most controversial of all the sultans ever to rule India

Muhammad bin Tughluq (Arabic: محمد بن تغلق) (c.1300– 1351)

Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq. Ghiyath al-din sent the young Muhammad to the Deccan to campaign against the Kakatiya dynasty king Prataparudra of Warangal. He succeeded to the Delhi throne after his father's death in 1325.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the most controversial of all the sultans ever to rule India. He was the most cruel, cold-blooded and crazy sultan yet. At the same time, he was also brilliant, philanthropic and an endearing person. Muhammad was also exceptionally well educated and he was the patron of arts that would rival the Mughals later. He was an authority on medicine and mathematics. He possessed formidable intelligence and superb penmanship. This dichotomy in his character, perhaps would be diagnosed as a psychiatric disorder today of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Whether he was a genius or a maniacal lunatic, an idealist or a visionary, a tyrant or a benevolent king are unanswered questions. However, all these characters were apparent at one time or another in his actions. Was he a devout Muslim or a heretic? A complex man, he remains an enigma. He went against the ulema, the Muslim scholars who are experts in Muslim law and religion.

In those days Delhi, the capital city was continuously under the threats of foreign invasions. So moving the capital down South might reduce this treat to some extent. Also he had some success in Deccan and Devagiri was under his firm control. He renamed it Daulatabad and ordered his capital moved there, fourteen hundred kilometers from Delhi! Tughluq was committed to maintaining the Sultanate's expansion into the newly-conquered provinces of peninsular India. Instead of moving just his government offices there, he forcibily moved the entire population of Delhi to the new capital. When the pampered citizens of Delhi showed reluctance to move so far away, the sultan resorted to brutal force. People were evicted from their homes in Delhi and if they refused to go they were immediately put to death. Cripples were tied to the catapult and slung towards Daulatabad. A blind man was tied to a horse and dragged all the way and only one of his legs reached the final destination in Daulatabad. However, all these accounts of brutality may be exaggeration by the ulema, which were waging an acerbic war of words with the sultan in Delhi. The military expenses incurred with foolish adventures and the move to Daulatabad cost him dearly. To raise funds, additional taxes were levied on the poor farmers, who ran to the jungles to escape from the reprisals of a cruel sultan. The land went un-cultivated and this added further to the problem of the treasury. The resulting famine on top of an existing drought killed thousands. At this juncture the sultan turned very compassionate and distributed large amount of grains form the stocks and showed enormous concern. The plan failed due to inadequate water supply arrangements in Daulatabad; after only two years, the capital had to be shifted back again to Delhi. Large numbers pf people died during the moves due to the inadequate travel arrangements. It was said that Delhi was a ghost town for years after the move back. "When I entered Delhi, it was almost like a desert", wrote the North African traveller ibn Batuta.

Muhammad Bin Tughlaq is known for his active interest in experimenting with the coinage. He implanted his character and activities on his coinage and produced abundant gold coins compared to any of his predecessors. He overtook them by executing a fine calligraphy and by issuing number of fractional denominations. An experiment with his forced currency places him in the rank of one of the greatest moneyers of Indian history though it wasn't successful in India.

The large influx of gold due to his southern Indian campaign made him to adjust the weight standard of coinage which was in usage all the while. He added the gold dinar of weight 202 grains while compared to the then standard weight of 172 grains. The silver adlis weighed 144 grains weight and was his innovation aiming to adjust the commercial value of the metal with respect to gold. Seven years later, he discontinued it due to lack of popularity and acceptance among his subjects.

All his coins reflect a staunch orthodoxy. The coins stuck at both Delhi and Daulatabad, were curious and was issued in memory of his late father. The Kalima appeared in most of his coinage, the title engraved were "The warrior in the cause of God", "The trustier in support of the four Khalifs - Abubakkar, Umar, Usman and Ali". He minted coins in several places such as Delhi, Lakhnauti, Salgaun, Darul-I-Islam, Sultanpur (Warrangal), Tughlaqpur (Tirhut), Daulatabad(Devagiri), Mulk-I-Tilang etc., More than thirty varieties of billon coins are known so far, and the types show his numismatic interests. The copper coins are not as fascinating as the billon and gold coinage, and many were minted in a variety of fabrics.

