigotry; and his excellent taste in building is well attested, even to-day, by his noble mausoleum at Sasaram. He applied his indefatigable industry to the service of the State, and his reforms were well calculated to secure the interests of the people. He had, remarks Erskine, “more of the spirit of a legislator and a guardian of his people than any prince before Akbar”. In fact, the real significance of his reign lies in the fact that he embodied in himself those very qualities which are needed for the building of a national State in India, and he prepared the ground for the glorious Akbaride regime in more ways than one. But for his accidental death after only five years’ rule, the restoration of the Mughuls would not have been accomplished so soon. As Smith observes: “If Sher Shah had been spared, the ‘Great Mughuls’ would not have appeared on the stage of history. ” His right to the throne of India was better than that of Humayun. While Humayun had inherited the conquests of a Central Asian adventurer, who had not been able to create any strong claim, except that of force, for the rule of his dynasty in India, Sher Shah’s family, hailing from the frontier, had lived within India for three generations. Further, the latter’s equipment for kingship was exceptionally high, and he had achieved a good deal more than the mere conquest of territories.
