Maarg Manthan · Topic 6.10

Sher Shah’s Administrative Reforms (Currency System, Roads, Sarais, Land Revenue Settlement)

Medieval History › Mughal Period · Topic 6.10

Within five years Sher Shah restored law and order, issued uniform gold, silver and copper coins with a silver rupee that lasted centuries, restored the Grand Trunk Road and linked it with other roads and about 1700 sarais, limited customs to two points, measured land and fixed the state's share at one-third of the average produce, and branded horses and recorded soldiers' descriptions. Excessive centralisation was his weakness.

6 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · Mughal Period

At a Glance

Currency Uniform gold, silver and copper coins; silver rupee
Roads Grand Trunk Road, Agra to Jodhpur and Chittor, Lahore to Multan
Sarais About 1700, one every two kos
Revenue Measurement; one-third of produce; patta
Army Dagh and chehra
Exam link UPSC Prelims, Medieval History: Mughal Period

Where Does It Fit?

This is the tenth topic of the category on the Mughal period. The previous topic described the Sur empire as a whole, and this topic covers the machinery of its government. The next topic covers Sher Shah’s architecture. Previous topic: Sher Shah Suri and the Sur Empire (1540–1556).

What Were Sher Shah’s Law and Order and Trade Policies?

In short: Sher Shah made travel and trade safe through strict policing, roads, sarais and a simple customs system.

He re-established law and order across the empire and dealt sternly with robbers and dacoits and with zamindars who refused to pay revenue or disobeyed orders. He made village headmen (muqaddams) and zamindars responsible for any loss a merchant suffered on the road: they had to produce the stolen goods or point out the thieves, or face the punishment meant for thieves. The same applied to murders on roads. This has been called a barbarous law that made the innocent responsible for the wicked, but it seems to have been effective. Customs duty was paid at only two places: at the Bengal-Bihar border at Sikrigali for goods from Bengal or abroad, and at the Indus for goods from West and Central Asia. No one could levy customs on roads, ferries or towns elsewhere, and duty was paid again at sale. Governors and amils were told to treat merchants and travellers well and not to seize the goods of a merchant who died.

What Were the Roads and Sarais?

Item	Detail
Grand Trunk Road	Restored the old imperial road from the Indus to Sonargaon in Bengal
Other roads	Agra to Jodhpur and Chittor, linking up with the road to Gujarat seaports; Lahore to Multan, the staging point for caravans to West and Central Asia
Sarais	A fortified inn every two kos (about eight km); 1700 in all
Facilities	Separate lodgings for Hindus and Muslims; Brahmans to give Hindu travellers bed and food and grain for horses; provisions suited to rank and food and litter for cattle at government cost
Maintenance	Villages settled around sarais with land set apart for their expenses; watchmen under a shahna (custodian)
Further use	Many sarais became market towns (qasbas) and stages for the dak-chowki news service

His roads and sarais have been called the arteries of the empire.

What Were the Currency Reforms?

Sher Shah struck fine coins of gold, silver and copper of uniform standard in place of the earlier debased coins of mixed metal. His silver rupee was so well executed that it remained a standard coin for centuries after him. His attempt to fix standard weights and measures all over the empire also helped trade and handicrafts.

What Was the Land Revenue Settlement?

Feature	Detail
Basis	Not guesswork or division of crops in the fields; Sher Shah insisted on measurement of the sown land
Crop rates	A crop rate (ray) laid down the state’s share for different crops, convertible to cash at prevailing market rates
Share	One-third of the produce; lands classed as good, bad and middling, average produce computed, and one-third became the state’s share
Payment	Option of cash or kind, with cash preferred
Record	Area sown, crop and payable amount written on a patta given to each peasant
Safeguards	No extra charges allowed; fees of the measuring party fixed; a cess of two and a half seers per bigha for famine and calamities

Sher Shah administered his father’s jagir and was virtual ruler of Bihar, so he knew the revenue system at all levels. He is quoted as saying that cultivators are blameless and that if he oppressed them they would abandon their villages. Since land was plentiful, desertion was a real threat that limited exploitation.

How Did He Organise the Army, Justice and Government?