Unique among his coinage was the "forced currency". Tughluq had two scalable versions, issued in Delhi and Daulatabad. The currency obeyed two different standards, probably to satisfy the local standard which preexisted in the North and in the South respectively. Tughluq's skill in forcing the two standards of currency is remarkable. He engraved "He who obeys the Sultan obeys the compassionate" to fascinate people in accepting the new coinage. Inscriptions were even engraved in the Nagari legend, but owing to the alloy used, the coinage underwent deterioration.

Tughluq also introduced token currency for the first time in India, modelled after the Chinese example, using brass or copper coins, backed by silver and gold kept in the treasury. However, very few people exchanged their gold/silver coins for the new copper ones. As well, the Copper and Brass coins could easily be forged, turning every house into a mint. Tughluq subsequently withdrew the forged currency by exchanging it with bullion and gold. This led to heavy losses. It is said that after the plan failed, there were heaps of copper coins lying around the royal offices for years.

For all his brilliance, he also undertook bizarre unachievable campaigns like trying to reverse Alexander’s march into India and capturing Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan (what used to be called Khorasan). After spending vast sums of money the project was abandoned before it even got started. Another folly, an expedition into China got bogged down in Kulu with resistance from Hindus. Only ten out of a staggering force of sixty thousand horsemen returned to Delhi following this fiasco. Such grandiose, unsuccessful policy experiments made Muhammad notorious in the minds of many of his contemporaries.

Despite the mind-boggling idiocy of the experiments that failed miserably, Muhammad bin Tughlaq managed to stay in power for twenty-six years. His empire covered the regions from Peshawar in the north and Madurai in the South, and from Sindh in the west to Assam in the east. Unlike some of his predecessors he ought to be admired for the absence of religious bigotry and his successful administration with minor reforms of merit. He did not busy himself with temple destruction neither did he indulge in nurturing his libido. He was a genius when it came to military strategy. Muhammad bin Tughluq died while campaigning in Sind. He was succeeded by his cousin Firuz Shah Tughluq.

Global warming solutions

We all are aware of the threat of global warming today. We blame industries, lack of govt initiatives, So on and so forth.

But have we ever thought of our responsibilities and roles. With just a few responsible choices we can maintain a healthy planet or at least contribute something towards the Mother Earth.

A well-tuned car with properly inflated tires burns less fuel—cutting pollution and saving you money at the pump. If you have two cars, drive the one with better gas mileage whenever possible.
Better yet, skip the drive and take public transit, walk, or bicycle when you can.

Support clean, renewable energy solutions, such as wind and solar power, can reduce our reliance on coal-burning power plants, the largest source of global warming pollution.

Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Especially those that burn the longest each day. Compact fluorescents produce the same amount of light as normal bulbs, but use about a quarter of the electricity and last ten times as long. Each switch you make helps clean the air today, curb global warming, and save you money on your electricity bill.

Saving energy at home is good for the environment and for your wallet. Adjust your thermostat and start saving. For each degree you lower your thermostat in the winter, you can cut your energy bills by 3 percent, so on and so forth.
Become a smart water consumer. Install low-flow showerheads and faucets and you'll use half the water without decreasing performance. Then turn your hot water heater down to 120°F and see hot-water costs go down by as much as 50 percent

Buy energy-efficient electronics and appliances. Replacing an old refrigerator or an air conditioner with an energy-efficient model will save you money on your electricity bill and cut global warming pollution. Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances.

Plant a Tree, protect a forest. Protecting forests is a big step on the road to curbing global warming. In addition to storing carbon, trees planted in and around urban areas and residences can provide much-needed shade in the summer, reducing energy bills and fossil fuel use.

Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! Producing new paper, glass, and metal products from recycled materials saves 70 to 90 percent of the energy and pollution, including CO2, which would result if the product came from virgin materials. Recycling a stack of newspapers only 4 feet high will save a good-sized tree. Please...buy recycled products!

