ChildhoodEdit
Tipu Sultan was born on 10 November 1750 (Friday, 20th
Dhu al-Hijjah, 1163
AH) at
Devanahalli,
[1] in present-day
Bangalore Rural district, about 33 km (21 mi) north of
Bangalore city. He was named "Tipu Sultan" after the saint Tipu Mastan Aulia of
Arcot. Tipu was also called "Sultan Sayyid walShareef Fateh Ali Khan Tipu" after his grandfather
Fath Muhammad. Tipu was born at
Devanhalli in a
Najeeb AlTarfayn Sayyidfamily meaning having ancestry to both
Imams Hassan and
Hussain, as the son of
Hyder Ali. Being illiterate, Hyder was very particular in giving his eldest son a prince's education and a very early exposure to military and political affairs. From the age of 17 Tipu was given independent charge of important diplomatic and military missions. He was his father's right arm in the wars from which Hyder emerged as the most powerful ruler of southern India.
Tipu's father,
Hyder Ali, was a military officer in service to the
Kingdom of Mysore; he rapidly rose in power, and became the
de facto ruler of Mysore in 1761. Hyder himself claimed descent from the
Banu Hashim clan of the
Quraysh tribe of
Arabs[citation needed], the tribe of the Islamic prophet,
Muhammadthrough his ancestor Sayyid walShareef Hassan bin Yahya who was the
Sherif of Makkah. Hyder's father,
Fath Muhammad, was born in
Kolar, and served as a commander of 50 men in the bamboo rocket artillery (mainly used for signalling) in the army of the
Nawab of Carnatic. Fateh Muhammad eventually entered the service of the Wodeyar Rajas of the Kingdom of Mysore. Tipu's mother Fatima Fakhr-un-Nisa was the daughter of Mir Muin-ud-Din, the governor of the fort of
Kadapa. Hyder Ali appointed able teachers to give Tipu an early education in subjects like
Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Kannada,
Quran,
Islamic jurisprudence,
riding, shooting and fencing.
[1]
Early military serviceEdit
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Flintlock_Blunderbuss_Tipoo_Sahib_Seringapatam_1793_1794.jpg/220px-Flintlock_Blunderbuss_Tipoo_Sahib_Seringapatam_1793_1794.jpg)
A
flintlock blunderbuss, built for Tipu Sultan in
Srirangapatna, 1793–94. Tipu Sultan used many Western craftsmen, and this gun reflects the most up-to-date technologies of the time.
[16]
Tipu Sultan was instructed in military tactics by French officers in the employment of his father. At age 15, he accompanied his father against the British in the
First Mysore War in 1766. He commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of
Carnatic in 1767 at age 16. He also distinguished himself in the
First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775–1779.
Alexander Beatson, who published a volume on the
Fourth Mysore War entitled
View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultaun, described Tipu Sultan as follows: "His stature was about five feet eight inches; he had a short neck, square shoulders, and was rather corpulent: his limbs were small, particularly his feet and hands; he had large full eyes, small arched eyebrows, and an aquiline nose; his complexion was fair, and the general expression of his countenance, not void of dignity".
[18]
Second Anglo-Mysore WarEdit
In 1779, the British captured the French-controlled port of
Mahé, which Tipu had placed under his protection, providing some troops for its defence. In response, Hyder launched an invasion of the Carnatic, with the aim of driving the British out of
Madras.
[19]During this campaign in September 1780, Tipu Sultan was dispatched by Hyder Ali with 10,000 men and 18 guns to intercept Colonel Baillie who was on his way to join Sir
Hector Munro. In the
Battle of Pollilur, Tipu decisively defeated Baillie. Out of 360 Europeans, about 200 were captured alive, and the sepoys, who were about 3800 men, suffered very high casualties. Munro was moving south with a separate force to join Baillie, but on hearing the news of the defeat he was forced to retreat to Madras, abandoning his artillery in a water tank at
Kanchipuram.
[20]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Battle_of_pollilur.jpg/220px-Battle_of_pollilur.jpg)
Mural of the
Battle of Pollilur on the walls of Tipu's summer palace, painted to celebrate his triumph over the British.
Tipu Sultan defeated Colonel Braithwaite at Annagudi near Tanjore on 18 February 1782. Braithwaite's forces, consisting of 100 Europeans, 300 cavalry, 1400
sepoys and 10 field pieces, was the standard size of the colonial armies. Tipu Sultan seized all the guns and took the entire detachment prisoner. In December 1781 Tipu Sultan successfully seized Chittur from the British. Tipu Sultan had thus gained sufficient military experience by the time Hyder Ali died on Friday, 6 December 1782 – some historians put it at 2 or 3 days later or before, (Hijri date being 1
Muharram, 1197 as per some records in Persian – there may be a difference of 1 to 3 days due to the Lunar Calendar). Tipu Sultan realised that the British were a new kind of threat in India. He became the ruler of Mysore on Sunday, 22 December 1782 (The inscriptions in some of Tipu's
regalia showing it as 20
Muharram, 1197
Hijri – Sunday), in a simple coronation ceremony. He then worked on to check the advances of the British by making alliances with the
Marathas and the
Mughals.
The Second Mysore War came to an end with the 1784
Treaty of Mangalore. It was the last occasion when an Indian king dictated terms to the British, and the treaty is a prestigious document in the history of India.
[citation needed]
Tanjore abductionsEdit
The war is also remembered for alleged excesses committed by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in
Tanjore.
[21] During the period of occupation which lasted six months, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan are believed to have impoverished the country, destroying crops and cattle.
[21] As late as 1785, the Dutch missionary
Christian Friedrich Schwarzdescribes Tipu's alleged abduction of 12,000 children from the region.
[21] The economic output of Tanjore is estimated to have fallen by 90% between 1770 and 1782.
[22] The ravages of Hyder and Tipu were followed by alleged expeditions of plunder launched by the
Kallars. The economic devastation wrought by these attacks was so severe that Tanjore's economy did not recover until the start of the 19th century; the era is referred to in local folklore as the
Hyderakalam.
