Sher Shah Suri (1486-1545)

Son of an Afghan landlord, Sher Shah Suri was born as Farid. At a very young age, he left his home as a result of his stepmother’s mistreatment. Sher Shah was a talented administrator. When Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi and assumed the kingship of India, Sher Shah Suri joined Babur and impressed him with his intelligence. Babur appointed him as the governor of Bihar. After the death of Babur when the Mughal government became unstable, Sher Shah took advantage of the situation and became independent.

He was an ambitious man and wanted to avenge the Afghan defeat by the Mughals. Most of the Afghan tribal leaders had settled in Bihar and Bengal after the defeat in the Battle of Panipat (1526), therefore, Sher Shah made them regain their lost power and united them under his leadership.

In 1539, he defeated Humayun in the Battle of Chaunsa. Humayun lost hope and after losing another battle with Sher Shah Suri, he left India. Sher Shah then easily occupied Delhi and Agra and declared himself king. After that he started to conquer the neighbouring states but Sher Shah died in an explosion while besieging Kalinjar in 1545.

A fair and efficient administrator As a well-organised and efficient administrator, he divided his kingdom into provinces, districts and parganas. In each pargana, he appointed a foujdar or military officer, a treasurer (collector of revenue) and a judge. He also appointed two scribes: one for the records to be written in Hindi and the other for Persian. The scribes kept the records of the revenue collection.

Sher Shah measured the entire agriculture land of his kingdom and after assessing it, fixed the revenue for the state. As a result, the income of the state increased.

He made strict principles for the government as well as for the non-government officers to play their roles in controlling crime. He built roads and sarais (rest houses) for travellers and traders. On both sides of the roads he planted trees where passers-by could rest. The most famous road of Sher Shah is now popularly known as the Jarneli Sarak or GT (Grand Trunk) Road.

Among other roads which Sher Shah built were from Agra to Burhanpir, from Agra to Biyana and Chittor and from Lahore to Multan. These roads facilitated trade activities and as a result, villages were linked with cities, and villagers could easily bring their produce to the cities to sell. Moreover, it also brought people of different areas closer.

In order to keep check on any Mughal invasion, he constructed the famous Rohtas Fort near Jhelum,  which is a unique specimen of architecture. Though a Muslim leader, he treated Hindus fairly and appointed them on high posts. One of his most famous Hindu officers was Raja Todar Mal, who supervised the construction of Rohtas Fort. As a result of Sher Shah’s fair policy towards his people, peace and prosperity prevailed during his reign.

After his sudden death, his successors could not take control of the government, which weakened the Suri rule. Humayun took the advantage of this situation and reconquered India in 1555.