Few simple steps that do not matter much to us but can create a difference to the future of this world.

solution to crisis situation

Whenever there is a problem there has to be a solution.

In the last posting we have come across an economic crisis. Now I am going to talk about the most probable solution. To resolve this government comes to picture. To start with govt will reduce the FED cutoff. So we have to know what is this FED cutoff. When banks dish out loans govt restricts the interest rates by restricting the lowermost interest rates. Why? Say there are 3 banks providing loans at interest rates of 7%, 7.5% and 8%. Now people will choose the provider according to the suitability of clauses. But if suddenly one bank comes up with a 4% interest rate then all will go him. Thus money stops circulating. To avoid this anomaly govt restricts the lowermost interest rate. This is the FED cutoff.

Coming back to the original problem govt will first reduce this FED cutoff by a small percentage. As a result many corporate companies will now again opt for loans. So money flows out, production increases, supply increases and the cycle continues. If govt finds still the problem stands out they will again first reduce this FED cutoff by a small percentage. And thus finally when they would be assured of the rebounce in economy they will increase the FED cutoff once again.

layman’s understanding of the current crisis scenario in world economy

This document is created for people like me who are interested in world economy and related current affairs but are not much aware as they cannot follow all the terminologies in news and newspapers.

Currently there has been a downward trend in share markets all over the world which is being stated as an outcome of recession in US. Now we hear often that US economy is showing a down ward trend for which “sub prime” is to be blamed. Now what exactly is sub prime and how is that affecting the economy? The other day my husband found an informative article on Tata mutual fund website and tried to simplify and explain things to me. Now my venture is to try and put in words whatever little bits I have understood with my layman’s point of view.

To understand sub prime it is necessary to understand what is prime. Now prime and sub prime are terminologies related to loans. Now a prime loan is one taken for primary necessities like housing. Now in US there are certain eligibility criteria to apply for a prime loan.
a. You have to score 650 and above in their credit point system.
b. You have to possess a certain credit to equity ratio.
c. You have to make down payment of 20% of total hose valuation.
d. You have to have clean records in loans you have taken earlier in the sense that you have paid your installments timely…….and so on and so forth.

Now not all who wish to own a house match these criteria. However there are lots of houses which have already built and needs to get sold. In that case they apply for a sub prime loan obviously at higher interest rates. Now banks do not directly interact with individuals willing to apply for sub prime loans. There are organizations that serve as mediators between banks and individuals and charge both the banks and individuals for their work. At some point of time these organizations have smartly arranged such loans for a large number of individuals. Now a lot of the banks money is invested in such loans.

Now to understand the whole scenario first thing we need to understand is that where does bank get all the money from. There are several sources –
a. From peoples investments like fixed deposits and all, but that is not much.
b. Form shares…… and many more.

Now a very important such source is Bonds. This is basically a paper document where banks draw money from individuals promising them alluring returns in certain amount of time. For example, I invest Rs 10000 for 2 years and get Rs 12000 at the end of 2 years. Now these returns are subject to market related risks. To avoid such circumstances individuals go to Bond Insurers. These are organizations that provide guarantee on behalf of banks that if banks fail to produce the promised amount they will pay in return. Now the Bond insurances work like our medical insurances where we pay premiums of fixed amounts every year to get coverage against ailments up to a certain amount of money. What actually happens is that out of say 1000 premium payers say only 100 come up with claims and that is how these companies make their profits. Similar situations happen with bond insurers.

Now what happened in US in the current scenario is that a large number of these Sub prime debtors have failed to pay their credits in time. As a result banks are not being able to pay to the Bond owners. So bond owners are putting their claims to Bond insurers who are thus running in losses. So Bond insurers are getting back on banks and tightening their ropes there. To cope up with the situation banks are increasing their interest rates. Due this hike in interest rates corporate companies are not taking up loans as usual. As an outcome their production is less. As production is less supply is less/ prices are higher. So people will also buy less. As a result the rotation of money lowers. Also people will think twice before investing looking at the market trends. Again money inflow reduces. All this in totality leads to an economic slow down and recession.

This is the layman’s understanding of the crisis scenario.