IQTA SYSTEM (ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE SULTANATE)

ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE SULTANATE
IQTA SYSTEM

                      The iqtadari was a unique type of land distribution and administrative system evolved during the Sultanate per~od. Under the system, the whole empire was divided into several large and small tracts of land, called the iqtas, which were assigned to nobles, officers and soldiers for the purpose of administration and revenue collection. The iqtas were transferable, i.e., the holders of iqtas-iqtadars-were transferred from one region to an­other every three to four years. It means that the grant of iqta did not imply a right to the land. It was just an administrative unit.
The iqtas could be big (whole province) or small. The assignees of bigger iqtas-known as muqti or lOali-had dual obligation, tax collection and administration. They collected revenue from their iqta, defrayed their own expenses, paid the troops maintained by them and sent the bawazil (sur­plus) to the Centre. Their accounts were checked by the royal auditors of the dilOan-i-lOizarat                                 ..

The holders of small iqtas were individual troopers. They had no administrative responsibilities. They appropri­ated, for their personal use, the land revenue collected by them. In return, when the central government called them for service or inspection, they had to be present with horses and arms. Muhammad of Ghur was the first to introduce the iqta system in India, but it was lltutrnish who gave it an institutional form. The iqtadari system witnessed numerous changes during the Sultanate period. Initially, iqta was a revenue-yielding piece of land which was assigned in lieu of salary. However, during Firuz Shah Tughlaq's reign, it became hereditary. The government of the Delhi sultans was a theocracy in the sense that the ruler was subject to the Shariat, the Islamic law. The sultans were head of state, not religion, but their duty was to observe the Shariat in matters of state. The Sultan was an autocrat and his will was law, though he considered himself the deputy of the Khalifa. The Sultans of Delhi did not follow any law of succession. The choice of the sultan depended largely on the decisions of nobles. The organisation of the government was feudal in character. The provinces were mostly military fiefs entrusted to the charge of nobles.   
                               The sultan was the chief law-giver and the final court of appeal. He was also the commander-in-chief of the military forces. He had a council of trusted advisers, called majlis-i-khaiwat which he consulted on important occasions but he was not bound to accept its decision. The business of the government was organised in several departments.
                                                The lOazir was the chief minister of the state. He was in charge of revenue and finance, and controlled the other departments. l-Jis office was known as the dilOan-i-lOazarat. The next important department was diwan-i-arz headed by ariz-i-mumalik, who was responsible for the recruitment, payment and inspection of troops. The diwan-i-insha headed by dahir-i-mumalik managed the royal correspondence. Religious matters and endowments were dealt with by the diwan-i-rasalat headed by sadr-us sudur. (But Dr. Habibullah holds that this official managed foreign affairs, and received and sent envoys.) The sadr-us-sudur enforced the Islamic rules and regulations, and supervised charity and pious foundations. In the 13th century, the Delhi Sultanate was divided into a number of military regions, called iqtas. The provinces were also called iqtas. Each province was under a mukti or lOali. During the reign of Ala-ud-din Khalji, three types of provinces existed. Muktis or lOalis were responsible for law and order and collection of taxes in their iqtas or provinces. They were also responsible for implementing the decision of the courts, providing encouragement to trade and com­merce, and managing judicial administration                     ..During the Sultanate period, many officials were re­cruited in the provinces for collecting revenue. These officials included nazir and lOakuf. Besides, sahib-i-diwan or khlOaja maintained accounts of the provinces and sent them to the central administration  Each province was divided into a number of shiqs which were under the officials called shiqdars. The shiqdar was responsible for maintaining law and order in their areas. There was also an official called katwal at the shiq level. The demarcation of duties between shiqdars and katwais is not very clear.
Each shiq was divided into a number of parganas, groups of hundred villages. The chaudhari was the head of a pargana. A m1'shrif was in charge of accounts and revenue at the pargana level. The village was the smallest unit of administration. The functioning and administration remained basically the same as it had existed during the pre-Turkish phase. Khat, muqaddam and patwari were the main village functionaries.

Mohammad Ghori

The conquest of Mohammad Ghori and establishment of the Sultanate brought major changes in the land revenue system in India. The Governments in those times made all attempts to increase the revenue by collecting taxes as per those in Islamic nations. The new taxes were imposed upon people and government’s share in produce increased. However, till that time, the original form of Hindu system of Land tenure as per ancient Manu’s laws survived with some modifications done by some of the greedy sultans and their officials.

The agricultural and land revenue system of the early Turkish Sultans rested on two foundations viz. the Iqta (assignment of land revenue) and Kharaj (Land Revenue).

