Q1: Name two literary gems of Qutubuddin Aibek’s court.

Ans: The two renowned literary scholars who adorned the royal court of Qutubuddin Aibek were Hasan Nizami (author of Taj-ul-Ma’asir) and Fakhr-i-Mudabbir (author of Adab al-Harb wa-l-Shaja’a).

Q2: When and between whom was the First Battle of Panipat fought?

Ans: The First Battle of Panipat was fought on 21 April 1526 CE between Babur (the ruler of Kabul and founder of the Mughal dynasty) and Ibrahim Lodi (the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate). Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi decisively, bringing an end to the Delhi Sultanate.

Q3: Mention four social evils prevalent in the Hindu society during the Sultanate period.

Ans: Four major social evils prevalent in Hindu society during this era were:
1. Caste System and Untouchability: Rigid social stratification denying equality to lower castes.
2. Sati Pratha: Burning of widows on their husbands’ funeral pyres.
3. Child Marriage: Marrying off girls at an extremely tender age.
4. Purdah System: Seclusion of women and restriction of their freedom of movement.

Q4: Mention four items which were exported from India during the Sultanate period.

Ans: India enjoyed a flourishing export trade in:
1. High-quality cotton textiles and fine muslin.
2. Aromatic spices (pepper, cardamom, cloves).
3. Indigo dye and sugarcane/sugar.
4. Precious stones and handcrafted metal handicrafts.

Q5: Name two Sultans who kept the Ulemas away from the administration.

Ans: The two Sultans who boldly asserted that politics should be independent of religious dictates and kept the orthodox Muslim theologians (Ulemas) strictly away from government administration were Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq.

Q1: Describe the administrative reforms made by Iltutmish to strengthen his hold on Delhi Sultanate.

Ans: Shamsuddin Iltutmish is considered the real founder and consolidator of the Delhi Sultanate. To secure the fledgling empire against internal revolts and external Mongol threats, he introduced key administrative measures:

• Organization of the ‘Chahalgani’ (The Forty): He created a corporate body of forty trusted Turkish slave-officers known as Turkan-i-Chahalgani or the ‘Chalisa’ to manage top military, judicial, and administrative posts loyally.
• Introduction of the Iqta System: Instead of paying cash salaries to army commanders and high officials, Iltutmish allocated land revenue assignments termed Iqtas. The holders (Iqtadars or Muqtis) collected taxes, maintained fixed regiments, preserved regional law and order, and remitted the surplus (fawazil) to the Sultan.
• Monetary Reforms: He introduced standard, beautifully inscribed coinage comprising the pure silver Tanka (weighing 175 grains) and copper Jital, establishing monetary stability and commercial trust across India.
• Consolidation of Capital: He shifted the political headquarters from Lahore permanently to Delhi, constructing monumental public works such as the Hauz-i-Shamsi and completing the Qutub Minar.

Q2: ‘Balban was a strong and capable ruler’. Support the statement by giving suitable arguments.

Ans: Ghiyasuddin Balban was one of the most powerful and determined monarchs of medieval India. The following arguments support his capable leadership:

• Crushing the Power of Nobles: Balban ruthlessly broke the monopolistic stranglehold and conspiracies of the corrupt Chahalgani, eliminating disobedient aristocrats to re-establish the supremacy of the crown.
• Policy of ‘Blood and Iron’: He adopted an uncompromising policy of severe physical punishment against Mewati dacoits, robbers, and rebellious chieftains in the Doab and Awadh, cutting dense jungles, building roadside forts, and guaranteeing absolute safety for travelers and merchants.
• Theory of Divine Kingship: Balban styled himself as Niyabat-i-Khudai (Representative of God) and Zill-i-Ilahi (Shadow of God on Earth). He introduced solemn Persian court ceremonies—Sijdah (prostration before the monarch) and Paibos (kissing the Sultan’s feet)—demanding absolute reverence from all nobles.
• Efficient Military and Spy System: He reorganized the army under the military department (Diwan-i-Arz) and placed a vast network of secret spies (Barids) across every province to report rebellions before they could spark.

Q3: Explain briefly the economic reforms of Ala-ud-din Khalji.