He dispensed with tribal levies under chiefs and recruited soldiers directly after verifying their character. Every soldier’s descriptive roll (chehra) was recorded and horses were branded with the imperial mark (dagh), a system borrowed from the reforms of Alauddin Khalji. His personal army is put at 150,000 cavalry, 25,000 infantry with matchlocks or bows, 5,000 elephants and a park of artillery, with cantonments and garrisons in different parts. On justice he held that it was the most excellent of religious rites and spared no oppressor, whether noble, tribesman or relative. Qazis were appointed, but panchayats and zamindars still handled local cases. Islam Shah took a further step by codifying laws and tried to curb the nobles and pay cash salaries to soldiers, but most of his regulations vanished with his death.

In administration, Sher Shah kept the Sultanat divisions: a pargana of villages under a shiqdar for law and order and a munsif or amil for revenue, with accounts in Persian and Hindavi, and above it the sarkar under a shiqdar-i-shiqdaran or faujdar and a munsif-i-munsifan. Only the designations seem new. Provincial governors were powerful in places, but in areas like Bengal real power remained with tribal chiefs.

What Were the Limits?

Sher Shah did not like leaving much authority with ministers and worked from early morning to late night, touring constantly. As an analytical point, this excessive centralisation was a source of weakness and its harm showed when a masterful ruler left the throne. For the revenue ideas that came later, compare Akbar’s system in Mansabdari System and the Dahsala (Land Revenue) System Under Akbar.

Why Is This Topic Important?

Heavily tested Rupee, GT Road, sarais, patta
Comparison Reforms Akbar later developed
Assessment Efficiency with excessive centralisation

What Came Next?

The next topic describes Sher Shah’s contribution to architecture. Next topic: Sher Shah’s Contribution to Architecture (Rohtas Fort, His Mausoleum at Sasaram).

Key People and Terms

Sarai Fortified inn for travellers
Patta Document showing a peasant’s payment
Ray Crop rate table
Dagh Branding of horses
Chehra Soldier’s descriptive roll
Muqaddam Village headman

Exam Corner

Points to Remember

1700 sarais, one every two kos.
State share: one-third of the produce.
Customs only at Sikrigali and the Indus.
Dagh from Alauddin Khalji.
Silver rupee lasted centuries.

Do Not Confuse With

Dagh and chehra Branding of horses versus description of soldiers
Patta and ray Peasant’s payment record versus crop-rate list
Pargana and sarkar Group of villages versus the larger unit above it

Memory Hook

Roads and sarais to carry trade, silver rupee to pay, measured fields to tax, dagh and chehra to guard.

Mains Angle

Questions on Sher Shah ask for an assessment of his reforms. These points add depth.

Trade Roads, sarais, customs
Revenue Measurement and fixed rates
Army and justice Dagh, chehra, strict punishment

A Question You May Face

An original practice question, not a past paper question.

“Evaluate the administrative reforms of Sher Shah. Were they original?”

How to Answer

Law and trade Roads, sarais, customs.
Revenue Measurement, ray, patta.
Army Dagh and chehra, from Alauddin.
Verdict Strong but overcentralised.

GS Relevance

Prelims: Sher Shah's reforms. GS Paper 1: administration, revenue and trade under the Surs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What were Sher Shah's currency reforms?

Sher Shah issued fine coins of gold, silver and copper of uniform standard in place of debased coins of mixed metal. His silver rupee was so well executed that it remained a standard coin for centuries after him.

What was the land revenue system of Sher Shah?

Sher Shah had the sown land measured, drew up a crop rate and fixed the state's share at one-third of the average produce. Each peasant received a patta recording his area and payment, and extra charges were forbidden.

What were the sarais of Sher Shah?

Sarais were fortified inns built about every two kos on the main roads, about 1700 in all. They had separate lodgings for Hindus and Muslims, provided food and litter at government cost, and later grew into market towns.

What was the dagh system?

The dagh system branded horses with the imperial mark so that inferior horses could not be substituted. Along with the chehra, the recorded description of every soldier, it was borrowed from the military reforms of Alauddin Khalji.

What was the weakness of Sher Shah's administration?

Sher Shah centralised too much authority in his own hands and left little with ministers. No single individual could manage a vast country, and the harm showed once a masterful ruler like him ceased to sit on the throne.

PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis

1 Sher Shah restored the Grand Trunk Road from the Indus to Sonargaon.

True

He also built other roads.

2 The dagh system was borrowed from Alauddin Khalji's reforms.