Sahib-i-Diwan

In every province, there was a Sahib-i-Diwan, also known as Khwaja. He was appointed by the Sultan on the recommendation of the Wazir. He was generally an expert accountant. His duty was to keep account books and submit detailed statements to the headquarters.

In was on the basis of those sheets that the Department of the Wazir settled the account with the Muqti. Officially, the Khwaja was subordinate to the Governor. However, in actual practice, he was a power to reckon with and he was a check on the authority of the Governor. The reports of the Khwaja might lead to the dismissal of the Governor.

Shiqs

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During the 13th century, there was no lower unit of administration than the Iqta. However, during 14th century, the provinces were divided into Shiqs. Probably, this was not done everywhere, Muhammad Tughluq divided the viceroyalty of the Deccan into four Shiqs. There was a Shiqdar at the head of a Shiq. He was probably a military officer and his duty was to maintain law and order within his jurisdiction.

Parganah

The next smaller unit was the Parganah which has rightly been identified by Moreland with the Qasbah meaning thereby an aggregate of villages. The next division was the village. Ibn Batuta refers to Sadi which he defines in these words: “These people give the name of Sadi to the collection of a hundred villages.”

Ibn Batuta refers to the Sadi of Hindpat which can be identified with the Parganah of lndrapat in the neighbourhood of Delhi. It appears that the term Sadi was not officially adopted and that explains its absence from contemporary records.

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It appears that the administration of villages continued in the hands of Hindu officials. There was a Panchayat in every village and most of the disputes were settled there. The people of the village looked after their affairs themselves and ordinarily they were not interfered with by the Sultan. There was a Chowkidar and a Patwari in every village.

We may conclude by saying that on the whole, the administration of the Delhi Sultans was |a sort of military rule which was maintained by fear of force. It was not based on the consent of the people. Ordinarily, the Government was worried only about collecting money from the people.

It did not consider its responsibility for their welfare. The non-Muslims who formed a majority of the population were completely ignored. The result was that the position of the Sultans was never stable and we have references of frequent revolts against the authority of Sultans.