The Iqta system provided an agrarian system to the country while the members of the ruling class attained income without any permanent attachment to any territory. The Iqta system was provided institutional status by Iltutmish and later this system became the mainstay of the sultanate administration under slave dynasty

Iqta System

Under Iqta System, the land of the empire was divided into several large and small tracts called Iqta and assigned these Iqtas to his soldiers, officers and nobles. In the beginning, an Iqta was based upon salary. Later, under Firoz Shah Tughlaq it became hereditary.

Literally, Iqta means land or land revenue assigned to an individual on certain conditions. The holders of these Iqtas were the trustful agents of the Sultan. There were two kinds of Iqtas viz. Large Iqtas and Small Iqtas. The holders of large Iqta were the provincial governors, who had some administrative responsibilities also. On the other hand, the holders of the small Iqtas were the small troops holders who had no administrative responsibilities.

The small Iqta holders held and appropriated all the income obtained from the cultivators but as a quid pro quid, they were bound to present themselves with horses and arms whenever called upon by the Central Government. These small Iqta holders were called Khuts and Muqaddams. Amir Khusarau, for the first time, referred to Khuts as Zamindars. The Khuts and Muqaddams became fond of luxurious living over the period of time, later, Alauddin Khilji suddenly abolished the system of small Iqtas with a stroke of pen and brought them under the central Government (thus called Khalsa land). This was regarded as one of the most important agrarian reforms of Alauddin Khilji.

The Buyids reform of Iqta‘

The Buyids codified the already existent system of tax farming. They united the Amirs of Persia and reorganized their land into Iqtas, whose borders remained largely similar to the predecessor states. Contrary to most other forms of Iqta, it was hereditary, but the land was divided when there were more sons of age.

Iqta‘ in the Seljuq era[

In the Seljuk Empire, the move toward the iqta' system was facilitated by the Persian bureaucrat Nizam al-Mulk "who developed and systemized the trend towards feudalism that was already inherent in the tax-farming practices of the immediately preceding period," [2] It is made clear that muqtis hold no claim on the peasants/subjects other than that of collecting from them in a proper manner the due land tax that has been assigned to them. When the revenue has been realized from them, those subjects should remain secure from any demands of the muqtis in respect of their persons, wealth, families,lands and goods. The muqtis can't hold any further claims on them. The subjects can go to the King and address their grievances in case they are being subjugated by the muqtis. It is thus clear that the muqtis only hold the land under the king, the land in truth belongs to the Sultan. Nizam-ul-Mulk emphasizes an important element in the iqta- muqti's right to collect and appropriate taxes.[3] Of course, the muqtis also had certain obligations to the Sultan. They had to maintain the troops and furnish them at call. The revenues they got from the iqtas were meant to be resources for him to do the same. The revenue was meant for the muqti's own expenses, payment and maintenance of the troops and the rest had to be sent back to the king. The muqti was thus a tax collector and army paymaster rolled into one.

Iqta‘ in the Mamluk sultanate of Delhi

Shamsa ud-din Iltutmish established the "Iqta‘ system" based on Mohammad Gori's ideas. It was very close to the original form of Iqta' as its main function was only to collect taxes by Muqtis/Iqtedars in India. They had no other right to the subjects apart from the taxes as long as taxes were paid. The money was used to pay for the landowner's army, which could be called by the Sultan at any time, making up for a relatively quick mobilisation and highly professional soldiers. A small part of the money was to be given to the Sultan, but the percentage was usually insignificant compared to the other expenses. Iqtas were given for exceptional military service or loyalty and were, unlike the original, usually hereditary. The Iqta‘ system was later reorganized by Balban, who divided his empire into small pieces of land and opposed making Iqta hereditary. His absolutist rule concentrated on limiting the power of the estates (mainly the nobility and merchants) and securing his supreme authority as the king. He also dissolved the Council of Forty - Chahalgani, a form of sharing power between the highest nobles and the king. His rule was supported by the strengthened espionage and counter-espionage system and his personal secret police, called barids.[4] The Iqta system was revived by Firuz Shah Tughlaq of the Tughlaq dynasty, having also made the assignments hereditary to please the nobles.

Iqta‘ and feudalism

Although there are similarities between the Iqta‘ system and the common fief system practiced in the west at similar periods, there are also considerable differences.The Iqta‘ holders generally did not technically own the lands, but only assume the right to the revenue of the land, a right that the government typically reserved the right to change. Many Iqta‘ holders did not hold their Iqta' for life, and at least in most cases they were not subject to inheritance to the next generation. Although the subjects attached to the Iqta‘ were still technically free men, in real practice the end result often end up with them functioning like serfs. There are significant variances in the actual implementation of Iqta' systems throughout the different periods and in different area, so it is difficult to completely generalize them.