HISTORY. Subject : History (For under graduate student) Topic No. & Title : Topic - 15 Urban Economy and Technology during the Delhi Sultanate

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1 History of India Page 1 of 15 HISTORY Subject : History (For under graduate student) Paper No. : Paper - II History of India Topic No. & Title : Topic - 15 Urban Economy and Technology during the Delhi Sultanate Lecture No. & Title : Lecture - 1 Urban Economy and Technology during the Delhi Sultanate Non-agriculture economic changes during the Delhi Sultanate The establishment of Delhi Sultanate marks an important event in the political, economic and social history of India. The essay here attempts to discuss the non agricultural economic changes during this period which was the precursor to the modern era of India. Historians have argued over how much change did the Delhi Sultanate brought to the country s economy. Historians like

2 History of India Page 2 of 15 D.D Kosambi argued the Sultanate was a mere extension to the feudal setup. Some historians on the contrary have argued that it brought economic changes because it initiated a process of denudation and destruction of its material and human resources. Based on the argument of Elliot that Muhammedans were responsible for the murders and massacres historians like Professor Lallanji Gopal concluded that advent of the Muslims led to India s poverty. Further so Professor K.S Lal argued that the population of India was reduced to one third due to the Muslim conquerors. In the 50 s Professor Mohammad Habib gave a very different assessment of Delhi Sultanate. Along with few other historians he concluded that the Empire produced an economy which was in all respect different and qualitatively superior to the one it supplanted. It initiated new towns and was responsible for new agrarian relationship which in turn changed the non agrarian scenario. The new ruling class for their own good unknowingly sub served public good. They had no caste bias and thus with their surplus money consumed artisan goods. This definitely gave an impetus to inter professional mobility of the town. This was responsible on the other hand for what he terms as Urban Revolution. According to Professor Irfan Habib the above observation of

3 History of India Page 3 of 15 Professor Mohammad Habib may be important but cannot be equated with modern social revolution. Professor K. A Nizami corroborated to what Professor Mohammed Habib suggested but was unable to give further evidence. There is no doubt to the fact that Sultanate did see considerable expansion of the urban economy. Largely three inter related developments appeared which needs to be considered. a) Towns grew in number and the size b) Craft production increased c) Commerce expanded Corroborated by archaeological evidences historians came to the conclusion that there was a remarkable growth in urban areas. The adjoining area of Delhi like Qutb Delhi, Kilokhri Siri, Tughluqabad and Firozabad gives ample proof of massive habitation. In 1330 Ibn Batuta writes that Delhi was the largest city in the Islamic East. This was reported after the capital was shifted to Daulatabad by Mohammed bin Tughlaq. He also notes that the shifted capital was large enough to rival Delhi. Lahore, Multan, Anhilwara [Patan], Cambay and Lakhnauti were all mentioned big cities as referred in the sources. The size though could not be calculated as the

4 History of India Page 4 of 15 peripheries kept changing. The new archaeology based researches do corroborate to the above fact. The increased craft production along with urban growth was due to the number changes or improvement in the technology of the period. The population which entered from the North West and west brought with them superior technology along with the skill to improvise the existing technology. First to be mentioned is the cotton textile technology. This industry increased its production immensely and this led to the huge amount of export of the production. The arrival of spinning wheel [charkha] revolutionized the production of yarn. Isami s Futuhu-s Salatin in 1350 refers to this devise. He also referred to this important mechanical device as an instrument in which women should get involved. Lynn White Jr pointed out that spinning wheel was unknown to ancient India. The verses of Persian poetry mentioned it in the 12 th century. China started using it before that. Thus one could conclude that it came to India from China via Persia or Central Asia in the 13 th century and spread rapidly. Treadles were mentioned definitely in 1469 and may have come to India along with the spinning wheel at the same time.

5 History of India Page 5 of 15 Sanskrit lexicons do mention loom but that treadle was not a part of it. Europe saw treadle in the late 12 th century. These two devices increased the cotton textile production in huge amount and changed the export scenario during the Sultanate. The manufacturing of silk also underwent a sea change during this time. Sericulture or the rearing of mulberry silk-worm was introduced during the Sultanate. It was first heard of in Bengal in the early 15 th century and in Kashmir in the mid 16 th century. The cost of silk production cheapened and this increased silk export. It is assumed that carpet-weaving on vertical loom of Persia was also introduced during this time. The evidence of it though appears only in the Mughal period. Paper production also started. The evidence of this manufacturing craft in India could be dated to early 13 th century in Gujarat. Early 14 th century sweetmeat sellers sold their product wrapped in paper proving the ample production of cheap paper. Separation of zinc through distillation is heard of in China in the 10 th century which appeared in India in the 14 th century. Archaeological evidence proves that the mines of Mewar in Rajasthan did produce zinc during this time. This metal was

