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U.P.P.C.S. Pre 2004

Tughluq Strategic Failures

Authentic Past Paper Standard Evaluation

The transfer of capital from Delhi to Daulatabad was ordered by:

Solution & Analysis

Answer: D

Concept The shift to Daulatabad (formerly Devagiri) was a strategic move to establish a centrally located capital from which both Northern and Southern India could be governed effectively.

Explanation Chronicles like those of Ibn Battuta record that in 1326-27, MBT ordered the entire population of Delhi to move. Daulatabad was chosen for its central position and its proximity to the recently conquered southern territories.

Logical Breakup
Logic 1: The move failed because of the immense human suffering during the 700-mile journey and the strategic impossibility of defending the North-West frontier from the Deccan.
Logic 2: By 1335, the Sultan allowed the citizens to return to Delhi, realizing that the project had drained the treasury and alienated the populace.

Active Recall

Question

Why did MBT consider Daulatabad a 'central' location?

Answer

It was roughly equidistant from the major imperial provinces of Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana, and the Malabar coast.

Core Insight

The Daulatabad shift, though logically sound for a subcontinental empire, failed due to its forced execution and the outbreak of the bubonic plague.

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