Hundred Great Muslims

400 Hundred Great Muslims
the Emperor of Delhi. Knowing that peace and tranquillity of the State depended
greatly on the prosperity and well-being of the peasants. he consistently strove
to improve the lot of the cultivators. He abolished the Jagirdari system and
brought the land direct under State control. The holdings of each cultivator were
separately measured and it was made obligatory for him to deposit one-fourth of
his produce with the Government either in cash or kind.
Sher Shah divided his kingdom into forty-seven units. which were called
Sarkars. Each Sarkar was further divided into parganas or districts. Each pargana
was administered by a Siqdar and MUllsif who were assisted by subordinate
officials. The Siqdar was entrusted with police and civil administration. while
the Munsif was mainly concerned with the collection of revenue through Amils,
Muqaddlll1ls and Qannngos: Government officers and functionaries used to be
transferred from place to place after every two or three years in order to avoid
the possibilities of corruption and favouritism.
The revenue system introduced by Sher Shah in his vast kingdom. better
known in the Indian history as Sher Shahi Bandobast. was adopted and practised
during the Mughal Rule in India. Its salient features were also retained in the
most applauded Ryotwari Settlement. introduced during the British rule in India.
Sher Shah was the true benefactor of the peasantry and the common man.
Any wrong done to the peasants was promptly enquired into and the offender
was severely dealt with. Even during his military marches he avoided. as far as
possible, to trespass any field. The cultivators whose crops were damaged in his
military marches were promptly compensated. Once he said to his officers:
"If a little favour is shown to the cultivator. the ruler benefits by if'.
Sher Shah took keen interest in public welfare activities. Being a true well
wisher of his people. his foremost thought was the prosperity and well-being of
the common man. He built the famous Grand Trunk Road, which starting from
Bengal in the East and passing through the principal towns of Bihar. United
Provinces and Punjab. terminated at Peshawar in the West. This important
thoroughfare. which is still recognised as the most important road in the Indo­
Pakistan subcontinent, was dotted with wells, bazaars, caravansarais and resthouses
at short stages. Writing in the "Great Men of India", Charles Kincaid
states: "A most skilful and active General. yet he found time to bring order in
his territories and he constantly sought to improve the civil Government. He
made roads with rest-houses at every stage and he dug wells at intervals of a
mile or two miles. By roadside he planted innumerable trees and compelled
:he owners of the land through which the roads passed to suppress brigandage
and to see to it that travellers could journey in safety. His early death was a
heavy loss to India". (Sher Shah in GreatMen ofIndia).
Such was Sher Shah Suri-great both in war and peace, whose short reign
fuJI of activity in the fields of war as well as in peace, contributed immensely
to the peace and prosperity of his vast Empire.