[21]
Sardars Muhammad bin Ali AlKubaydan and Ghazi Khan taught Tipu how to fight. While leading a predominantly Hindu country, Tipu remained strong in his Muslim faith, going daily to say his prayers and paying special attention to mosques in the area.
[23]
During his rule, he completed the project of
Lal Bagh started by his father Hyder Ali, and built roads, public buildings, and ports in his kingdom. His dominion extended throughout North Bangalore including the
Nandi Hills and
Chickballapur. His trade extended to countries such as
Sri Lanka,
Oman,
Durrani Afghanistan, France,
Ottoman Turkey and
Iran. Under his leadership, the Mysore army proved to be a school of military science to Indian princes. The serious blows that Tipu Sultan inflicted on the British in the First and Second Mysore Wars affected their reputation as an invincible power.
Dr
APJ Abdul Kalam, the former
President of India, in his Tipu Sultan Shaheed Memorial Lecture in Bangalore (30 November 1991), called Tipu Sultan the innovator of the world's first war rocket. Two of these rockets, captured by the British at Srirangapatna, were displayed in the
Royal Artillery Museum in London. According to historian Dr
Dulari Qureshi Tipu Sultan was a fierce warrior king and was so quick in his movement that it seemed to the enemy that he was fighting on many fronts at the same time.
[24] Tipu managed to subdue all the petty kingdoms in the south. He defeated the Nizams and was also one of the few Indian rulers to have defeated British armies. He is said to have started a new coinage, calendar, and a new system of weights and measures mainly based on the methods introduced by French technicians.
[citation needed]
Foreign relationsEdit
Both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were independent rulers of Mysore, but claimed some degree of loyalty to the
Mughal EmperorShah Alam II. Both of them are known to have maintained correspondence with the Mughal emperor. Unlike the
Nawab of Carnatic, neither owed any allegiance to the
Nizam of
Hyderabad and often instead chose direct contact and relations with the Mughal emperor.
[25]
Immediately after his coronation, Tipu Sultan sought the investiture of the Mughal emperor.
Nizam Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad, clearly expressed his hostility by dissuading the Mughal emperor and laying false claims onto Mysore. Disheartened but not disappointed, Tipu Sultan began to establish contacts with other Muslim rulers of that period.
[26]
After the
eunuch Ghulam Qadir had Shah Alam II blinded on 10 August 1788, Tipu Sultan is believed to have broken into tears.
[27]After facing substantial threats from the
Marathas, Tipu Sultan began to correspond with
Zaman Shah Durrani, the ruler of the Afghan
Durrani Empire, so they could defeat the British and Marathas.
[28] Initially, Zaman Shah agreed to help Tipu, but the Persian attack on Afghanistan's Western border diverted its forces, and hence no help could be provided to Tipu.
In the year 1787, Tipu Sultan sent an embassy to the
Ottoman capital
Istanbul, to the Ottoman
Sultan Abdul Hamid I requesting urgent assistance against the
British East India Company and had proposed an offensive and defensive consortium. Tipu Sultan requested the Ottoman Sultan to send him troops and military experts. Furthermore, Tipu Sultan also requested permission from the Ottomans to contribute to the maintenance of the
Islamic shrines in (macca)
Medina,
Najaf and
Karbala. However, the Ottomans were themselves at crisis and still recuperating from the devastating
Austro-Ottoman War and a new conflict with the
Russian Empire had begun, for which Ottoman Turkey needed British alliance to keep off the Russians, hence it could not risk being hostile to the British in the Indian theatre. Due to the Ottoman-inability to organise a fleet in the Indian Ocean, Tipu Sultan's ambassadors returned home only with gifts from their Ottoman allies, this event caused his defeat and loss of much territory by the year 1792. Nevertheless, Tipu Sultan's correspondence with the Ottoman Turkish Empire and particularly its new Sultan
Selim IIIcontinued till his final battle in the year 1799.
[29]
Tipu sought support from the French, who had been his traditional allies, aimed at driving his main rivals, the
British East India Company, out of the subcontinent. With aspiration to extend the French influence in India at the cost of the British, Louis XVI, in 1782, sealed an alliance with the
Peshwa Madhu Rao Narayan. This treaty enabled
Bussy to move his troops to the
Isle de France (now
Mauritius). In the same year, French Admiral,
De Suffren ceremonially presented a portrait of Louis XVI to Haidar Ali and sought his alliance.
[30]
Napoleon, while still not the Emperor of France, sought an alliance with Tipu Sultan.
Napoleon came as far as conquering
Egypt in an attempt to link with Tipu Sultan against the British, their common enemy. In February 1798, Napoleon wrote a letter to Tipu Sultan appreciating his efforts of resisting the British annexation and plans, but this letter never reached Tipu and was seized by a British spy in Muscat. The idea of a possible Tipu-Napoleon alliance alarmed the British Governor, General Sir
Richard Wellesley (also known as Lord Wellesley) so much that he immediately started large scale preparations for a final battle against Tipu Sultan.
Both Tipu Sultan and the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte were defeated by the same English General,
Arthur Wellesley. In the final siege and fall of
Srirangapatna in 1799, General
Arthur Wellesley led the British army into the city after the fall of Tipu Sultan. Wellesley was the younger brother of Richard Wellesley, and was one of the English East India Company Generals in the
Fourth Mysore War. Several years later, in Europe, Arthur Wellesley, by now the
Duke of Wellington, led the armies of the Seventh Coalition and defeated the Imperial French army led by Napoleon Bonaparte in the
Battle of Waterlooin 1815.
Regional interests and clever British diplomacy left Tipu with more enemies and betrayers, but no allies when he needed them the most – the final showdown with the British in the
Fourth Mysore War.
War against the Maratha ConfederacyEdit
The
Maratha Empire, under its new
PeshwaMadhavrao I, regained most of Indian subcontinent, twice defeating Tipu's father, who was forced to accept Maratha Empire as the supreme power in 1764 and then in 1767. In 1767 Maratha Peshwa Madhavrao defeated both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan and entered Srirangapatna, the capital of Mysore. Hyder Ali accepted the authority of Madhavrao who gave him the title of Nawab of Mysore.
