Evaluate the contribution of Sher Shah towards trade and commerce, administration and agricultural reforms.

Answer:

Sher Shah Suri, who ruled from 1540 to 1545, held power for barely five years, yet in that brief span he laid administrative, fiscal and commercial foundations of quite lasting value. Many of these Akbar would later consolidate, so that Sher Shah is rightly regarded as the true forerunner of the mature Mughal order.

Agrarian reforms

• Land was surveyed and measured, using the sikandari gaz and the jarib, and revenue fixed at about one-third of the produce.
• The peasant received a title-deed (patta) stating his holding and dues, and signed a deed of agreement (qabuliyat).
• Rates were based on measured yield, giving the cultivator real security against arbitrary demand.
• Concessions and loans (taccavi) were allowed in times of famine or crop failure.

Trade and commerce

• He built and repaired great roads, above all the Grand Trunk Road (Sadak-i-Azam) from Bengal to the north-west.
• The roads were lined with sarais, shady trees and wells for the comfort and safety of travellers.
• He reformed the currency, issuing the fine silver rupiya and the copper dam that became the basis of later coinage.
• Customs duties were rationalised, levied only at the frontier and the point of sale, easing internal trade.

Administration

• He organised a strong central government with well-defined departments and personal supervision.
• The empire was divided into sarkars and parganas with clearly assigned officers.
• The shiqdar-i-shiqdaran and munsif-i-munsifan headed each sarkar's military and judicial work.
• Officers were transferred periodically to prevent the growth of local power.
• The sarais doubled as postal stages (dak chauki), improving communication and security.

Assessment of his contribution

• Akbar's revenue system under Todar Mal built directly on Sher Shah's measurement and rates.
• His currency remained the basis of Indian coinage down to the colonial rupee.
• The Grand Trunk Road still follows much of his alignment across northern India.
• His reign was too short for his reforms to be fully consolidated across the empire.

Sher Shah's contribution was thus far out of proportion to his brief reign: his revenue system, roads, sarais and coinage strengthened trade, agriculture and governance alike. As historians recognise, he was the true architect of the administrative and fiscal order that Akbar would perfect a generation later.