(1) ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGE:
Alauddin was the most powerful ruler of his dynasty.[79][80] Unlike the previous rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, who had largely relied on the pre-existing administrative set-up, Alauddin undertook large-scale reforms.[81] After facing the Mongol invasions and several rebellions, he implemented several reforms to be able to maintain a large army and to weaken those capable of organizing a revolt against him.[82] Barani also attributes Alauddin's revenue reforms to the Sultan's desire to subjugate the Hindus by "depriving them of that wealth and property which fosters rebellion".[83] According to historian Satish Chandra, Alauddin's reforms were based on his conception of fear and control as the basis of good government as well as his military ambitions: the bulk of the measures were designed to centralise power in his hands and to support a large military.[84]
Some of Alauddin's land reforms were continued by his successors, and formed a basis of the agrarian reforms introduced by the later rulers such as Sher Shah Suri and Akbar.[85] However, his other regulations, including price control, were revoked by his son Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah a few months after his death.[86]
(2) REVENUE REFORMS .
Main article: Revenue reforms of Alauddin Khalji:
The countryside and agricultural production during Alauddin's time was controlled by the village headmen, the traditional Hindu authorities. He viewed their haughtiness and their direct and indirect resistance as the main difficulty affecting his reign. He also had to face talk of conspiracies at his court.[87]
After some initial conspiracies and Hindu revolts in rural areas during the early period of his reign, he struck the root of the problem by introducing reforms that also aimed at ensuring support of his army and food supply to his capital. He took away all landed properties of his courtiers and nobles and cancelled revenue assignments which were henceforth controlled by the central authorities. Henceforth, "everybody was busy earning with earning a living so that nobody could even think of rebellion". He also ordered "to supply some rules and regulations for grinding down the Hindus, and for depriving them of that wealth and property which fosters rebellion. The Hindu was to be reduced to be so reduced as to be unable to keep a horse to ride on, wear fine clothes, or to enjoy any luxuries of life."[87]
Alauddin brought a large tract of fertile land under the directly governed crown territory, by eliminating iqta's, land grants and vassals in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab region.[88] He imposed a 50% kharaj tax on the agricultural produce in a substantial part of northern India: this was the maximum amount allowed by the Hanafi school of Islam, which was dominant in Delhi at that time.[89]
(Alauddin Khalji's taxation system was probably the one institution from his reign that lasted the longest, surviving indeed into the nineteenth or even the twentieth century. From now on, the land tax (kharaj or mal) became the principal form in which the peasant's surplus was expropriated by the ruling class.
— The Cambridge Economic History of India: c.1200-c.1750, [90].)
Alauddin also eliminated the intermediary Hindu rural chiefs, and started collecting the kharaj directly from the cultivators.[91] He did not levy any additional taxes on agriculture, and abolished the cut that the intermediaries received for collecting revenue.[92] Alauddin's demand for tax proportional to land area meant that the rich and powerful villages with more land had to pay more taxes.[93] He forced the rural chiefs to pay same taxes as the others, and banned them from imposing illegal taxes on the peasants.[93] To prevent any rebellions, his administration deprived the rural chiefs of their wealth, horses and arms.[94] By suppressing these chiefs, Alauddin projected himself as the protector of the weaker section of the rural society.[95] However, while the cultivators were free from the demands of the landowners, the high taxes imposed by the state meant a culviator had "barely enough for carrying on his cultivation and his food requirements."[92]
To enforce these land and agrarian reforms, Alauddin set up a strong and efficient revenue administration system. His government recruited many accountants, collectors and agents. These officials were well-paid but were subject to severe punishment if found to be taking bribes. Account books were audited and even small discrepancies were punished. The effect was both large landowners and small-scale cultivators were fearful of missing out on paying their assessed taxes.[96]
Alauddin's government imposed the jizya tax on its non-Muslim subjects, and his Muslim subjects were obligated to contribute zakat.[97] He also levied taxes on residences (ghari) and grazing (chara'i), which were not sanctioned by the Islamic law.[98] In addition, Alauddin demanded four-fifths share of the spoils of war from his soldiers, instead of the traditional one-fifth share (khums).[97]
(3) MARKET REFORMS.