[32]However Tipu Sultan wanted to escape from the treaty of Marathas and therefore tried to take some Maratha forts in Southern India, which were captured by Marathas in previous war, Tipu also stopped the tribute to Marathas which was promised by Hyder Ali. This brought Tipu in direct conflict with the Marathas, who sent an army towards Mysore under leadership of General
Nana Phadnavis. There were five major battles
Siege of Nargund,
Siege of Badami,
Siege of Adoni,
Battle of Savanur and
Siege of Bahadur Benda. The last battle dealt a severe blow to the Marathas. An English reporter of the Malet's News Agency reported, "It is amazing that such a strong fort as this was taken in seven or eight days and the Maratha army between four or five leagues distance. Haripant attempted to try to stop Tipu's advances, but was unable to do so. The Maratha forces capitulated on condition of their lives being saved. After conquering Bahadur Benda, Tipu continued his efforts against the Marathas and the Nizam. These hostilities would continue for some more time. Siege of Bahadur Benda was the final battle between the Maratha Empire and the Sultanate of Mysore.
Following this battle and the defeat of the Marathas by Tipu Sultan's forces, Tipu seems to have decided that it would be wiser to focus his energy against the invading British. Tipu wrote a letter to the Marathas recommending that they should sue for peace by sending two representatives. The Marathas, who had suffered immensely in the war between them and the Sultanate of Mysore, planned to do no such thing as they were certain of British military aid helping them. However, when the British were unable to provide the aid to the Marathas, the Marathas under Nana decided to sue for peace.
In a series of exchanges, the peace agreement would solidify that Tipu would release Kalopant and return Adoni, Kittur, and Nargund to their previous rulers. Badami would be ceded to the Marathas. Tipu would pay an annual tribute of 12 lakhs per year to the Marathas. In return, Tipu would get all the places that they had captured in the war, including Gajendragarh and Dharwar. Tipu would also be addressed by the Marathas by an honorary title of "Nabob Tipu Sultan, Fateh Ali Khan." The peace agreement has been criticized as too easy on the Marathas, who had lost the war against the Kingdom of Mysore.Tipu Sultan, however, appeared much more concerned about the British than the Marathas and therefore sought to consolidate his resources for a campaign against the British.
[33]
The Invasion of Malabar by Sultanate of Mysore (1766–1790)Edit
In 1766, when Tipu Sultan was just 15 years old, he got the chance to apply his military training in battle for the first time, when he accompanied his father on an invasion of Malabar. After the incident-
Siege of Tellicherry in
Thalassery in North
Malabar,
[34]Hyder Ali started losing his territories in Malabar. Tipu came from
Mysore to reinstate the authority over Malabar. After the
Battle of the Nedumkotta (1789_90), due to the monsoon flood, the stiff resistance of the Travancore forces and news about the attack of British in
Srirangapatnam he went back.
[35][36]
Third Anglo-Mysore WarEdit
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Tippu%27s_cannon.jpg/220px-Tippu%27s_cannon.jpg)
Cannon used by Tipu Sultan's forces at the battle of
Srirangapatna 1799
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Tipu_Sultan%27s_cannon.jpg/220px-Tipu_Sultan%27s_cannon.jpg)
Very small Cannon used by Tipu Sultan's forces now in Government Museum (Egmore), Chennai
In 1789, Tipu Sultan disputed the acquisition by
Dharma Raja of Travancore of two
Dutch-held fortresses in
Cochin. In December 1789 he massed troops at
Coimbatore, and on 28 December
made an attack on the lines of Travancore, knowing that Travancore was (according to the
Treaty of Mangalore) an ally of the
British East India Company. On account of the staunch resistance by the Travancore army, Tipu was unable to break through the Tranvancore lines and the Maharajah of Travancore appealed to the East India Company for help. In response,
Lord Cornwallis mobilised company and British military forces, and formed alliances with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad to oppose Tipu. In 1790 the company forces advanced, taking control of much of the Coimbatore district. Tipu counterattacked, regaining much of the territory, although the British continued to hold Coimbatore itself. He then descended into the Carnatic, eventually reaching
Pondicherry, where he attempted without success to draw the French into the conflict.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Surrender_of_Tipu_Sultan.jpg/220px-Surrender_of_Tipu_Sultan.jpg)
General
Lord Cornwallis, receiving two of Tipu Sultan's sons as hostages in the year 1793.
In 1791 his opponents advanced on all fronts, with the main British force under Cornwallis
taking Bangalore and threatening Srirangapatna. Tipu harassed the British supply and communication and embarked on a "scorched earth" policy of denying local resources to the invaders. In this last effort he was successful, as the lack of provisions forced Cornwallis to withdraw to Bangalore rather than attempt a siege of Srirangapatna. Following the withdrawal, Tipu sent forces to Coimbatore, which they retook
after a lengthy siege.
The 1792 campaign was a failure for Tipu. The allied army was well-supplied, and Tipu was unable to prevent the junction of forces from Bangalore and Bombay before Srirangapatna. After
about two weeks of siege, Tipu opened negotiations for terms of surrender. In the
ensuing treaty, he was forced to cede half his territories to the allies, and deliver two of his sons as hostages until he paid in full three crores and thirty lakhs rupees fixed as war indemnity to the British for the campaign against him. He paid the amount in two instalments and got back his sons from Madras.
Napoleon's attempt at a junctionEdit
In 1794, with the support of French Republican officers, Tipu helped found the
Jacobin Club of Mysore for 'framing laws comfortable with the laws of the Republic' He planted a Liberty Tree and declared himself Citizen Tipoo.
[38]
One of the motivations of Napoleon's
Invasion of Egypt was to establish a junction with India against the British. Bonaparte wished to establish a French presence in the Middle East, with the ultimate dream of linking with Tippoo Sahib.
[39] Napoleon assured the
French Directory that "as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the English in their possessions."
[40] According to a 13 February 1798 report by
Talleyrand: "Having occupied and fortified Egypt, we shall send a force of 15,000 men from
Suez to India, to join the forces of Tipu-Sahib and drive away the English."
