Book & Author
Dr. Hussain Khan: Sher Shah Suri
By Dr Ahmed S. Khan
Chicago, IL
“No government, not even the British, has shown so much wisdom as this Pathan.”
H.G. Keene (1826-1915), British historian
Sher Shah Suri aka Farid Khan (1472-1545) was a visionary king who ruled India for only five years (1540-1545) but accomplished much more in his short reign than the Mughals during their 200-year rule. He was a leader centuries ahead of his times. He was one of the wisest, most effective and pragmatic rulers of India who is remembered even today for his good governance, exemplary administration, and mega projects for the welfare of people viz a viz agrarian and commercial reforms, revenue collection, famine relief, construction of the Grand Trunk Road, development of road networks with amenities, enforcement of uniformity of weights, prices and quality of articles, and abolishment of forced labor. Paying tribute to Sher Shah Suri after his demise, the Mughal emperor Humayun had called him Ustad-i-Badshahan (The Teacher of Kings).
Sher Shah Sur i by Dr Hussain Khan traces the rise of Sher Shah ( The Lion King) Suri from the Afghan ruling elite to the status of one of the greatest kings of India, in eight chapters: The characteristics of the Afghan Umara, The Politics of the Afghan Umara and Sher Shah Suri's Rise to Power, The Mughul Umara, Zamindars [landlords] in the Afghan—Mughal/ Struggle (932/1526 to 950/1543-44), Sher Shah Suri's Technique of War, The Emergence of Sher Shah Suri's Mamlakat (kingdom), and The Structure and Administration of Sher Shah Suri's Mamlakat.
The book reveals that besides the support of Afghan elite for his cause, Sher Shah Suri was also helped by the Hindustani elite i.e., hereditary zamindars. It also examines the nature of help rendered by the Mughal elite to their sovereign, Humayun. As a sine qua non for the politics of the elites, the book introduces at appropriate places their ethos and institutions. It presents Sher Shah Suri as a successful strategist and tactician in the battles. It also describes various influences which appear to have affected Sher Shah Suri when he revitalized old institutions and introduced new ones in his Mamlakat.
Dr Hussain Khan was born in 1929, in the village of Shamsabad, District Attock. He received his early education from Government High School, Hazro, completed his BA Honors in History from the University of London, England, and obtained his MA and PhD degrees from the University of the Punjab, Lahore. He has authored numerous research articles, and also edited the `Afsana-i-Shahan.' He taught at the postgraduate level, since 1959, and recently retired as Professor of History, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan.
In the foreword, P. Hardy, a Reader in the History of Islam in South Asia, University of London, observes: “Sher Shah must go down in history as an unsuccessful abortionist; he forcibly expelled the fetus of the Mughal empire from the womb of South Asian history nearly four and a half centuries ago, but it survived to take over the abortion clinic in its turn. It is the fact that the Mughal empire was almost a near miss with no second shot that has rivetted the attention of so many historians upon the career of Sher Shah. But that attention has hitherto always been one which has been subtly directed and focused by the knowledge that not only the Mughal but also the British empire in India was to follow after. The experience of these empires seemed to provide a means of structuring the historical evidence for the period between the overthrow of Ibrahim Lodi by the Mughals and the expulsion of the Mughal Humayun by Sher Shah: the history of the first half of the sixteenth century in northern India is that of a contest between would-be empire builders. What kind of deductions modern historians would have made from the surviving data for the career of Sher Shah, had not the Mughal and the British empires in India been created, is no mere object of idle or academic speculation. That data itself (mostly written long after the events mentioned, as Dr Hussain Khan stresses) provides little direct evidence of any state-building process. Both Afghan and Mughal leaders, whether appearing in the guise of sultans, padshahs, amirs and maliks, are depicted as men with followings who are competing with each other for more general acknowledgement of their individual superiority…The aim of every leader with an armed following…appears to be to become a Sultan…(June 1979).”
The book deals with the transition of power from the Afghans (Lodis) to the Mughuls and back to the Afghans (Surs), from 932/1526 to 952/1545, in doing so the author deviates from the conventional practice of previous writers — who dealt with the transference of power from the Lodis to the Mughuls — like William Erskine (A History of India Under The Two First Sovereigns of the House of Taimur), L. F. Rushbrook Williams (An Empire Builder of the Sixteenth Century, Longmans, 1918), A. B. Pandey (The First Afghan Empire in India), A. Halim (History of the Lodi Sultans of Delhi and Agra), and K. S. Lai ( Twilight of the Sultanate). All these writers just described the events of transition in chronological order without analyzing factors which shaped the events.
