Malcha Mahal to be restored soon? Here’s what you need to know about this Tughlaq-era monument

What is the News?

The Delhi government is about to renovate the 14th-century monument, Malcha Mahal.

What is Malcha Mahal?

Malcha Mahal is located in Delhi. It was built in 1325 by the then Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq and was used as a hunting lodge for a long time.

It later became the residence of the descendants of the Nawab of Awadh.

It came to be known as ‘Wilayat Mahal’ after Begum Wilayat Mahal of Awadh who claimed that she was a member of the royal family of Oudh. She was given the palace by the government in 1985.

When she died by suicide in 1993, it came into the ownership of her daughter Sakina Mahal, and son Prince Ali Raza (Cyrus), who died in 2017, his sister passed away some years before that.

Who was Firoz Shah Tughlaq?

Firoz Shah Tughlaq was born in 1309. He was the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled over Delhi from 1320 to 1412 AD. Firoz Shah Tughlaq was in power from 1351 to 1388 AD.

The British called him the ‘father of the irrigation department’ because of the many gardens and canals that he built.

Taxes imposed under Firoz Shah Tughlaq

Kharaj: Land tax equal to one-tenth of the produce of the land.

Zakat: two and a half per cent tax on property of  Muslims

Kham: War Booty tax in which 1/5th was the state’s share and 4/5th was given to soldiers.

Jaziya: levied on the non-Muslim subjects, particularly the Hindus. Women and children were, however, exempted from the taxes.

Contributions

He established the Diwan-i-Khairat — office for charity.

He established the Diwan-i-Bundagan — department of slave.

He made Sarais (rest houses) for the benefit of merchants and other travellers.

Established four new towns, Firozabad, Fatehabad, Jaunpur and Hissar.

Source:  The post is based on an article “Malcha Mahal to be restored soon? Here’s what you need to know about this Tughlaq-era monument” published in Indian Express on 26th April 2022.