[40] Napoleon was unsuccessful in this strategy, losing the
Siege of Acre in 1799, and at the
Battle of Abukir in 1801.
[41]
“ | Although I never supposed that he (Napoleon) possessed, allowing for some difference of education, the liberality of conduct and political views which were sometimes exhibited by old Hyder Ali, yet I did think he might have shown the same resolved and dogged spirit of resolution which induced Tipu Sahib to die manfully upon the breach of his capital city with his sabre clenched in his hand. | ” |
— Sir Walter Scott, commenting on the abdication ofNapoleon Bonaparte in 1814 |
Tipu introduced a new calendar, new coinage, and seven new government departments, during his reign, and made military innovations in the use of rocketry.
Mysorean rocketsEdit
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Congreve_rockets.gif/220px-Congreve_rockets.gif)
Tipu Sultan organised his
Rocketartillery brigades known as
Cushoons, Tipu Sultan expanded the number of servicemen in the various
Cushoonsfrom 1500 to almost 5000. The
Mysorean rockets utilised by Tipu Sultan, were later updated by the British and successively employed during the
Napoleonic Wars.
Tipu Sultan's father had expanded on
Mysore's use of rocketry, making critical innovations in the rockets themselves and the military logistics of their use. He deployed as many as 1,200 specialised troops in his army to operate rocket launchers. These men were skilled in operating the weapons and were trained to launch their rockets at an angle calculated from the diameter of the cylinder and the distance to the target. The rockets had twin side sharpened blades mounted on them, and when fired
en masse ,spun and wreaked significant damage against a large army. Tipu greatly expanded the use of rockets after Hyder's death, deploying as many as 5,000 rocketeers at a time. The rockets deployed by Tipu during the
Battle of Pollilur were much more advanced than those the British East India Company had previously seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant; this enabled higher thrust and longer range for the missiles (up to 2 km range).
[7]
British accounts describe the use of the rockets during the third and fourth wars. During the climactic battle at Srirangapatna in 1799, British shells struck a magazine containing rockets, causing it to explode and send a towering cloud of black smoke with cascades of exploding white light rising up from the battlements. After Tipu's defeat in the fourth war the British captured a number of the Mysorean rockets. These became influential in British rocket development, inspiring the
Congreve rocket, which was soon put into use in the
Napoleonic Wars.
[7]
Mysorean NavyEdit
In 1786 Tipu Sultan, again following the lead of his father, decided to build a navy consisting of 20 battleships of 72 cannons and 20 frigates of 62 cannons. In the year 1790 he appointed Kamaluddin as his
Mir Bahar and established massive dockyards at
Jamalabad and Majidabad. Tipu Sultan's board of admiralty consisted of 11 commanders in service of a
Mir Yam. A
Mir Yam led 30 admirals and each one of them had two ships. By the year 1789 most of Tipu Sultan's ships had
copper-bottoms, an idea that increased the longevity of the ships and was introduced to Tipu by
Admiral Suffren.
[45]
Economic development programEdit
The
Mysore silk industry was first initiated during the reign of Tipu Sultan. He sent an expert to
Bengal Subah to study
silkcultivation and processing, after which Mysore began developing polyvoltine silk.
[48]
Under Tipu Sultan, Mysore had some of the world's highest
real wages and
living standards in the late 18th century, higher than Britain, which in turn had the highest living standards in Europe.
[8] Mysore's average
per-capita income was five times higher than
subsistence level,
[49] i.e. five times higher than $400 (1990
international dollars),
[50] or $2,000 per capita. In comparison, the highest national per-capita incomes in 1820 were $1,838 for the Netherlands and $1,706 for Britain.
[51]
Promotion of the Urdu languageEdit
Tipu strengthened and instituted education in
Urdu and
Persian among Muslims in the Mysore region. However the Muslims of North Kanara speak
Nawayathi, the Muslims of South Kanara speak
Beary and the Muslims of Kodagu speak
Kodava. He made Persian the official language throughout his kingdom.
As a
Muslim ruler in a largely
Hindu domain, Tipu Sultan faced problems in establishing the legitimacy of his rule, and in reconciling his desire to be seen as a devout
Islamic ruler with the need to be pragmatic to avoid antagonising the majority of his subjects. A scholarly assessment of his religious policy is that it was secular,
[52][53] tolerant to most religious groups,
[52] and with regular endowments made to Hindus and Hindu institutions including 156 temples,
[54]including lavish gifts to temples such as
Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam.
[53]
In 1780, he was declared the
Badshah or Emperor of Mysore, and struck coinage. His alliance with the French was supposedly aimed at achieving this goal by driving his main rivals, the British, out of the subcontinent. During the early period of Tipu Sultan's reign in particular, he appears to have been as strict as his father against those accused of collaboration with the
British East India Company or the
Maratha.
[55] He clamped down on several minority religious communities that helped the British,
[52][53] but on the basis of politics rather than religion, as these communities fell under
Hinduism,
Christianity, and
Islam: the Hindus of
Coorg, the
Christians of
Mangalore, the
Nayars of
Malabar, the
Mappila Muslims of Malabar, the Mahadevi Muslims, and the Muslim
Nawabsof Sawanur and
Nizam.
[53]
His religious legacy has become a source of considerable controversy in India, with some groups proclaiming him a great warrior for the faith or
Ghazi, while others revile him as a bigot who massacred Hindus,
[56][57][55]Christians.
The Chaldean Syrian Church of the East. ISPCK. p. 30.</ref>
British accountsEdit
Historians such as Brittlebank, Hasan, Chetty, Habib, and Saletare, amongst others, argue that controversial stories of Tipu Sultan's religious persecution of Hindus and Christians are largely derived from the work of early British authors (who were very much against Tipu Sultan's independence and harboured prejudice against the Sultan) such as Kirkpatrick
[58] and Wilks,
[59] whom they do not consider to be entirely reliable
[60] and likely fabricated.
[61] A. S. Chetty argues that Wilks' account in particular cannot be trusted.
