Society and People:

1. The society was divided into four main classes:

   1. The first class was the Aristocratic class including nobilities and high officials.

   2. Second was the Ulemas and Hindu priests who advised the Sultan on how to carry on his administration in accordance with the sacred law. These people lived on the land grants gifted by the Sultan

   3. The third was the town dwellers including officials, merchants, artisans who were economically stable.

   4. The common people including the peasants were the fourth category. They not only paid heavy tax and revenue but suffered in natural calamities the worst.

2. The period witnessed the rigid system of caste among the Hindus.

3. The position of women deteriorated, they were denied education and remained in purdah.

4. The practice of child marriage and sati were prevelent. A Moroccan traveller Ibn batuta mentions the horrific scene of burning woman.

5. Inland and overseas trade both flourished under the Sultanate. Delhi, Daulatabad, lahore and Lakhnauti were great trading centres. India developed trade relations with Europe, Malayas, China, central Asia, Afghanistan, Persia, tibet, Bhutan.

6. Agriculture was the main occupation of people in India. 

7. The chief industries were textiles, sugar, hardware and paper manufacture. Small factories also developed.

Administration:

1. The Turkish state in India was militaristic with aggressive military policies, and aristocratic. The Sultan did not allow any open violation of Islamic law and even did not allow the Muslim divines to dictate the policies of the state. They supplimented the Muslim law by framing their own regulations. That is why historian Barani refused to consider the state in India as truly Islamic.

2. The Sultan’s office was the most important in the Sultanate, all political, legal, military authorities vested on him. His power was based on military force.

3. The most important departments were:

   1. Diwan-i-wazarat:

      1. the revenue department headed by the Chief Minister called Wazir.

   2. Diwan-i-Arz:

      1. The military department is headed by Ariz-i-Mumalik. The department was responsible for the recruitment, equipment and pay of the army.

   3. Diwan-i-Risalat:

      1. dealing with religious matters, pious foundations and stipends to scholars. It was presided over by Chief Sadar who was also the Chief Qazi. The Chief Qazi headed the department of justice.

   4. Diwan-i-Insha:

      1. Dealt with all kinds of domestic and foreign correspondence.

4. The village administration was managed by Muqaddam. Sometimes Hindu officers were also appointed for the same.

5. Munsif supervised the accounts of the villages while Patwari kept the local records.

6. Besides the land revenue, the main taxes were the jazia, the Kharaj, the Zakat and Khams.

7. The Iqta System:

   1. The system of granting revenue from a piece of land or village to an officer instead of paying him a cash salary was called the Iqta system.

   2. Under this system, an officer, Iqtadar collected the revenue from his territory or iqta.

   3. He kept a certain amount of his revenue and the left part was spent for maintaining the soldiers for the Sultan. 

   4. They also had to pay a fixed amount annually to the Sultan.

   5. They needed a detailed audit of the revenue.

   6. iqtadars were responsible for the law and order of his state.

Cultural Developments:

1. Architecture:

   1. The Turks and Afghans introduced a new style and techniques of architecture in India, this was a blend of Hindu and Muslim style called Indo-Islamic style of achitecture. Muslim rulers employed the Hindu architects who used Indian decorative styles in buildings.

   2. Red sandstone was used extensively.

   3. The two most important architectural forms used in the buildings of this period were the arch and the dome.

   4. The use of minaret was also very popular.

   5. The buildings were decorated with floral designs or geometrical designs and mosaics (a pattern made by fitting together small pieces of coloured stones, glass, etc.) as Islam is against the use of animal or human figures for decoration.

   6. Many monuments were engraved with calligraphy, verses from the holy Quran.

   7. Qutub-ud-din Aibak started the construction of the Qutub Minar which he dedicated to the Sufi saint Qutubuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. Iltutmish completed the construction of the Qutub Minar. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. the Qutub Complex also include Alai Minar and Alai Darwaza.

   8. The Tughlaqabad fort was built by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq in CE 1321. He established the third historic city of Delhi.

   9. Firoz Shah Tughlaq established Firozabad in CE 1354 as the new capital of Delhi Sultanate and built a fortress named Firoz Shah Kotla.

   10. Sikander Lodi was the second most important ruler of the Lodi dynasty, his tomb was built by his son, Ibrahim lodi, situated in Lodi Gardens in Delhi.

   11. The architecture of the Mamluk and Khalji dynasty was ornamental and that of the Tughlaq period was simple. Lodhi monuments were lavish and included huge domes.

   12. The structures which represent the architectural style of this period were the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Delhi and the Adhai-Din-Ka Jhonpra in Ajmer. 

2. Painting:

   1. Miniatures were used in book decoration. 

   2. Palaces and temples were decorated with Frescoes.

3. Music:

   1. A new form of music created in India with the influence of the Persian and Arabic music, which is known as “Hindustani classical music”

   2. Amir Khusrau, born in 1253 in Uttar pradesh, a famous Persian poet and musician, was a great contributor to Persian music with music of India. He introduced “qawwali” (a form of devotional music) to Indians. he knew Sanskrit also. He is believed to invent Sitar.

   3. Ghazal, a combination of beautiful poetry with melody, is also a contribution of the Sultanate period.

   4. Sitar, sarangi, tabla and rabab, musical instruments were introduced during the Sultanate period.

   5. Kathak, a beautiful dance form, patronised and performed in courts of royalty.

   6. Devotional music was also prominent, Bhakti Saints such as Mirabai, Kabir, Chaitanya mahaprabhu used Kirtans and Bhajans and the Sufi saints such as Nizamuddin Auliya, Amir Khusrau and Nasiruddin Chirag-i-Delhi used qawwalis to spread their message of God.

4. Language and Literature:

   1. Persian was the language of administration.

   2. Arabic was mostly used by traders from Western Asia.

   3. Sanskrit used to be a language of the elite Hindus.

   4. the blending of Persian and Hindi gave birth to a new language, Urdu. Urdu means camp. It was the language of the camps by soldiers with different nationalities to communicate. Soon it became most popular among the commoners

5. Religion:

   1. Both bhakti and Sufi saints were religious teachers of tolerance, equality, harmony, and liberal attitude towards religion.

   2. Hindu and Muslims lived together..