Ans: Alauddin Khalji introduced revolutionary agrarian and market control reforms primarily aimed at maintaining a massive, well-equipped standing army at minimal state expenditure to counter fierce Mongol raids and finance conquests:

• Fixation of Market Prices: He strictly fixed the prices of every essential commodity—from food grains, vegetables, sugar, and oil to quality textiles, horses, and slaves—ensuring prices did not inflate even during poor harvests.
• Establishment of Separate Regulated Markets: He established specialized wholesale and retail markets in Delhi: Mandi for grain, Sarai-i-Adl for manufactured cloth, spices, and sugar, and dedicated markets for cattle and horses.
• Strict Administrative Enforcement: Markets were placed under an honest superintendent called Shahna-i-Mandi and monitored by secret intelligence scouts (Munhiyan). Cheating, underweighting, and black-marketing were brutally punished with flesh being carved out from the offenders’ bodies.
• State Granaries and Rationing: Vast state storehouses were stocked with grain collected as revenue in kind, enabling smooth rationing distribution whenever famines struck Delhi.
• Measurement of Cultivable Land: Land was scientifically surveyed, and revenue was assessed based on standard measurement units (Biswa), eliminating middleman extortion by hereditary village headmen (Khuts and Muqaddams).

Q4: State the reforms made by Feroz Tughlaq to redress the grievances of the people.

Ans: Feroz Shah Tughlaq was a welfare-oriented builder and reformer who undertook extensive civic, agricultural, and humanitarian programs to heal the wounds caused by earlier hardships:

• Abolition of Oppressive Taxes and Tortures: He repealed around 24 arbitrary and painful taxes (abwabs) that overburdened farmers and tradesmen, retaining only four Quranic taxes (Kharaj, Zakat, Khams, and Jizya). He completely banned mutilation and cruel physical tortures.
• Agricultural and Irrigation Facilities: He dug extensive canal networks—most notably the Yamuna and Sutlej irrigation canals—to water parched croplands, while creating over 1,200 royal fruit orchards around Delhi producing revenue and food.
• Founding New Cities and Monuments: He was a prolific builder who founded prosperous new cities including Ferozabad, Jaunpur, Hissar-Firoza, and Fatehabad, repairing historical monuments like the Qutub Minar and Hauz Khas.
• Humanitarian Welfare Institutions:
  • Diwan-i-Khairat: A charity department providing financial aid to poor Muslims, destitute widows, and arranging marriages for orphaned daughters.
  • Dar-ul-Shifa: Free public charitable hospitals in Delhi staffed by skilled hakims providing free medicines and food.
  • Employment Bureau: An office dedicated to registering unemployed youth and assigning them employment based on their skills.

Q5: Describe Muhammad Tughlaq’s projects which failed.

Ans: Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq was one of the most learned, visionary, and innovative scholars of his time; however, his ambitious administrative schemes failed disastrously due to poor execution, lack of practical wisdom, and absence of public cooperation:

• 1. Transfer of Capital to Devgiri (Daulatabad) in 1327 CE:
  Objective: To govern the newly conquered rich South Indian provinces from a central location and protect the court from Mongol invasions in the north.
  Failure: He ordered the entire population of Delhi—including elderly scholars, saints, and children—to march 1,500 km in scorching summer heat. Thousands perished on the journey. Realizing he could not defend Northern India against Mongol incursions from Daulatabad, he abruptly ordered everyone to march back to Delhi, breeding widespread bitterness.
• 2. Introduction of Token Currency (1330–1332 CE):
  Objective: To tackle a global shortage of silver and replenish state reserves by issuing bronze and copper coins stamped with equivalent value to the silver Tanka.
  Failure: The government failed to enforce a state monopoly over minting. Citizens and local goldsmiths began forging millions of copper coins in their homes. Foreign traders refused token coins, and financial chaos forced the Sultan to buy back all copper tokens with pure silver from the royal treasury, causing catastrophic bankruptcy.
• 3. Taxation in the Doab:
  Objective: To raise state revenues by increasing land taxes by 10 to 20 times in the fertile agricultural tract between the Ganga and Yamuna.
  Failure: The tax hike coincided with a tragic, multi-year famine. Peasants could not afford the increased demand, deserted their farms, took up arms, or fled into forests. Although the Sultan later distributed loans (Taccavi) and seeds, the relief arrived too late to avert catastrophe.
• 4. Military Expeditions of Khurasan and Qarachil:
  Objective: He raised a mammoth army of 370,000 soldiers with a year’s advance salary to conquer Central Asian Khurasan and Iraq, but abandoned the campaign due to shifting geopolitics. An expedition sent into the Himalayan Qarachil hills was trapped by flash floods and guerilla hill tribes, wiping out almost the entire imperial force.