Question

Who was Sher Shah Suri? What do you know about his administration?

Answer 1

Hint:
Sher Shah was one of the fearless Muslim rulers in India who (for once) uprooted one of the greatest Islamic dynasties in medieval India. The defeated king had to flee back to his own country.

Complete answer:
   Sher Shah Suri was born as Farid Khan in 1486 in Sasaram region of Rohtas district (Bihar). His father Mian Hassan Khan Suri was a horse breeder and a renowned personality in the government of Bahlul Khan Lodi.
           He founded the Sur Empire in North India. After conquering the Mughal Empire (1540), he established a new civic and military administration as well as implemented several significant reforms in the financial and postal sectors. Apart from that his major credits include reorganizing the empire and reviving the historical city of Pataliputra as Patna.
Administration-
Shah wasn’t only a great warrior but he was also an influential administrator; his reforms served as the foundation of the later Mughal Empire. Among his most significant contributions is the introduction of the tri-metal coinage system (he introduced new silver coins called “Dam” used till 1835). Major features of his administrative set-up can be described as-

Four important ministers assisted the king-
Diwan –i- Wizarat or Wazir (in charge of Revenue and Finance),
Diwan-i-Ariz (in charge of Army),
Diwan-i-Risalat (Foreign Minister), &
Diwan-i-Insha (Minister for Communications)
The empire was divided into 47 Sarkars; each further divided into various Parganas and in charge of those regions were-
Shiqdar (Military Officer)
Amin (Land Revenue)
Fotedar (Treasurer)
Karkuns (Accountants)

Under Sher Shah, the land revenue administration was well organized; the land survey was carried out with utmost care and the fertile land was classified into 3 categories: good, middle and bad. Peasants had to pay one-third of the average production (in cash or crop).

He had also laid four important highways for the purpose of communication-
Sonargaon to Sind,
Agra to Berhampur,
Jodhpur to Chittor, &
Lahore to Multan

Note:
Overall, Sher Shah was quite an efficient ruler who was dedicated to his reign and considered kingship as a responsibility and not a legacy. As a person, he was a pious Muslim and generally tolerant towards other religions; it is manifested from the fact that Hindu were appointed in his court on important posts. After his death in 1545, his kingdom was ruled by his successors who proved to be weak rulers and in 1555, Humayun conquered India again.