6 History of India Page 6 of 15 essential for brass production. utensils. Brass was used for making The new empire created an immense demand for building industry. This industry went through a major technological change. The use of cementing lime and vaulted roof was introduced. True arch and dome became the marked feature of the time. Large brick and rubble structures came into being. Thus the middle class housing now improved from the thatched roof wooden structure as evident from the later ruins of Tughluqabad. The Sultanate from the very start gave importance to buildings as a marker of the empire. Alauddin Khalji himself employed 70,000 craftsmen for his building. Tughluqs were also responsible for grand structures. This changed non agrarian production scenario changed the face of numismatics. The large scale commercial activity made coins very important. The earlier debased inferior coins were now changed to standardized coins. Large amount of good variety silver coins along with gold coins of late 13 th century and early 14 th century speak for themselves. Large scale coin production during Alauddin Khalji proves the need of enlarged transaction due to the diversification and expansion of commerce. The reserve gold and silver was transformed to minted money as the need for media of exchange increased.

7 History of India Page 7 of 15 The activities of the merchants also changed. The Multanis and the Sahs was able to extend loans in return for drafts on assignments, to meet the expenses of the nobles of the Sultans in the late 13 th century. It is known that Alauddin Khalji entrusted 20 lakh tanka [silver coins of about 168 grains in weight] by way of capital loan to Multanis for bringing products from afar. A.J.Quisar speculates that the institution of broker [dallals] which was bitterly rebuked by Zia ud din Barani was introduced in the early Sultanate period. It is therefore important now to look in to who used these technologies to bring about this change during the Sultanate period. The sources hint at a huge immigration from the west during this time. The craftsmen and artisan came in large numbers to the new capital and urban centers. There is no doubt to the fact that the new techniques were used by these immigrant artisans and craftsmen. Indigenous artisan and craftsmen learned later to use these techniques. The caste bound craft system of India saw changes in the set scenario as some new crafts. There was no set caste for these crafts. Later this was adjusted in the caste system. Initially there was a huge crisis of skilled labour. There is an argument that artisans converted themselves to Islam to live a free life. There is no evidence to prove such statement.

8 History of India Page 8 of 15 The demand for cheap labour was meted by the slaves. Slave industry was another important aspect of non agricultural production during this time. Innumerous wars supplied the captives or barda which in turn was transformed to cheap labour and sometimes skilled. It is noted that Qutbuddin Aibak s campaign in Gujrat in 1159 captured 20,000 slaves while Kalinjar netted 50,000. The same was heard in 1253 when Balban sent an expedition to Ranthambore. Alauddin instructed Malik Kafur to obtain large number of slaves from the southern expedition as war booty. Sultanate consolidated and the rebels or mawas were converted to slaves. The clearance of Doab during Balbans era supplied cheap labour to the capital. Zia ud din Barani gives an account of the slave market in the capital with their relative prices. A trained slave costed less than the price of an inferior horse and same as that of milch buffalo. A young boy slave or a woman slave costed even less. Even the poor among the respectable classes in the capital had slaves. Interestingly some slaves of non commercial masters were engaged in craft. One named Nur Turk, a mystic of Delhi possessed a slave who worked as a cotton-carder. Domestic slaves worked for spinning yarn. Balban engaged some 12,000 slaves as artisans [kasib] of every kind.

9 History of India Page 9 of 15 Slaves thus were the cheapest means of labour. The master craftsmen engaged them in their units along royals and aristocratic masters engaging them in their manufacturing units. Irrespective of origin and caste the slaves became the major source of cheap labour to the increasing manufacturing industries. This use of slaves in the industry was a transitional phenomenon. After sometime the immigrant craft or skills were established. Few generations the slaves were freed or could buy their freedom and changed themselves to free labour which in turn inhibited the use of slave labour. Slave labour owing to lack of incentives was inefficient. With less war the supply line also streamed down. Thus in the later half of 14 th century Firoz Tughluq was compelled to ban the export of slave to keep the prices of slave low in the capital. Surely there was a crisis in the supply. By 16 th century India was no longer marked by the use of slave which was a significant characteristic during the Sultanate. Babur thus mentions plenty of artisans and does not mention slaves. The 16 th and 17 th century European travelers account of India does not mention slave markets at all. The caste artisans also adjusted to new conditions and learnt new skills reducing the demand for slaves.

