Tempo:
Dreams of Sindh and the Sea
261
bride and arranged the wedding on a lavish scale as though the ~y had been a prince of royal blood.
Roads and Judicial Reform The period of military inactivity was utilized to carry out public works and reorganize the administration ofjustice. Roads were constructed to link the bigger towns. The one from Lahore to Amritsar was repaired; trees were planted on either side and rest-houses built along the route. Gardens were laid out in Amritsar and Lahore. The Punjab had no codified law-except to the extent that the Shariat could be described as a code for the Muslim,s. But all Punjabis (including Muslims) were governed by well-recognized custom. This rustomary law was administered by a succession of courts, of which the village palicayat was the primary and the most important tribunal If one of the parties was dissatisfied with the arbitration of the pancayat, it went in appeal to the kiirdiir, or in larger towns to the niizim. In many towns the Durbar appointed officers' adii.latis whose sole function was to hear appeals from pancayats. Lahore had an appellate tribunal, the adiilat-i~lii,, of its own. The Maharajah and his Durbar acted as the Supreme Coun where the decisions of the kardars, nazi.ms, and adfilatis could be impugned. The aforementioned tribunals heard all kinds of cases: civil, revenue, matrimonial, and criminal. Crime was punished by well-understood and generally accepted penalties. There was no capital punishment and except where the nazim enforced martial law (as Avitabile did on the north-west frontier) even murder could be punished only by a fine or mutilation of limbs. Jails were largely maintained for political prisoners. Violence and theft were punished by a fine or corporal punishment, frequently by the cutting of the nose, ears, or hands. Justice was crude, but it was cheap, expeditious, and in conformity with tradition. The Maharajah began to take more interest in the administration of justice and personally heard complaints of corruption against judicial officers. He was not satisfied with the
261
bride and arranged the wedding on a lavish scale as though the ~y had been a prince of royal blood.
Roads and Judicial Reform The period of military inactivity was utilized to carry out public works and reorganize the administration ofjustice. Roads were constructed to link the bigger towns. The one from Lahore to Amritsar was repaired; trees were planted on either side and rest-houses built along the route. Gardens were laid out in Amritsar and Lahore. The Punjab had no codified law-except to the extent that the Shariat could be described as a code for the Muslim,s. But all Punjabis (including Muslims) were governed by well-recognized custom. This rustomary law was administered by a succession of courts, of which the village palicayat was the primary and the most important tribunal If one of the parties was dissatisfied with the arbitration of the pancayat, it went in appeal to the kiirdiir, or in larger towns to the niizim. In many towns the Durbar appointed officers' adii.latis whose sole function was to hear appeals from pancayats. Lahore had an appellate tribunal, the adiilat-i~lii,, of its own. The Maharajah and his Durbar acted as the Supreme Coun where the decisions of the kardars, nazi.ms, and adfilatis could be impugned. The aforementioned tribunals heard all kinds of cases: civil, revenue, matrimonial, and criminal. Crime was punished by well-understood and generally accepted penalties. There was no capital punishment and except where the nazim enforced martial law (as Avitabile did on the north-west frontier) even murder could be punished only by a fine or mutilation of limbs. Jails were largely maintained for political prisoners. Violence and theft were punished by a fine or corporal punishment, frequently by the cutting of the nose, ears, or hands. Justice was crude, but it was cheap, expeditious, and in conformity with tradition. The Maharajah began to take more interest in the administration of justice and personally heard complaints of corruption against judicial officers. He was not satisfied with the
©
2026
Lehal.net