There has been a lot of controversy with regard to the real nature of the system of administration of Sher Shah Sur. To begin with, it was maintained that Sher Shah was merely a soldier who possessed an average administrative capacity. Dr. K.R. Qanungo put forward a new thesis. According to him, “Sher Shah was a greater constructive genius than Akbar himself.”

According to Dr. R.P. Tripathi and Dr. Saran, Sher Shah was merely a reformer and not an innovator. According to them, too much importance has been given to his achievements than is really due to them. It is pointed out that in many ways, he merely revived the system of Ala-ud-Din Khilji. Otherwise there was nothing original in what he did.

Sher Shah’s administration was not only autocratic but also enlightened and vigorous. He did not listen to the advice of the Ulema. He aimed at the betterment of administration and looked into the smaller details of administration. Sher Shah was a benevolent despot. He had both civil and military powers in his hands and he exercised them in the interest of the people rather than for himself.

Sher Shah was helped by Four Ministers and those were the Dinwan-i-Wizarat, Diwan-i- Ariz, Diwan-i-Rasalat and Diwan-i-Insha. The wazir was the head of the Diwan-i-Wizarat. He was in charge of both the income and expenditure of the country. He also exercised a general supervision over other ministers. The Diwan-i-Ariz was under Arizi-i-Mamalik. The latter was incharge of the recruitment, organization and discipline of the army. He was responsible for the payment of salaries of the army.

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On account of his personal interest in the military affairs, Sher Shah interfered a lot in this department. The Diwan-i-Rasalat was under a foreign minister. His duty was to keep himself in touch with the ambassadors and envoys. He also dealt with diplomatic correspondence. The work of charity and endowment was also in his hands. The Minister-in-charge of Diwan-i-Insha had to draft royal proclamation and dispatches. He was incharge of Government records. His duty was also to correspond with the Governors and other local officers.

In addition to the four departments or Ministers, there was also the Diwan-i-Qaza and Diwan-i-Barid. The first was under the Chief Qazi. The duty of the Chief Qazi was the supervise the administration of Justice. Diwan-i-Barid was the Intelligence Department of the Government. It has a large number of newswriters and spies who were scattered all over the country. There was also a high official in charge of the royal household. He enjoyed a lot of prestige on account of his nearness to the royal family. He may be called the Lord High Steward.

There are two theories with regard to provincial administration under Sher Shah. According to Dr. Qanungo, “The highest division of the country was Sarkar and the provinces were the creation of Akbar, the Great.” According to Dr. Saran, provinces existed even before and it is wrong to say that Sarkar was the highest division even before and it is wrong to say that Sarkar was the highest division for purposes and administration.

However, both the views do not seem to be quite correct. It cannot be denied that there were administrative divisions which corresponded to provinces. There was no uniformity with regard to their income and size. They were known as Iqtas and were assigned to chiefs. Sher Shah established a new type of provincial administration in Bengal.

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The latter was divided into a number of Sarkars. A civilian was to be at the head of the entire province and he was given to small army for his help. His duty was to keep supervision over the various officials of the Sarkar and also settle the disputes. The details of provincial administration are not clear and it is not possible to say as how its officers were appointed and what their names were.

Sarkar :

In the time of Sher Shah, provinces were divided into Sarkars. The two important officials of a Sarkar were Munsif-i-Munsifan or Munsif-in-Chief and Shiqdar-i-Shiqdaran or Shiqdar- in-Chief. The Munsif-i-Munsifan was primarily judge and tried civil cases. He also supervised the work of Amins. As regards the Shiqdar-i-Shiqdaran his duty was to maintain law and order within the Sarkar or district and also to put down those who dared to revolt. He was also to supervise the work of the Shiqdars of the Parganas.

Parganas :

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If there were many Sarkars in a province, there were many Parganas in a Sarkar. The important officials in a Pargana were a Shiqdar, an Amin, a treasurer, a Munsiff, a Hindi writer and a Persian writer for accounts. In addition to these, there were the Patwari, Chaudhari and the Muqaddam who acted as intermediaries between the people and the Government. Shiqdar maintained soldiers who were employed for maintaining peace and rounding up the unsocial elements. He assisted in the collection of royal dues and even employed force if that was necessary. He presided over the local common law courts dealing with criminal cases.

He can be compared to the Modern Deputy Collector. The Amin supervised the Land Revenue Administration and collection of government dues. The entire staff of the land revenue department in the Pargana was under his control. He tried civil and revenue cases.

The Amin enjoyed the same status as the Shiqdar. The Fotahdar was the treasurer of the Pargana. All collections of the Pargana was deposited with him. He maintained account of the income and expenditure of the Pargana. The clerks of the Pargana were known as Karkuns.

One of the clerks maintained all records in Persian. Another clerk maintained duplicate records in Hindi for the convenience of the public. Sher Shah transferred Amins and Shiqdars every two years or even earlier so that there was no possibility of any local rebellion. Sher Shah did not interfere with the work of the Pargana officials. He merely tried to maintain contact with them through the Patwaris and the Chowkidar. Villages were allowed to work the help of their Panchayats.