[62]
Irfan Habib and Mohibbul Hasan argue that these early British authors had a strong vested interest in presenting Tipu Sultan as a tyrant from whom the British had liberated Mysore.
[61] This assessment is echoed by Brittlebank in her recent work where she writes that Wilks and Kirkpatrick must be used with particular care as both authors had taken part in the wars against Tipu Sultan and were closely connected to the administrations of
Lord Cornwallis and
Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley.
[63]
However, such arguments are dubious because even contemporary French sources mentions about cruelties of Tippu Sultan. The French were allies of Tipu Sultan. Francois Fidele Ripaud de Montaudevert, a French soldier who fought for Tippu, in his diary entry of January 14, 1799 writes: “I’m disturbed by Tipu Sultan’s treatment of these most gentle souls, the Hindus. During the siege of Mangalore, Tipu’s soldiers daily exposed the heads of many innocent Brahmins within sight from the fort for the Zamorin and his Hindu followers to see."
[64]
Relations with MuslimsEdit
During his campaigns of clamping down on groups that helped the British, Tipu Sultan targeted several Muslim groups, including the
Mappila Muslims of Malabar, the Mahadevi Muslims, and the
Nawabs of Sawanur and
Nizam. He is not known to have treated them any better or differently to the several Hindu or Christian minority groups that helped the British, pointing to his policy being politically motivated, rather than religiously motivated.
[53][52]
Relations with HindusEdit
Hindu officersEdit
Tipu Sultan's treasurer was Krishna Rao,
Shamaiya Iyengar was his Minister of Post and Police, his brother Ranga Iyengar was also an officer, and
Purnaiya held the very important post of "Mir Asaf". Moolchand and Sujan Rai were his chief agents at the Mughal court, and his chief "Peshkar", Suba Rao, was also a Hindu.
[65]
Regular endowments to 156 Hindu templesEdit
Editor of Mysore Gazettes Srikantaiah has listed 156 temples to which Tipu regularly paid annual grants. There is such evidence as grant deeds, and correspondence between his court and temples, and his having donated jewellery and deeded land grants to several temples, which some claim he was compelled to do to make alliances with Hindu rulers. Between 1782 and 1799 Tipu Sultan issued 34 "Sanads" (deeds) of endowment to temples in his domain, while also presenting many of them with gifts of silver and gold plate. The Srikanteswara Temple in Nanjangud still possesses a jewelled cup presented by the Sultan.
[66] He also gave a greenish
linga; to Ranganatha temple at Srirangapatna he donated seven silver cups and a silver
camphor burner. This temple was hardly a stone's throw from his palace from where he would listen with equal respect to the ringing of temple bells and the
muezzin's call from the mosque; to the
Lakshmikanta Temple at
Kalale he gifted four cups, a plate and
Spitoon in silver.
[67][68]
Sringeri incident, Lamaan sacking, and rebuilding templeEdit
During the
Maratha–Mysore War in 1791, the Lamaan mercenary group attached to Maratha Empire raided the temple and
mathaof
Sringeri Shankaracharya, killing and wounding many people, plundering the monastery of all its valuable possessions, and desecrating the temple by displacing the image of goddess Sarada. Lamaans were mostly captured Mughal soldiers working for the Marathas. When Marathas chieftains heard about the loot done by Lamaans, they immediately ordered to arrest the culprits and return the stolen goods. A letter written by Trimbak rao, Raghunath rao Dada's son, states, ‘When father learnt of this loot, he sent the cavalry to arrest the lamaan. The elephant was taken over. Remaining stolen items have not been found’.
[69]
The incumbent
Shankaracharya petitioned Tipu Sultan for help. A bunch of about 30 letters written in
Kannada, which were exchanged between Tipu Sultan's court and the
Sringeri Shankaracharya were discovered in 1916 by the Director of Archaeology in
Mysore. Tipu Sultan expressed his indignation and grief at the news of the raid:
[70][71]
"People who have sinned against such a holy place are sure to suffer the consequences of their misdeeds at no distant date in this Kali age in accordance with the verse: "Hasadbhih kriyate karma rudadbhir-anubhuyate" (People do [evil] deeds smilingly but suffer the consequences crying)."
[72]
He immediately ordered the Asaf of
Bednur to supply the Swami with 200
rahatis (
fanams) in cash and other gifts and articles. Tipu Sultan's interest in the Sringeri temple continued for many years, and he was still writing to the Swami in the 1790s CE.
[73]
Controversial figureEdit
In light of this and other events, historian B. A. Saletare has described Tipu Sultan as a defender of the Hindu
dharma, who also patronised other temples including one at Melkote, for which he issued a Kannada decree that the Shrivaishnava invocatory verses there should be recited in the traditional form. The temple at Melkote still has gold and silver vessels with inscriptions indicating that they were presented by the Sultan. Tipu Sultan also presented four silver cups to the Lakshmikanta Temple at Kalale.
[74] Tipu Sultan does seem to have repossessed unauthorised grants of land made to
Brahmins and temples, but those which had proper
sanads (certificates) were not. It was a normal practice for any ruler, Muslim or Hindu, on his accession or on the conquest of new territory.
Noted for his persecution of Christians, historian Thomas Paul notes that Tipu had shifted his hatred for the British to Catholics of Mangalore and other Christian communities of
South India.
[75] According to historian Praxy Fernandes, Tipu Sultan was "an enlightened monarch who followed a secular policy towards his subjects."
[52]
C. Hayavadana Rao wrote about Tipu in his encyclopaedic court history of Mysore. He asserted that Tipu's "religious fanaticism and the excesses committed in the name of religion, both in Mysore and in the provinces, stand condemned for all time. His bigotry, indeed, was so great that it precluded all ideas of toleration". He further asserts that the acts of Tipu that were constructive towards Hindus were largely political and ostentatious rather than an indication of genuine tolerance.
[76]
Treatment of LingayatsEdit
After Haider Ali led a coup, after being appointed the military chief of Hindu
Wadiyar dynasty of Mysore, the Lingayats of Karnataka came under Islamic rule in late 18th century.