The first Chapter, The Characteristics of the Afghan Umara, discusses the institutions and traditions of the Afghan Umara that shaped their organization and determined their politics viz a viz anti-Mughal movement. The second Chapter, The Politics of the Afghan Umara and Sher Shah Sur's Rise to Power, analyses the politics of the Afghan umara which initially assumed the shape of a retaliatory movement against Sultan Ibrahim Lodi because of his attempt to bring a structural change in the nature of the Afghan monarchy — from tribal oligarchy to absolute despotism — which his Umera were unwilling to concede; and, discusses the emergence of Sher Shah Sur as the leader of Afghans, uniting them to fight against the Mughals.
The Third Chapter, The Mughul Umara, reviews the role of the Mughul umara in the Afghan challenge to their supremacy; discusses the characteristics and shortcomings of the Mughul elite and the motives of its various groups who intrigued against the Mughal emperor Humayun. The Fourth Chapter presents the politics of the zamindars of those areas which were directly affected by the struggle between the Afghans and the Mughals, and how the elite changed their loyalties to suit their interests. The Fifth Chapter describes an account of Sher Shah Suri's strategy, tactics and innovations against his adversaries. The sixth chapter traces the emergence of Sher Shah Suri's Mamlakat after the battle of Qanauj.”
The author has employed triangulation of sources to enhance the credibility of his research. He has used the Afghan sources (Tarikh-i-Afghania, Waqiat-i-Mustaqi, Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi, Afsan-i-Shahan, Tarikh-i-Shahi, Tarikh-i-Daudi, and Tarikh-i-Khan Jahani wa Makhzan-i-Afghani), the Mughal sources (Baburnama, Hamayunnama, Tazkirat al-Waqiat, Tarikh-i-Rashidi, Tabaqat-i-Akbari, Muntakhab al-Tawarikh, Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari), and a number of provincial histories and other works ( Lataif-i-Quddusi, Padmavat, Tazkirat al-Muluk, Gulshan-iIbrahimi [Tarikh-i-Firishta], Madan-i-Akhbar-i-Ahmedi, Zubdat al-Tawarikh, and Gulzar-i-Abrar).
Sher Shah Suri, during his reign, focused on good governance and fair treatment of people. He gave the highest priority to service of peasants; he believed that when the peasant is ruined, the king is ruined. He took great care to ensure that his revenue collectors and official did not oppress and abuse peasants. Commenting on Sher Shah’s concern about the welfare and safety of his people, Indian historian, Abraham Eraly (1934—2015) quotes Abbas, Sher Shah's chronicler: "Travelers and wayfarers, during the time of Sher Shah's reign, were relieved from the trouble of keeping watch; nor did they fear to halt even in the middle of a desert... They encamped at night at every place, desert or inhabited, without fear: they placed their goods and property on the plain, and turned out their mules to graze, and themselves slept with minds at ease and free from care, as if in their own house; and the zemindars [landlords], for fear that any mischief should occur to the travelers, and that they should suffer or be arrested on account of it, kept watch over them".
Expounding on examples of Sher Shah’s good governance, the author observes: “… Sher Shah Sur had arranged a famine relief fund and levied a small contribution for the purpose which forestalled the possibility of famine and made corn unprecedently cheap…, for the first time in the Muslim Indian history, by virtue of his scientific land revenue system both Hindus and Muslims were treated on equal terms…Sher Shah Sur greatly promoted trade and commerce by abolishing numerous duties which were formerly charged at every village or town, at every ferry and almost at every prominent road. …. Sher Shah Sur also protected the interest of the consumers by enjoining the merchants and shopkeepers to maintain uniformity of weights, prices and quality of articles.”
Reflecting on Sher Shah’s efforts to ensure equal justice for all, the author states: “A Welfare Mamlakat Sher Shah Sur looked after the interests of his subjects by protecting their lives and properties from the oppression of the government officials, and provided the former, irrespective of any class or creed, with the amenities of life. Under the aegis of Sher Shah Sur's social justice, all were equally protected. No one, whatever his rank or position, could escape punishment for breach of laws. For dispensing justice, he established courts of justice throughout his Mamlakat. He appointed Muhtasibs to look after public morale. The Hindus probably had their panchaiats [meetings to settle disputes]. But they were not excluded from the Sultan's court to which they were at liberty to appeal. Sher Shah Sur was the first Indian Muslim sovereign who abolished the forced labor which had been formerly exacted from the raiyat [subjects] since the advent of the Sultanate of Delhi. By his useful agrarian and commercial reforms, he benefited his subjects irrespective of any religious distinction.”
