Muhammad bin Tughluq

Early life

Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, who established the Tughluq dynasty after seizing control of the Delhi Sultanate, gave birth to Muhammad bin Tughluq. Prince Fakhr Malik Jauna Khan, Juna Khan, or Ulugh Khan are other names for him. According to Jauna Khan, “Links of blood and family bind me to all Indians''.

He was Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq's (the Tughluq dynasty's founder) oldest son. The young Muhammad's father dispatched him to the Deccan Plateau in 1321 to wage a war against the Kakatiya dynasty, and in 1323 the future sultan successfully besieged the Kakatiya capital in Warangal. The Kakatiya monarchy was overthrown by this victory against King Prataparudra.

Accession to the throne

In February 1325 CE, Muhammad bin Tughluq succeeded to the throne of the Delhi-based Tughluq dynasty following the passing of his father Ghiyasuddin Tughluq. During his rule, he annexed Warangal, Malabar, Madurai, and territories to what is now the southernmost point of the Indian state of Karnataka. Tughluq appointed new revenue officers to examine the economic conditions of the captured areas. Their financial records aided Wazir’s office audit.

According to reports, he gave the order to execute all the citizens of the Hindu city of Kanauj. Additionally, he made the 600-mile decision to move his capital from Delhi to Devagiri before ordering everyone to return to Delhi. Thousands of people perished on the voyage, including women and children. Muhammad bin Tughluq was renowned for his tolerance of various faiths, though. According to several historians, the Jain monk Jinaprabha Suri was honoured by the Sultan in the year 1328.

The Reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq

Muhammad bin -Tughluq excelled as a commander and a brilliant conquistador. Due to his lofty aspirations, he desired to establish his dominance over all of India.

According to some academics, Muhammad bin -Tughluq was a poor general since he failed to put down the uprisings that broke out in various sections of the empire after A.D. 1335. As a result, numerous provinces gained independence. He launched victorious campaigns against other kings and had spectacular victories against the Mongols. Natural disasters like hunger, disease, and cholera destroyed his military might. His struggles with the rebels, however, were not brought on by a lack of military prowess on his part, but rather by uncontrollable natural disasters.

Muhammad bin -Tughluq possessed exceptional administrative talent. He was committed to his obligations as a king. He wasn't a man with exclusive inclinations.  He did not make any distinctions based on caste or creed and permitted anybody to be appointed to any position within the empire based only on merit. At first, he had a tolerant attitude towards Hindus. According to Ibn Batuta, he placed numerous Hindus in important positions across his realm. He always had the interests of the farmers in mind. He created a brand-new division for the advancement and improvement of agriculture, named Diwan-i-Kohi.

Due to the fertileness of his imagination, the sultan experimented with many administrative practices, such as transferring capital, creating token money, and raising taxes in Doab. These initiatives were not the utopian plans that numerous authors had envisaged. Each concept was driven by a specific motivation, and they all made sense. All of his plans had the goal of benefiting the people, but due to the Sultan's unfortunate fate, they began with the best of intentions but ended in total failure as a result of unfavourable conditions. His projects were flawless; it was just that the natural disasters prevented them from succeeding.

Scheme and Reforms of Muhammad bin -Tughluq

Lanepoole has praised him, “Among the slave king's it was Balban, the man of faction; among the Khalijis it was Alauddin, the crude but daring political economist; and among the Karaunas it was Muhammad bin -Tughluq, the man of ideas.”

The Sultan made some grandiose intentions after being crowned and carried them out. Even though the majority of his plans were a complete failure, they still served as a reflection of the Sultan's greatness, liberality, and sense of the welfare of the people. His plans also reveal the Sultan's character, aspirations, and loyalty to the Sultanate.

Revenue reforms

First of all, the Sultan declared various things and enacted regulations to reform the tax system. Additionally, he gave instructions to the royal officials to compile the provincial accounts and send them right away to the capital. Most governors followed the Sultan's instructions and sent their accounts right away. In reality, the Sultan wished to implement a unified income strategy over the whole realm.

Increase of Tax on Doab (A.D. 1326-27)

The rise in taxation in the Doab is regarded as one of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq's most important projects.

Causes of the Tax Increase:

• A lot of money was given away by the sultan at the moment of his coronation in the form of awards, titles, and charitable donations; yet the sultan required a lot of riches to manage the business of the state.
• The Doab area was exceedingly productive, and the inhabitants enjoyed affluence. The Sultan believed that the Doab people would be able to pay the increased tax with ease.
• In this region of the Doab, the majority of the population were Hindus, and because of their wealth, they frequently plotted against the rule of the Delhi Sultanate. He thus raised the levy to quell this inclination by Hindus to rebel.

The Impact of Growth

The peasants were severely impacted by the tax increase and fiercely rejected it. The revenue officers disregarded Doab's situation and sought to enforce the additional levy with a "blood and iron" strategy that infuriated the populace. Under normal conditions, the rise would not have faced opposition, but because of the Doab region's famine, it did. Instead of providing the Sultan with accurate information, the royal authorities mistreated the famine-stricken populace and collected taxes.

