Market Reforms of

Alauddin Khilji
1. Fixation of prices:
• Prices were fixed not only of varieties of grains, pulses,
cloth, cattle and horses but also of articles like meat, fish,
dry fruits, sugarcane, vegetables, beetal-leaves etc.—all
articles of daily use. Even prices of slaves were also fixed.
2. Grain market:
• Ala-ud-Din opened government stores of grains to sell
them from where everybody could buy. The peasants
brought their surplus grain in the market. The
government officials made purchases of grain from them,
stored it in their stores and sold it to the people.
3. Cloth market:
• The cost of cloth was comparatively higher than the food
articles. The cloth market sold a variety of cloth. Cloth
merchants were given advances to purchase cloth from
outside and sell it in Delhi at fixed prices.
4. Slave market:
• In the slave market, slaves were bought and sold
like any other commodity.
5. Rationing system:
• During the time of famine or other natural
calamity, the king introduced rationing system for
the people of Delhi. Under this system, half a
mound of grain was given to every family in
distress.
6. Government granaries:
• The Government had established godowns for
storing grain in reserve to be released in time of
scarcity. In every ‘mohalla’, there were two or
three royal stores filled with food stuffs.
7. Appointment of officials:
• A special officer known as ‘Diwan-i-Riyast’ was appointed
to look after the working of the system. The Shahana-i-
Mandir was the Superintendent of the grain market.
Marketing officers were appointed to fix price, to ensure
that the fixed prices were charged. The officials were
required to ensure that the traders complied with the
instructions issued to them by the Sultan.
• Quality control officials were appointed to check the quality
of the articles supplied by the traders to the consumers.
8. Determination of weights and measures:
• The government prescribed weights and measures and no
body dared to sell any commodity under weights as the
same amount of flesh was cut off from his body.
9. Registration of traders:
• A person desiring of entering into trade was required to get
himself registered.
10. Ban on hoarding:
• No producer or trader could indulge in hoarding.
Severe punishments were inflicted upon the law
breakers.
11. Information of market through children:
• The king used to send small children to test the
honesty of the traders. Those who cheated
children were given severe punishment.
12. Spy system:
• Ala-ud-Din’s spy system was very elaborate and
trustworthy. The king kept himself well-informed
of the working of the control system of the
market through the spies.
13. Control of supplies:
• Ala-ud-Din realized that mere fixation of prices
was not enough and it had to be enforced
with the regular supply of commodities. He,
therefore, established government stores of
different commodities.
14. Control of transport:
• Traders and ‘banjaras’ who carried goods from
one place to another were registered. Every
possible facility was provided to them in the
transportation of goods.
 The impact of the market reforms of
Alauddin Khilji
• The market reform of Alauddin Khilji was one of the most effective and
far reaching economic regulations of the Sultanate period. It did not
remain confined to rural economy but extended to urban market as
well. These measures were enacted to regulate the activities of the
traders who brought grain to Delhi.
• The Sultan fixed the prices of all commodities from grain to cloths,
slaves, cattle etc. A controller of market (shahna-i-mandi) intelligence
officers (barids) and secret spies (munhiyan) were appointed. The grain
merchants were placed under the Shahna-i-mandi. Regrating [to buy
up (grain, provisions, etc.) in order to sell again at a profit in or near the
same market.] (ihtikar) was prohibited.
• While ensuring strict control in the market, the Sultan did not overlook
the regular supply of grains and other things at lower prices. For
controlling the food prices, Alauddin Khilji tried to control not only the
supply of food grains from the villages, and its transportation to the
city by the grain – merchants (Karwanis or banjaras) but also its proper
distribution to the citizens.
• His first effort was to see that there were sufficient stocks of food
grains with the government so that the traders did not try to hike
up prices by creating an artificial scarcity or indulging in
profiteering. For this purpose royal stores were set up at Delhi.
• Perhaps significant and lasting impact of these reforms was the
furthering of the growth of a market economy in the villages and
bringing about a more integral relationship between the town
and the country, the furthering of the process of the internal
restructuring of the sultanate.