[77] During this period, the followers of
Lingayatism were persecuted. A British source claimed that Tipu Sultan found the practice of Lingayat women of being half naked offensive and ordered the mutilation of breasts of
Lingayat a woman, as a result wearing of long garments came into use by women.
[78]
Treatment of Hindus outside MysoreEdit
- Kodagu (Coorg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Indian_soldier_of_Tipu_Sultan%27s_army.jpg/220px-Indian_soldier_of_Tipu_Sultan%27s_army.jpg)
A soldier from Tipu Sultan's army, using his
rocket as a flagstaff.
The battles between Kodavas and Tippu Sultan is one of the most bitter rivalries in South India. There were repeated attempts to capture Kodagu by the sultan and his father
Hyder Ali before him. The primary reason for Sultan's interest in Kodagu was that annexing Kodagu would provide access to Mangalore port. The Kodavas knew their lands and mountains very well which made them excellent at guerrilla warfare. Kodavas were outnumbered 3 to 1 in most of Tippu's attempts to annex Kodagu but they managed to beat back Tippu most of the times by drawing his army towards hilly regions of their land. On few occasions Tippu's army managed to reach Madikeri (Capital of Kodagu) but the Kodavas always ambushed the contingent left behind by Tippu. Kodavas refusal to bow to the sultan was primarily because throughout their history they enjoyed independence, though there were Rajahs ruling over them, governance of the land mainly rested with Kodavas. After capturing Kodagu on another occasion, Tippu proclaimed, "If you ever dare to ambush my men again, I will honor everyone of you with Islam", undeterred, the resilient Kodavas ambushed his men yet again and drove them back to Mysore. By now Tippu realized conventional warfare would never yield him Kodagu. He devised a plan to annex Kodagu by offering his friendship. His offer of friendship was welcomed by Kodavas as the battles with the Sultan over the years had cost them dearly. When Kodavas welcomed Sultan to their land in the name of friendship, the Sultan and his men attacked them and took thousands as prisoners. Tipu got Runmust Khan, the
Nawab of
Kurnool, to launch a surprise attack upon the
Kodava Hindus who were besieged by the invading Muslim army. 500 were killed and over 40,000 Kodavas fled to the woods and concealed themselves in the mountains.
[79] Thousands of Kodavas were seized along with the Raja and held captive at Seringapatam. They were thought to be subjected to forcible conversions to
Islam, death, and torture.
[80]
In Seringapatam, the young men were all forcibly circumcised and incorporated into the Ahmedy Corps, and were formed into eight
Risalas or regiments.
[79] The actual number of Kodavas that were captured in the operation is unclear. The British administrator
Mark Wilks gives it as 70,000, historian Lewis Rice arrives at the figure of 85,000, while Mir Kirmani's score for the Coorg campaign is 80,000 men, women and child prisoners.
[79]
Mohibbul Hasan, Prof. Sheikh Ali, and other historians cast great doubt on the scale of the deportations and forced conversions in Coorg in particular. Hassan says that it is difficult to estimate the real number of Coorgis captured by Tipu.
[81]
In a letter to Runmust Khan, Tipu himself stated:
[82]
"We proceeded with the utmost speed, and, at once, made prisoners of 40,000 occasion-seeking and sedition-exciting Coorgis, who alarmed at the approach of our victorious army, had slunk into woods, and concealed themselves in lofty mountains, inaccessible even to birds. Then carrying them away from their native country (the native place of sedition) we raised them to the honour of Islam, and incorporated them into our Ahmedy corps."
- Kasaragod (near Mangalore)
Tipu sent a letter on 19 January 1790 to the Governor of
Bekal (near
Kasaragod), Budruz Zuman Khan. It says:
"Don't you know I have achieved a great victory recently in Malabar and over four lakh Hindus were converted to Islam? I am determined to march against that cursed Raman Nair (
Rajahof
Travancore) very soon. Since I am overjoyed at the prospect of converting him and his subjects to Islam, I have happily abandoned the idea of going back to Srirangapatanam now."
[84]
- Malabar
- North Malabar
In 1788, Tipu entered into Malabar to quell a rebellion.
Nairs were surrounded with offers of death or circumcision.
Chirakkal's Nair Raja who was received with distinctions for surrendering voluntarily was later hanged. Tipu then divided Malabar into districts, with three officers in each district given the task of numbering productive trees, collecting revenue and giving religious orders to Nairs.
- Calicut (Kozhikode)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Pictorialhistoci00sear_0503.jpg/220px-Pictorialhistoci00sear_0503.jpg)
The merchants of Calicut seized and chained to a barren rock, by the order of Tippoo Sahib
In 1788, Tipu ordered his governor in
CalicutSher Khan to begin the process of converting Hindus to Islam, and in July of that year, 200 Brahmins were forcibly converted.
[85]
Destruction of the Palace at Vittala:
In 1784, Tippu Sultan captured Achutha Heggade, king of Vittala. He beheaded him and set fire to the ancient royal palace of the Domba- Heggade kings of Vittala. It was an ancient and sacred palace of the dyansty whose age goes back to the period when the first kings settled in that area.
[86]
- Inscriptions
"My victorious sabre is lightning for the destruction of the unbelievers.
Ali, the Emir of the Faithful, is victorious for my advantage, and moreover, he destroyed the wicked race who were unbelievers. Praise be to him (God), who is the Lord of the Worlds! Thou art our Lord, support us against the people who are unbelievers. He to whom the Lord giveth victory prevails over all (mankind). Oh Lord, make him victorious, who promoteth the faith of Muhammad. Confound him, who refuseth the faith of Muhammad; and withhold us from those who are so inclined from the true faith. The Lord is predominant over his own works. Victory and conquest are from the Almighty. Bring happy tidings, Oh Muhammad, to the faithful; for God is the kind protector and is the most merciful of the merciful. If God assists thee, thou will prosper. May the Lord God assist thee, Oh Muhammad, with a mighty great victory."
During a search of his palace in 1795, some gold medals were found in the palace, on which the following was inscribed on one side in Persian: "Of God the bestower of blessings", and the other: "victory and conquest are from the Almighty". These were carved in commemoration of a victory after the war of 1780.