Amount of Relief

The Sultan had a heart of gold for his subjects. Although he was unaware of the Doab people's situation, he withdrew the ordinance and implemented relief measures for the benefit of the peasantry as soon as he learned about the famine and drought.

Transfer of Capital

Another important design of Muhammad-bin-Tughluq was the plan for the move of the capital from Delhi to Deogiri (AD 1326–1327). Daulatabad replaced Deogiri as the name. The evacuation to Daulatabad was for unclear causes, according to contemporaneous accounts. However, if one reads between the lines, it is not difficult to identify the motivations of the history students.

Cause of the Capital Transfer:

• Since Daulatabad was in the middle of the Sultanate, the Sultan raised the issue of transfer to ensure effective administration.
• The Deccan tributary lords were disobedient and frequently revolted against the Delhi Sultanate as well as refusing to pay yearly payments.
• The citizens of Delhi used to write the Sultan critical letters, which greatly irritated him. As retaliation, he ordered the relocation of the capital.
• Some historians claim that the Doab population rebelled as a result of the region's increased wealth, and the sultan requested an evacuation as a result.
• The Sultan wanted Daulatabad to be prosperous and the centre of Muslim culture.

The Sultan gave the order for everyone to go to Daulatabad after deciding on the shifting of the capital. Around 950 kilometers separated the old and new capitals. Every two or three miles, the Sultan built and restored rest stops on both sides of the street. The Sultan invested a significant sum of money in carrying out this scheme. For Muslim culture to thrive there, the imperial court and institution, as well as the nobles, intellectuals, and saints, were moved to Daulatabad.

The inhabitants of Delhi, however, had such a strong attachment to the city that they did not want to go, despite all the amenities supplied by the Sultan. As a result, the Sultan had to treat them severely to properly carry out his plan.

Numerous people died on the long journey from Delhi to Daulatabad, which was extremely painful.

Effects of the transfer:

Muhammad-bin-Tughluq's capital transfer strategy had a catastrophic outcome. The Sultan invested a significant amount of resources to carry out this plan. The royal treasury was negatively impacted, and the sultan thereafter had to deal with several economic and financial issues. The consequences of this strategy were numerous hassles and tremendous suffering for the Delhi residents. Due to the south's predominantly Hindu population and the fact that they had to live there in an environment that was very different from Delhi, Muslims suffered greatly. The Sultan was harshly denounced and criticized for this project's failure. In addition to calling him names, they also accused him of being harsh.

But making Daulatabad the capital was indeed the reason that control could not be established in the South. It raised Daulatabad's stature.

Introduction of Token Currency

The creation of token currency was Muhammad-bin-Tughluq's most important invention in the development of medieval Indian coinage.  Bronze Tankas were issued by Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughluq, who pronounced their worth to be equal to that of silver Tankas.

Cause of Issue of Token Currency:

• A lot of money was spent on prizes, grants, charity, and presents by Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughluq from the moment of his accession. In addition, he came up with several important plans and invested a lot of money in carrying them out. Along with suppressing the rebels, waging war, and dealing with famines and droughts, he also depleted his treasury. The Sultan was pressured into creating a token currency since it upended the entire core of the financial system.
• The Sultan printed token money since he needed a lot of money to conquer the entire world.
• The sultan had to create token currency because he required additional resources to carry out his other plans and put an end to future uprisings.
• The difficulty with token currency was mostly brought on by the silver scarcity.
• Haji Uddabir believes that the Sultan wished to seize the expensive metals, and the issuance of token money was one of his ruses to do so.
• Muhammad-bin-Tughluq, a brilliant individual, enjoyed coming up with fresh ideas and implementing them.

Reasons for the failure:

The concept of token currency, which was far ahead of its time, was not understood by the populace. Muhammad-bin-Tughluq was unable to produce standard coins or take the necessary actions to turn the mint into a governmental monopoly. The Sultan also lacked any patience. He demanded results right now, and failures bothered him so greatly that he abandoned all of the plans. Thus, Sultan's haste and impatience were the main reasons why his numerous projects failed.

The sultan believed that his involvement was necessary since his beloved token money program was likewise heading toward collapse. The populace was instructed to swap their bronze coins for silver coins for the royal treasury after he declared the bronze coins to be unlawful. Due to this token money method, the royal treasury had to bear a great deal of loss.

Death

While conducting a campaign in Sindh against the Taghi, a Turkic slave tribe, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq passed away in 1351 while traveling to Thatta, Sindh. His death created a crisis and instability in the Delhi Sultanate.

The Sultanate of Delhi had been toppled by two-fold resistance during his rule. One was from a group of Rajputs in Mewar commanded by Hammir Singh, while the other was from South Indian tribes Harihara and Bukka. After winning the Battle of Singoli in 1336, Rana Hammir Singh liberated the strategically important Rajputana, but Harihara and Bukka went on to establish the Vijayanagara Empire by first subduing and then finally overthrowing the Madurai Sultanate, which had been in charge of South India's city of Madurai and its surroundings on behalf of the Delhi Sultanate.