Wirte on assessment on the khilji revolution
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Answer:
The Khilji Revolution marked the overthrow of the Slave Dynasty and the establishment of the rule of the Khilji dynasty in the reign of Delhi Sultanate.
It was not merely a change in the dynasty hut the very nature of the state was poised for a revolution under the Khiljis.
The Khilji revolution was or revolution in the sense that it heralded the end of the Turkish supremacy over rule in India. The Khiljis were not considered pure Turks and were considered to belong to an altogether different stock. The success of the Khiljis in establishing a dynasty was a success for non-Turks and to Indian Muslims.
It was also a revolution in the sense that it settled the fact that the state power was not the monopoly of particular group. The rule of the Tughlaqs furthered this process.
The Khiljis ushered in a revolution in the history of the Delhi Sultanate also by initiating an expansionist policy. Iltutmish and Balban had consolidated the rule of Sultanate in the areas in and around Delhi, Rajputana and Punjab. It was left to the rule of the Khilji Dynasty to transform the Sultanate into empire. Under Ala-ud din Khilji, the Khiljis in north India conquered Gujarat, Ranthambhore, Chittor, Malwa, Jalore and Siwana.
The Delhi Sultanate moreover transcended the Vindhyas line and expanded in the South. In the South India, the Khiljis under the command of Malik Kafur subjugated and carried their arms over Devgiri, Telengana, Hoysala and Madurai rule by the Pandyas.
Further, the Khilji revolution was also ushered in by the new administrative measures that were introduced. Thus, there were the market regulations which fixed the prices of different commodities. Moreover, new administrative machinery comprising the Shahna, the Barids and the Munhias was set up to oversee the market regulations. Similarly, the land revenue administration was reorganized by introducing measurement, and touring up the machinery.
Moreover, the Khiljis proclaimed a concept of kingship of their own. Khiljis did not recognize any other power centre in the administration. They believed in the dictum that kingship provides for its own justification. Also, the Sultan need not act under the guidance of nobles or Ulemas. Thus, the Khiljis heralded a new era in various aspects of Sultanate and hence it is termed as Khilji revolution.