[88] The following is a translation of an inscription on the stone found at Seringapatam, which was situated in a conspicuous place in the fort:
[87]
"Oh Almighty God! dispose the whole body of infidels! Scatter their tribe, cause their feet to stagger! Overthrow their councils, change their state, destroy their very root! Cause death to be near them, cut off from them the means of sustenance! Shorten their days! Be their bodies the constant object of their cares (i.e., infest them with diseases), deprive their eyes of sight, make black their faces (i.e., bring shame)."
Relations with ChristiansEdit
Tipu is considered to be anti-Christian by several historians.
[89][90][91] While Alan Machado in his book 'Slaves of Sultans', argues that by expelling Christian priests, Tipu was only following precedent set by European rivals.
[92][93] Historian
J. B. Prashant More in his paper 'Tipu Sultan and the Christians' argues that Tipu's encounters and dealings with the Christians of both European and Indian origin were in accordance with the spirit of his times and also had a political dimension.
[94] The captivity of
Mangalorean Catholics at
Seringapatam, which began on 24 February 1784 and ended on 4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in their history.
[95]
The
Barcoor Manuscript reports him as having said: "All Musalmans should unite together, and considering the annihilation of infidels as a sacred duty, labour to the utmost of their power, to accomplish that subject."
[96]Soon after the
Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tipu gained control of Canara.
[97] He issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates,
[98] and deport them to Seringapatam, the capital of his empire, through the
Jamalabad fort route.
[99]However, there were no priests among the captives. Together with Fr. Miranda, all the 21 arrested priests were issued orders of expulsion to Goa, fined Rupees 200,000, and threatened death by hanging if they ever returned.
[96]
Tipu ordered the destruction of 27 Catholic churches. Among them included the Church of Nossa Senhora de Rosario Milagres at
Mangalore, Fr Miranda's Seminary at Monte Mariano, Church of Jesu Marie Jose at
Omzoor, Chapel at
Bolar, Church of Merces at
Ullal, Imaculata Conceicão at
Mulki, San Jose at Perar, Nossa Senhora dos Remedios at Kirem, Sao Lawrence at
Karkal, Rosario at
Barkur, Immaculata Conceição at Baidnur.
[96]All were razed to the ground, with the exception of
The Church of Holy Cross at
Hospet, owing to the friendly offices of the Chauta Raja of
Moodbidri.
[100]
According to
Thomas Munro, a Scottish soldier and the first collector of Canara, around 60,000 people,
[101] nearly 92 percent of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community, were captured; only 7,000 escaped.
Francis Buchanan gives the numbers as 70,000 captured, from a population of 80,000, with 10,000 escaping. They were forced to climb nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) through the jungles of the
Western Ghat mountain ranges. It was 210 miles (340 km) from Mangalore to Seringapatam, and the journey took six weeks. According to British Government records, 20,000 of them died on the march to Seringapatam. According to
James Scurry, a British officer, who was held captive along with Mangalorean Catholics, 30,000 of them were forcibly converted to Islam. The young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the Muslims living there.
[102] The young men who offered resistance were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips, and ears.
[103] According to Mr. Silva of
Gangolim, a survivor of the captivity, if a person who had escaped from Seringapatam was found, the punishment under the orders of Tipu was the cutting off of the ears, nose, the feet and one hand.
[104]Gazetteer of South India describes Tipu Sultan forcibly circumcising 30,000 West Coast Christians and deporting them to Mysore
[105]
Tipu's persecution of Christians even extended to captured British soldiers. For instance, there were a significant number of forced conversions of British captives between 1780 and 1784. Following their disastrous defeat at the 1780
Battle of Pollilur, 7,000 British men along with an unknown number of women were held captive by Tipu in the fortress of Seringapatnam. Of these, over 300 were circumcised and given Muslim names and clothes and several British regimental drummer boys were made to wear
ghagra cholis and entertain the court as
nautch girls or dancing girls. After the 10-year-long captivity ended, James Scurry, one of those prisoners, recounted that he had forgotten how to sit in a chair and use a knife and fork. His English was broken and stilted, having lost all his vernacular idiom. His skin had darkened to the swarthy complexion of
negroes, and moreover, he had developed an aversion to wearing European clothes.
[106]
During the surrender of the Mangalore fort which was delivered in an armistice by the British and their subsequent withdrawal, all the
Mestizos and remaining non-British foreigners were killed, together with 5,600 Mangalorean Catholics. Those condemned by Tipu Sultan for treachery were hanged instantly, the gibbets being weighed down by the number of bodies they carried. The Netravati River was so putrid with the stench of dying bodies, that the local residents were forced to leave their riverside homes.
[96]
The Archbishop of Goa wrote in 1800,
"It is notoriously known in all Asia and all other parts of the globe of the oppression and sufferings experienced by the Christians in the Dominion of the King of Kanara, during the usurpation of that country by Tipu Sultan from an implacable hatred he had against them who professed Christianity."[96]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/James_Scurry.jpg/220px-James_Scurry.jpg)
The British officer
James Scurry, who was detained a prisoner for 10 years by Tipu Sultan along with the Mangalorean Catholics
Tipu Sultan's invasion of the Malabar had an adverse impact on the
Syrian Malabar Nasranicommunity of the Malabar coast. Many churches in the
Malabar and
Cochin were damaged. The old Syrian Nasrani seminary at Angamaly which had been the center of Catholic religious education for several centuries was razed to the ground by Tipu's soldiers. A lot of centuries old religious manuscripts were lost forever. The church was later relocated to Kottayam where it still exists to this date. The Mor Sabor church at Akaparambu and the Martha Mariam Church attached to the seminary were destroyed as well. Tipu's army set fire to the church at Palayoor and attacked the Ollur Church in 1790. Furthernmore, the Arthat church and the Ambazhakkad seminary was also destroyed. Over the course of this invasion, many Syrian Malabar Nasrani were killed or forcibly converted to Islam. Most of the coconut, arecanut, pepper and cashew plantations held by the Syrian Malabar farmers were also indiscriminately destroyed by the invading army. As a result, when Tipu's army invaded Guruvayur and adjacent areas, the Syrian Christian community fled Calicut and small towns like Arthat to new centres like Kunnamkulam, Chalakudi, Ennakadu, Cheppadu, Kannankode,
Mavelikkara, etc. where there were already Christians. They were given refuge by Sakthan Tamburan, the ruler of Cochin and Karthika Thirunal, the ruler of Travancore, who gave them lands, plantations and encouraged their businesses. Colonel Macqulay, the British resident of Travancore also helped them.