• Though Alauddin Khilji’s market reforms were oriented more
towards administrative and military necessities than internal
restructuring but he adopted a holistic approach to see the
reform working properly. That is why he did not control the price
of essential commodities only, for those meant for direct use by
the military.
• Instead he tried to control the price of everything from caps to
socks, from combs to needles, vegetables, sweet meats to
chapatis etc. Such widespread centralized control was found to
influence every section of the society.
• The price, control system affected trade severely. The
merchants were unable to realize sufficient profits. The
rule was enforced so rigidly that no corn-dealer, farmer or
anyone else could hold back secretly a mound or half a
mound of grain and sell it far above the fixed price.
• The horse merchants were so tightly controlled that, they
were fed up with their lives and wished for death. The
severe punishments given to erring merchants made
many to stop business.
• The cultivators most certainly would have been affected
adversely by the low price of food-grain and the high
land-revenue. It seems they lost on the other hand what
they gained from one. Alauddin Khilji’s policy was to leave
the cultivator with so little as to barely enough for
carrying on cultivation and his food requirements.
• As a result they were unable to take home the
surplus produce even after paying 50 per cent of
their produce as land revenue. They were
compelled to sell their grain at a low price to the
merchants who were permitted to purchase
grain. The fear of the government was such that
the cultivators would sell even their wives and
cattle to pay the land- revenue so many had lost
interest in agriculture.
• The impact of Alauddin Khilji’s market reforms on
the contemporary society was immense. The fact
that articles were sold at cheap rates in Delhi
made many to migrate to Delhi. Among them
were learned men and excellent craftsmen. As a
result the fame of Delhi increased.
• The people of Delhi were happy. They were
prepared to follow the rules prescribed by the
state. They became more disciplined. Hence
crime decreased. They benefited the state very
much.
• This created an environment of socio-cultural
development. Literature, the mirror of a society,
took a new life. A distinct type of literature was
born in the khanqah (hospice) of Nizamuddin
Auliya. It is known as Malfuz (sufi) literature
which gives mystic version of the history between
1308 to 1322.
• Fawaid-ul-Fuwad, the first mulfuz literature, was
compiled by a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, Amir
Hasan Sijzi. Amir Khusro and Ziauddin Barni also
belonged to the same period.
• The reforms of Alauddin Khilji even touched the fate of
the lowest rank of his officials – Khuts, muqaddams and
chaudharis. They were deprived of their Khuti charges for
collecting land-revenue to maintain the royal stores. They
were brought at par with other citizens.
• Alauddin Khilji’s military strength had increased on
account of the price control system. It not only provided
strength and stability to the administration but also
provided employment to the people. Through
employment he checked the social unrest on the one
hand and on the other hand he saved the people from
the Mongol menace,’ controlled the revolts of local chiefs
and led the successful expedition to South India.
• The South Indian expedition enabled Alauddin to
replenish the treasury, which obviously benefited the
citizens of Delhi. The autocracy of Alauddin also was
unchanged because it gave the people, at least the
citizens of Delhi, a comfortable living.
• Because of the price control people from adjoining areas
flocked to Delhi to purchase grain at the fixed rates. The
benefit of the reforms not only trickled down to other
areas but it also paved the way for the cultural inter
course among the people of the Delhi Sultanate. It
resulted into what is now called, a composite culture.
• The task of transporting food grains from the country side
was generally carried out by karwans and banjaras. They
were ordered to form themselves into one corporate body,
giving sureties for each other. They were settled on the
banks of the river Yamuna with their wives, children,
goods and cattle.
• In the normal times they brought so much food-grain into
the city that it was not necessary to touch the royal stores.
In this process they became, though unconsciously, the
carrier of different ideas and notions into the territory of
Delhi, which further enriched the evolving socio- cultural
life of Delhi.
• The regulations also provided for the rationing of
grain in times of drought or famine. A quantity of
corn sufficient for the daily supply of each
mohalah to the capital was consigned to local
corn dealers (baqqals) everyday from the
government stores. Half a maund was allowed to
the ordinary purchaser in the market. We do not
hear of any large scale famine and death or
starvation during the reign of Alauddin Khilji.
• Such a successful food and social security could
have been possible only by the wise economic
reforms and strict control of the market by the
government.