Beyond Padmavati row: 5 things Alauddin Khilji did for the economy
From regulation for agri
produce to fair-price stores and exclusive garment & cattle markets, Khilji
is credit with several forward-looking initiatives
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NEWS: Delhi Sultnate
ruler Alauddin Khilji has been in the news for a few days – for the wrong
reasons, of course – with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Deepika Padukone-starrer Padmavati
riling fringe groups like Rajasthan’s Rajput Karni Sena, which claims the movie
distorts history to show Queen Padmavati in a poor light.
Padmavati, with Padukone, Ranveer
Singh and Shahid Kapoor in lead roles, showcases the love story of Rajput king
Ratan Singh and his wife. Fringe group Karni Sena though alleges that the film
distorts Rajput history.
While widespread protests across
the country, including by Karni Sena, has seen the producers of the film
deferring the release date indefinitely, it might be pertinent to revisit the
books of history to explore the reasons beyond cinematic portrayal for Khilji
to remembered today.
The nephew and son-in-law of
Jalaluddin Khilji, the founder of the Khilji dynasty, Alauddin Khilji
(1296-1316) is credited with bringing several reforms and regulating markets to
control the prices of essential food items. He is said to be the first ruler to
address the problem of price control in a systematic manner to maintain stable
prices for a decade.
Here are a few of Khilji’s economic
and market reforms that not many of us know about:
1. Agri
market regulation: Khilji regulated agricultural market in the area extending
from Dipalpur and Lahore to Kara near modern-day Allahabad. All the land in
between was brought under Khalisa and the land revenue was fixed at half the
production value and measurement of the land. No extra duties were levied.
Khilji’s agrarian reforms are said to have brought villages close to the
government (Delhi sultanate), and created a more integrated relationship
between the town and the country. In today’s modern system, the government
procures food items from farmers, mainly from villages, and distributes among
citizens for food security.
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