Q. With reference to the office of the Sultan and the Central Administration of the Delhi Sultanate, consider the following statements:
1.The Sultan was theoretically bound to rule according to the principles of Sharia (Islamic Law), but the most powerful Sultans often interpreted the law or relied on Zawabit (state laws) for secular governance.
2.The position of the Naib (Deputy Sultan) was initially subordinate to the Wazir but rose to prominence under Sultans like Balban, representing a check on the Sultan’s absolute authority.
3.The Sultan was considered a completely independent sovereign, entirely disconnected from the authority of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad after the latter’s destruction by the Mongols.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: A
Notes:
Explanation:
- Statement 1: Correct. While all Sultans acknowledged Sharia, many powerful Sultans (like Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq) often asserted state interest (Zawabit) over religious law, especially in fiscal and criminal matters.
- Statement 2: Incorrect. The Naib (Deputy Sultan) was effectively the Sultan’s deputy and exercised vast power, especially when the Sultan was weak or a minor (like under the Turkish aristocracy). The Wazir (Chief Minister) was nominally head of finance, but the Naib often held military and judicial powers, and was a challenge to the Sultan’s authority, not a check on it from a functional bureaucratic standpoint.
- Statement 3: Incorrect. Even after the Caliphate’s fall in 1258 CE, the Sultans of Delhi (like Iltutmish, Firoz Shah Tughlaq) continued to seek or use the Caliph’s nominal investiture (a Manshur or Khilat) for legitimacy, particularly from the Caliphate established in Egypt.
