For the purposes of revenue administration,
Mughal Deccan had been divided
The diwans of the Deccan.
into two portions, each with
its own diwan or revenue
minister. The Pahighat or Lowlands comprised
the whole of Khandesh and one-half of Berar,
while the other 2½ subahs formed the Balaghat
or Highlands. The diwan of Painghat was
Multafat Khan, a strong civil administrator and
a man of pleasant manners, charming by his
easy sociability all who came in contact with
him. But he was after all a mere departmental
head, with considerable executive capacity no
doubt, but devoid of any genius for administrative
reform or innovation.[1] Glory of the latter kind
belonged to his colleague, Murshid Quli Khan^
the diwan of Balaghat, and one of the many
noble gifts of Persia to India.
Murshid Quli Khan[2] was a native of KhurasanMurshid Quh Khan: his character who had migrated to India in the train of Ali Mardan Khan, the fugitive Persian governor of
- ↑ M. U. iii. 500—503. The diwans of this period were, (i) Dianat Khan, from the 14th to the 21st year of Shah Jahan's reign, and again from the 22nd to the 27th (M. U. ii. 37), (2) Multafat Khan, diwan of Painghat only from the 25th to the 29th year, (3) Murshid Quli Khan, appointed diwan of Balaghat in 1653 and of Painghat also on 28 Jan., 1656.
- ↑ Life of Murshid Quli Khan in M. U. iii. 493—500.
