The Tughluqs

Introduction 

The dynasty of Ghazi Mallik, called the Tughluq Dynasty, may be regarded as indigeneous one. His father came to Hindustan in the times of Balban and married a Jat girl of Punjab.  From a humble position Ghazi Malik rose to the highest position in the Empire due to his merit alone. He ably guarded the frontiers of Delhi Sultanate against Mongol invasions till providence or careful planning of the future placed him on the Delhi Sultanate throne at an advanced age in 1320. The choice of Ghazi Malik as Delhi Sultan was justified as it helped the Delhi Sultanate to save itself from disintegration after the chaos caused due to the decay of the Khalji dynasty after the death of Allaudin Khalji.

He assumed the title of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, and acted with wisdom and moderation. Soon after his succession he set himself the task of restoring administrative order by removing the abuses of the preceding regime. The extravagances of Mubarak and Khusrav had brought the finances of the state to a deplorable condition. Ghiyasuddin therefore ordered a strict enquiry to be made into all claims and jagirs. Unlawful grants were all confiscated to the state. The little unpopularity that he had to face was soon removed by his wise and beneficial measures of his subjects. He brought down the taxes to one-tenth and ordered digging of canals and developed agriculture. He developed irrigational facilities, built gardens and forts. The Sultan devised a system of poor relief and patronized religious institutions and literary men.

He appointed upright governors in the provinces and kept a check on them. Ghiyasuddin was not unmindful of assering the authority of the Sultanate over its different provinces. He pursued the Khalji policy of military domination and imperialism. He sent his elder son and crown prince Juna Khan to suppress the Deccan kingdoms after they refused to pay the tributes. In second attempt Juna Khan was successful and the whole of Warangal was annexed directly under the Delhi Sultanate. He also subjugated Bengal ,Bihar and Orissa.

Muhammad bin Tughluq 

In 1325 after the sudden death of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq, his son Mohammad Bin Tughluq ascended the throne and continued his father’s expedition. He annexed the whole Telengana, and brought a large part of Bengal under his rule. In contrast to Allaudinn Khalji’s policy the Tughluq Sultans annexed the Deccan.

The Mongol invasions from the north-west region were rocking the Sultanate on regular intervals. In AD 1326-27 a big Mongol assault under Tarmashirin Khan took place. Muhammad bin Tughluq, decided to secure the frontier. The region from Lahore to Kalanur including Peshawar was conquered and a new administrative control was established.

Controversial Measures of Muhammad bin Tughluq

One of the most controversial measures of Muhammad bin Tughluq was the transfer of the capital from Delhi to Deogir (Daulatabad) saying that the new capital would be at a safer distance from the north-western frontiers and thus was safe from the Mongols. In fact he wanted to control the north-west from this region. The entire population along with their belongings started to shift to the new capital, but many perished because of heat and rigorous travelling. After sometime, due to growing discontent and the fact that north could not be controlled from south, Muhammad bin Tughluq abandoned the new capital and returned to Delhi.

 

Another controversial project undertaken by the Sultan was the introduction of ‘token currency’. The Sultan introduced a copper coin (Jittal) in place of the silver coin (tanka), when the silver reserves of the Sultanate depleted, and ordered that it should be accepted as equivalent to the tanka. The state did not take precautions to check the imitation of the coins issued by the mints. Government could not prevent people to forge the new coins and soon the new forged coins flooded the market. This led to big problems, as traders and merchants started to mint copper coins in their homes and passed them off as coins issued by the royal treasury. The common man could not make out the differences and were duped easily. Soon the Sultan was forced to withdraw the token currency.

Muhammad bin Tughluq was very innovative in adopting new policies. Some of his measures worked wonderfully, but some failed miserably. Among the worth mentioning successful policies was the introduction of Diwn-i-Kohi, the agriculture department that gave loans to farmers in case of crop failure and also distributed seeds.

Later Tughluq Sultans  

Muhammad bin Tughluq was succeeded by his cousin Firoz Shah Tughluq, who barely managed to keep the sultanate intact. But soon after his demise, under the later Tughluq Sultans, the Delhi Sultanate fell. The invasion of Timur in AD 1398 finished off the Sultanate. The provinces declared independence and thus the pomp and splendour of the Delhi Sultanate died a natural death in 1412. This period was succeeded by Sayyids first and then Lodhis after until 1526 when Babar defeated Lodhis to found the Mughal Empire that ruled the sub continent for little more than 300 years.