Main article: Market reforms of Alauddin Khalji:
Alauddin implemented price control measures for a wide variety of market goods.[85] Alauddin's courtier Amir Khusrau and the 14th century writer Hamid Qalandar suggest that Alauddin introduced these changes for public welfare.[99] However, Barani states that Alauddin wanted to reduce the prices so that low salaries were acceptable to his soldiers, and thus, to maintain a large army.[100][101] In addition, Barani suggests that the Hindu traders indulged in profiteering, and Alauddin's market reforms resulted from the Sultan's desire to punish the Hindus.[93]
To ensure that the goods were sold at regulated prices, Alauddin appointed market supervisors and spies, and received independent reports from them. To prevent a black market, his administration prohibited peasants and traders from storing the grains, and established government-run granaries, where government's share of the grain was stored. The government also forced the transport workers to re-settle in villages at specific distances along the Yamuna river to enable rapid transport of grain to Delhi.[102]
Chroniclers such as Khusrau and Barani state that the prices were not allowed to increase during Alauddin's lifetime, even when the rainfall was scarce.[103] The shopkeepers who violated the price control regulations or tried to circumvent them (such as, by using false weights) were given severe punishments.[104]
(4) MILITARY REFORM.
Alauddin maintained a large standing army, which included 475,000 horsemen according to the 16th-century chronicler Firishta.[105] He managed to raise such a large army by paying relatively low salaries to his soldiers, and introduced market price controls to ensure that the low salaries were acceptable to his soldiers.[101] Although he was opposed to granting lands to his generals and soldiers, he generously rewarded them after successful campaigns, especially those in Deccan.[106]
Alauddin's government maintained a descriptive roll of every soldier, and occasionally conducted strict reviews of the army to examine the horses and arms of the soldiers. To ensure that no horse could be presented twice or replaced by a poor-quality horse during the review, Alauddin established a system of branding the horses.[107]
(5) SOCIAL REFORMS.
Main article: Rebellions against Alauddin Khalji § Measures for preventing rebellions:
Although Islam bans alcoholic drinks, drinking was common among the Muslim royals and nobles of the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century, and Alauddin himself was a heavy drinker. As part of his measures to prevent rebellions, Alauddin imposed prohibition, because he believed that the rampant use of alcoholic drinks enabled people to assemble, lose their senses and think of rebellion. According to Isami, Alauddin banned alcohol, after a noble condemned him for merrymaking when his subjects were suffering from a famine. However, this account appears to be hearsay.[108]
Subsequently, Alauddin also banned other intoxicants, including cannabis.[108] He also banned gambling, and excommunicated drunkards and gamblers from Delhi, along with vendors of intoxicants.[109] Alauddin's administration strictly punished the violators, and ensured non-availability of alcohol not only in Delhi, but also in its surrounding areas. Nevertheless, alcohol continued to be illegally produced in and smuggled into Delhi.[110] Sometime later, Alauddin relented, and allowed distillation and drinking in private. However, public distribution and drinking of wine remained prohibited.[111]
Alauddin also increased his level of control over the nobility. To prevent rebellions by the nobles, he confiscated their wealth and removed them from their bases of power. Even charitable lands administered by nobles were confiscated. Severe punishments were given for disloyalty. Even wives and children of soldiers rebelling for greater war spoils were imprisoned. An efficient spy network was set up that reached into the private households of nobles. Marriage alliances made between noble families had to be approved by the king.[112]
Alauddin banned prostitution, and ordered all existing prostitutes of Delhi to be married.[109] Firishta states that he classified prostitutes into three grades, and fixed their fees accordingly. However, historian Kishori Saran Lal dismisses this account as inaccurate. Alauddin also took steps to curb adultery by ordering the male adulterer to be castrated and the female adulterer to be stoned to death.[113]
Alauddin banned charlatans, and ordered sorcerers (called "blood-sucking magicians" by his courtier Amir Khusrau) to be stoned to death.[114]