RAS question
Alauddin Khalji's cloth market (Sarai Adl) regulated the prices of:
Correct answer: (B) Textiles, sugar, ghee, oil, and other manufactured goods.
Alauddin Khalji's Sarai Adl regulated the prices of textiles, sugar, ghee, oil and other manufactured goods.
Explanation
Sarai Adl was the second of Alauddin Khalji's regulated markets and dealt with cloth and common manufactured or household goods, not a single luxury item. Ancient & Medieval History, JSSCACS explains that Alauddin established four separate markets in Delhi: one for grain, another for cloth, sugar, dried fruits, butter and oil, a third for horses, slaves and cattle, and a fourth for miscellaneous commodities. Sarai Adl covered textiles, sugar, ghee, oil and other everyday goods. Its regulation was administrative as well as fiscal: a Shahna supervised the market, merchants had to register with the government, and fixed price lists were maintained.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The market was not confined to imported goods; it covered cloth along with sugar, ghee or butter, oil and other common commodities.
- (C) Weapons are outside the listed Sarai Adl commodities, while cloth, sugar, dried fruits, butter and oil belonged to this second market.
- (D) Sarai Adl was broader than silk cloth alone because its regulated goods included textiles plus sugar, ghee or butter, oil and other manufactured goods.
Concept
This tests Alauddin Khalji's market reforms, especially the separation of Delhi markets by commodity and their price-control machinery. It recurs in RAS because medieval administrative reforms are often tested through named institutions and the goods or officers linked to them.