One of the most enduring projects of Sher Shah Suri was the construction of the Sarak-e-Azam (great road) aka Jarnaily Sarak (presently called the Grand Trunk Road) that extended from Attock (Punjab, Pakistan) to Calcutta. The project was completed during the period 1540-1545. The British extended it to provide a link between Peshawar and Sonargaon (near Dacca, Bangladesh) and named it the Grand Trunk Road. Today, this 1500+ miles road spans four countries connecting Kabul with Chittagong. He also built numerous other roads for the convenience of people. Commenting on the amenities attached to these roads, the author states: “…He constructed a sarai [Inn] at a distance of every two kurohs for the maintenance of peace and for the rest of … travelers Altogether he built 1,700 sarais [Inns] on the roads of every region. In every sarai separate lodgings were provided for Hindus and Muslims, and at the gate of every sarai big jars full of water were kept for distribution of water among Hindus as well as Muslims. Near every sarai Muslims were settled for the entertainment of Muslim travelers and Brahmans for the Hindus. Their duty was to provide them with cold and hot water, bed and food and ripe grain for their horses. It was his rule that whoever came to these sarais was supplied with provision according to his rank and grain and fodder for his cattle from the government store. Markets were established near every sarai for sale and purchase: By the side of each sarai a village was founded and in every sarai there were built a well and a jami mosque of burnt brick. An imam and a muazzin were appointed in the mosque and a custodian (shahna) and several watchmen were appointed (to look after the sarai). They were all maintained from the income of the land near the sarai. Two horses were kept in every sarai to transmit news to the next station…”
Continuing with the description of amenities, the author writes: “On both sides of the road shady fruit trees were planted, so that travelers might travel under the shade while hot winds blow and might also take rest and repose under the trees when they got tired by their journey. During their stay at a sarai, they tethered their horses under the trees. Two writers were deputed at the gate of every sarai. Their duty was to record the particulars of every passerby (his name and the name of his residence) who came to the sarai, and then to supply him with provisions. A physician was stationed at every sarai to look after the health of the people of the locality. Bakers were also settled in the sarais and guard posts were created in the same places for the safety of travelers…For the protection and safety of the road from the molestation of the thieves and robbers, etc., rules were framed as follows. He strictly ordered his governors that if a theft or robbery occurred in his Mamlakat, and the culprit was not detected, whatever the thief and highway robber might have robbed would have to be compensated by the muqaddam [headman] of the place of occurrence and if it would have occurred in such a place the jurisdiction of which was not known then the muqaddains [ headmen] of the surrounding villages would be arrested and compelled to pay restitution…”
Reflecting on Sher Shah’s currency reform, the author states: “As in other fields of administration, Sher Shah Sur was also an innovator in the reform of currency. The very nomenclature of his coins as ashrafis, rupaiya (rupee) and paisa and the principle according to which they were cast, remained the basis of the Mughul currency, and of the British and even today the currency of India and Pakistan can trace its lineage to Sher Shah Sur's currency reform. Sher Shah Sur abandoned the existing inconvenient bullion coinage of mixed metal and struck well-executed pieces in gold, silver and copper, to a fixed standard of both weight and fineness.”
Sher Shah Suri was killed on May 22, 1545, during a battle at the siege of Kalinjar fort, as a result of a gunpowder explosion. Was this explosion due to an accident or a planned incident by his opponents to eliminate the great king? The matter needs further research. His son Jalal Khan Suri succeeded him. Sher Shah built his mausoleum during his lifetime at Sasaram in Bihar. Today, his tomb is in a state of decay due to neglect, and urgently needs repairs and maintenance.
Sher Shah Suri by Dr Hussain Khan provides a detailed account about the life and accomplishments of one of the great rulers of India whose influence on the government systems in South Asia is even felt today; it is an essential reading for students of history, and all who aspire to truly serve people.
Dr Ahmed S. Khan ( dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org ) is a Fulbright Specialist Scholar (2017-2022).
