Reforms Made by Ala-ud-Din

1. Collection of wealth from the nobles:

All lands which were held by the people as gifts, pensions, endowments etc. from the state were confiscated.

The officers were instructed to extort money from the people by every possible means so that no body remained rich.

2. Reducing the wealth of the Hindus:

Although there is no unanimity among the historians regarding impoverishment of the Hindus by the Sultan, yet in general it is stated that his policy was guided by religious, political as well as economic considerations. According to Dr. K.S. Lai, Ala-ud-Din was convinced that the Hindus would not stop revolting unless their wealth was snatched away from them.

3. Land revenue policy:

Ala-ud-Din raised the land revenue to one- half of the gross produce of the land. The land revenue was to be assessed by the method of measurement on the basis of standard yield. Land revenue could be paid in cash and kind but the king preferred payment in cash as he had introduced the practice of paying salaries to the soldiers in cash.

4. Taxes other than land revenue:

Several kinds of taxes were in vogue. Grazing tax on milch cattle was the new tax imposed. House tax was another new tax. Other important taxes were: irrigation tax, ‘Jizya’ tax and import and export duties on several articles. Muslim merchants paid 5 per cent of their merchandise as tax and the Hindu merchants had to pay 10 per cent.

5. Creation of the revenue department:

A new department known as ‘Diwan-i-Mustakharaj’ was established to collect revenue systematically. This was also designed to have an effective check on the revenue officials so as to deter them from adopting corrupt practices. A close watch was kept on the ‘Amils’ and Patwaris. Their accounts were audited and the guilty were punished very severely. Ala-ud-Din also raised the salaries of the revenue officers so that they might not be tempted to bribery. The policy yielded good results.

6. Market control:

Ala-ud-Din was the first monarch who fixed the prices of commodities like wheat, barley, gram, rice, urad, sugar, ghee, cloth, horses, milch animals and even of slaves.

7. Grain markets:

The government set up grain markets and state granaries from where the people could buy grains at controlled prices.

8. Rationing system:

During natural calamities, every family was given a fixed quantity of grain. In a way, this system was like the modern system of rationing.

9. Control of weights and measures:

He introduced the system of fixed weights and measures. If any trader weighed less than the actual weight he was punished very severely. The system of land revenue was confined to Delhi and nearby territories. According to Dr. R.S. Tripathi, this system was not introduced in lower Doab, Awadh, Bihar, Bengal, Malwa, West Punjab, Gujarat and Sindh.