Question

How was the administration of Sher Shah Suri? Explain any two points.

Answer 1

Administration of Sher Shah Suri

1. Central and provincial administration: Sher Shah divided his empire into administrative units for clear control. The empire was split into sarkars (about 47), and each sarkar was further divided into parganas, each comprising a number of villages. At the centre he created four main departments (finance, military, religious & foreign affairs, plus the royal secretariat) and staffed key provincial and central posts with reliable officers (many Afghan). At sarkar level officials such as the Shiqdar (law and order) and the Munshi/Munsif (revenue/judicial work) supervised administration; at pargana level the Shiqdar kept order, the Amin collected revenue and the Munsif handled justice. This clear division of duties, written records and appointed functionaries made administration disciplined and allowed effective local governance, a system later refined by the Mughals.
2. Revenue, land and fiscal reforms: Sher Shah undertook thorough revenue reforms to make taxation predictable and reduce corruption. His officials measured land and issued each cultivator a document stating the area and the assessed tax; based on these estimates land revenue was fixed for the period of his reign so peasants knew their liabilities. He appointed specialised officers to estimate revenue and kept proper records. He also reorganised the tax structure (cancelling many old levies and introducing clearer levies such as kharaj) and introduced a stable currency system by issuing the rupiya and paise. To encourage agriculture and ease peasant burdens, he built irrigation works (canals) and waived many earlier loans. These measures increased state income while making taxation more transparent and less arbitrary.