10 History of India Page 10 of 15 South India It is now important to discuss the scenario in the south of India. In between 1350 to 1565 and later larger part of south India was united by the Vijayanagara empire. They claimed themselves to be the Sultan among the Hindu Rais. This aspect was seen from Bukka I to Krishnadeva Raya. With mounted archers they organized their army on the line of the Sultanate. Their nayankara system was much close to the iqta system which assured regular and large amount of income for the empire. The heavy land tax was also another similarity with the Sultanate. The works of T.V. Mahalingam and N. Karasimha detects a heavy increase in taxation in the Tamil country after it was engulfed within the Vijayanagara Empire. The immense irrigation initiative indicates the enlargement of resource of agriculture and otherwise. All the above evidence proves that there was a huge change in the economic scenario. Monetization was markedly noticed. An inscription in the South Arcot region in 1404 records how the peasants insisted to pay in grains for grain revenue and not money which was demanded by the authority. This in turn proved how trade and commerce increased for which the demand for money rose among the ruling elite who controlled the surplus production.

11 History of India Page 11 of 15 It is difficult to say whether it was the relatively centralized structure of the empire that helped to create a large network of induced trade or growth of commerce that made possible both the process of centralization and heavy fiscal pressure. Whatever may be the reason it definitely led to the increase of the property of the urban upper caste in contrast to the discrimination of the rural class at large. With this in mind one has to understand that urban growth created space for artisans who catered to the need of the urban elite like the north of India. They themselves went thorough radical change in their manufacturing techniques and set up. Thus Burton Stein concluded that conditions of trade both local and long distance had obviously improved over earlier times. The temple complexes also had their role to play. Here agricultural production and trade were very closely linked. Historians of this period report that one of the distinctive features of the period is the reports of foreigners which serve as a source of historical evidence. The Europeans in particular gave vivid account of the economy. Nuniz reports about horse trade of the period. The success of the Empire depended on the war strategy while that depended on the use of cavalry

12 History of India Page 12 of 15 and firearms for which they depended on the Portuguese and Muslim traders and soldiers. The trade of the horses depended on the foreigners. The distribution of the horses was monopolized by the empire. A regular supply of war-horses to the lesser chiefs made them recognize the emperor as their overlord. Firearm was another area where the empire traded directly with the foreigners. The use of firearms was a second factor in the success of the Vijayanagara state against enemies within the macro region and beyond. Dominigo Paes gives description of the Vijayanagara courts riches brought from Mecca and China proving the fact that this interior city received goods from both coasts of the peninsula. The volume and importance of imported goods changed surely over this period. The inland commerce of south India maintained the trend of the previous centuries though the magnitude widened. Inscriptions and literary works of the 14 th to 16 th centuries refer to eighty major trade centres within the macro region of the empire. Many were temple centre as well as commercial places. The towns had bazaars within and thus the merchants operated from their residences. The markets were segregated on the line of goods as well as castes.

13 History of India Page 13 of 15 In the region of Andhra the artisan and merchant organization associated themselves with a particular city though they functioned over large areas. Rents from shops and residences and transit duty were used to support the regular expenditure of the temple. Temples thus record the growth of the wealth of the merchants and artisans of the period. At the time of war and other dislocation, the contributions of townsmen became the major sustaining support for the temples. Foreign traders appreciated excellent road and roadside facilities for travelers between towns and fairs. The usual mode of commercial transport remained the pack-oxen. Riverine shipping is also mentioned, especially the backwater system on the west coast. Fairs were essential features of economic transaction. The local magnets played an essential part in these fairs. By 16 th century towns became an integral part of south Indian life than they were ever before. The urban growth within the Vijayanagara Empire according to Irfan Habib was due to the unusual growth of the external trade. Pepper, a product of the Malabar [which than included both Kerala and Karnataka coast] was a prized article of the commerce. The Chinese junks of immense size called on the

14 History of India Page 14 of 15 ports of south India. Iranian ships from the gulf and the Arab ships from the red sea all waited for pepper. The celebrated Chinese admiral Zing He s ship appeared in the Malabar Coast between It was this pepper which brought Vasco da Gama to the coast of Calicut in Thus the colonial era of the East began. The initial Portuguese violence constricted the Arabian Sea commerce in the first half of 16 th century. After 1550 the Portuguese shifted from the concept monopoly to one of levying tribute. They began to see increasing profit in permitting trade by Indian and other Asian shipping under a license system, so that a revival of Arabian Sea commerce ensued. The decline of the empire after 1550 had many reasons. It could be assumed that the empire lost its cherished monopoly over horse trade. This and other speculations need to be further studied to come to a definite conclusion. Thus one can say that the above discussed period both in North and South India saw many changes which paved the way for smooth entry of the Mughals later. The urban growth resulted from the increased trade and commerce along with the diversification of the craft in the hands of the artisans brought about a social change. The technological

15 History of India Page 15 of 15 advancement gave the artisans an edge over other urban dwellers. Rural and urban poor remained exploited as ever. Social mobility was due to expansion of trade and commerce and also for the urban growth. This in turn brought social changes in the urban areas giving it a kind of cosmopolitan look. The caste system did not go through much change. Some sub-castes were created.