WATER WORKS AND IRRIGATION

SYSTEM IN DURING

PRE-MUGHAL TIMES

BY

IQTIDAR HUSAIN SIDDIQUI (Aligarh)

The construction of water-works and the technological changes that took place in the traditional irrigation system in India during the Sultanate hitherto neglected, need a scientific study. The rele- - vant evidence available in the contemporary Arabic and Persian works, though brief and laconic, sheds interesting light on the engineering skill that went into the construction of water works and the changes that irrigation technology underwent from time to time. In particular, the setting up of the Persian wheel on wells and the con- struction of large artificial canals provide clues to the introduction of certain mechanical devices in the irrigation system employed during the period under review. It also gives an insight into the regional disparities in the lives and conditions of peasants in different ter- ritorial units under the rule of the . In fact, the diffusion of ad- vanced irrigation technology in a region brought about prosperity and also helped the growth of material culture. The aim of this paper is to analyse the evidence, contained in miscellaneous sources about the construction of water works, different modes of irrigation and their possible relationship with the life of people. This is divided into three parts: (i) the first is concerned with the lakes, cisterns and tanks, (ii) the second with wells, and the (iii) third with artificial canals. I

The Khalji conquerors of Bengal were the first dividers of water from the land in the region of overwhelming rivers and boundless 53 swamps in Bengal. They are reported to have built dykes, roads and tanks which made the reclamation of vast tracts of land possible in the Deltaic Bengal. According to Minhaj-i Siraj al-Juzjani, the dykes made the movement of people and cattle possible during the rainy season. Moreover, the water flowing through the channels could be diverted to the paddy fields, should the failure of the monsoon cause scarcity1) . The arid soil of Haryana and the torrid climate of (Raj- putana) also seem to have attracted the attention of the rulers who constructed tanks and lakes for irrigation purposes and also to pro- vide relief to the caravans of passengers or the passers by. Fortunate- ly, a contemporary Persian epigraph refers to the construction of a Haud (lake) at Palwal. It was constructed by Badr U'ddin Sunqar, the officer in charge of the town in 1211 A.D. both for the benefit of peo- ple and the cattle2). Evidence contained in a later source about an old Kolab (water reservoir) built in , during the early period of the , tends to suggest that reservoirs were meant for a variety of purposes. In Sialkot the Kolab served as the major source of water supply for domestic purposes. The local people preferred its water to that of the river Chenab which flowed near by3). The first beautiful lake constructed in Delhi by Shams U'ddin Iltutmish near the Iddgah (usually unroofed enclosure where Muslims offer congregational prayer on the occasions of 'Iddal-Fitr and Idd al-aduha) and outside the Gate deserves to be discuss- ed in detail because the additions made to it from time to time to enhance its utility and beauty point to the development of architec- ture in the Delhi Sultanate during the 13th and 14th centuries. This was two miles in length by half that breadth4). It was meant for a