[107]
Treatment of prisonersEdit
According to historian Professor Sheikh Ali, Tipu "took his stand on the bedrock of humanity, regarding all his subjects as equal citizen to live in peace, harmony and concord."
[citation needed] However, during the storming of Srirangapatna by the British in 1799, thirteen murdered British prisoners were discovered, killed by either having their necks broken or nails driven into their skulls.
[108]
Tipu's palace in Seringapatam had a strictly guarded
Zenana quarters for women. Many of the women in his Hareem were daughters of native princes and Brahmins, who had been abducted in infancy and brought up Muslim. Hindu women were made sex slaves. In the same palace, the legitimate
Wadiyar king
Chamaraja Wodeyar IX was held captive. The prince having no children had adopted his relative, who was also imprisoned by the Sultan. The palaces and temples raised by the earlier Wadiyar kings were also pulled down by Tipu, on the pretext of strengthening the fortress.
[109]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Double_paisa_of_Tipu_Sultan.jpg/220px-Double_paisa_of_Tipu_Sultan.jpg)
Among his many innovations, Tipu introduced new coin denominations and new coin types, including this handsome copper double paisa weighing over 23 gm. The coin on the left also contains the emblem of the
Sultanate of Mysore.
Tipu Sultan was one of the first Indian kings to be killed on the battlefield while defending his Kingdom against the Colonial British. Tipu has been recognized as a freedom fighter by the
Government of Karnataka and has been treated as one of the national heroes. A 1990 television series was based on him,
The Sword of Tipu Sultan, directed by
Sanjay Khanand based on a
historical novel by Bhagwan Gidwani.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Gumbaz.jpg/220px-Gumbaz.jpg)
The mausoleum housing Tipu's tomb is another example of
Islamic architecture. Tipu's flag is in the foreground.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Tipu_tomb.jpg/220px-Tipu_tomb.jpg)
The tomb of Tipu Sultan at Srirangapatna. Tipu's tomb is adjacent to his mother's and father's graves.
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Hyder Ali Khan Sultan (1771 – 30 July 1815)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Abdul Khaliq Khan Sultan (1782 – 12 September 1806)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Muhi-ud-din Ali Khan Sultan (1782 – 30 September 1811)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Mu'izz-ud-din Ali Khan Sultan (1783 – 30 March 1818)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Mi'raj-ud-din Ali Khan Sultan (1784? – ?)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Mu'in-ud-din Ali Khan Sultan (1784? – ?)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Muhammad Yasin Khan Sultan (1784 – 15 March 1849)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Muhammad Subhan Khan Sultan (1785 – 27 September 1845)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Muhammad Shukrullah Khan Sultan (1785 – 25 September 1830)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Sarwar-ud-din Khan Sultan (1790 – 20 October 1833)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Muhammad Nizam-ud-din Khan Sultan (1791 – 20 October 1791)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Muhammad Jamal-ud-din Khan Sultan (1795 – 13 November 1842)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Munir-ud-din Khan Sultan (1795 – 1 December 1837)
- His Highness Shahzada Sir Sayyid walShareef Ghulam Muhammad Sultan Sahib,KCSI (March 1795 – 11 August 1872)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Ghulam Ahmad Khan Sultan (1796 – 11 April 1824)
- Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Hashmath Ali Khan Sultan (expired at birth)
Tipu had several wives. One of his wives quite renowned for her beauty and intelligence was
Sindh Sahiba whose grandson was
Sahib Sindh Sultan also known as His Highness Shahzada Sayyid walShareef Ahmed Halim-az-Zaman Khan Sultan Sahib. Tipu Sultan's family was sent to Calcutta by the British. A descendent of one of Tipu Sultan's uncles
Noor Inayat Khan was a British
Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War, murdered in the German
Dachau concentration camp in 1944.
Sword and tigerEdit
Tipu Sultan had lost his sword in a war with the
Nairs of
Travancore during the
Battle of the Nedumkotta (1789), in which he was forced to withdraw due to the severe joint attack from Travancore army and British army.
[110] The
Nair army under the leadership of
Raja Kesavadas again defeated the Mysore army near Aluva. The Maharaja,
Dharma Raja, gave the famous sword to the Nawab of
Arcot, from where the sword went to London. The sword was on display at the Wallace Collection, No. 1 Manchester Square, London.
Tipu was commonly known as the Tiger of Mysore and adopted this animal as the symbol (
bubri/ babri)
[111] of his rule.
[112] It is said that Tipu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. He came face to face with a tiger. His gun did not work, and his dagger fell on the ground as the tiger jumped on him. He reached for the dagger, picked it up, and killed the tiger with it. That earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore". He even had French engineers build a mechanical tiger for his palace.
[113] The device, known as
Tipu's Tiger, is on display in the
Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
[114] Not only did Tipu place relics of tigers around his palace and domain, but also had the emblem of a tiger on his banners and some arms and weapons. Sometimes this tiger was very ornate and had inscriptions within the drawing, alluding to Tipu's faith.
[115] Historian Alexander Beatson reported that "in his palace was found a great variety of curious swords, daggers, fusils, pistols, and blunderbusses; some were of exquisite workmanship, mounted with gold, or silver, and beautifully inlaid and ornamented with tigers' heads and stripes, or with Persian and Arabic verses".
[116]
The last sword used by Tipu in his last
battle, at Sri Rangapatnam, and the ring worn by him were taken by the British forces as war trophies. Till April 2004, they were kept on display at the
British Museum London as gifts to the museum from Maj-Gen Augustus W.H. Meyrick and Nancy Dowager.
[117]
At an
auction in London in April 2004,
Vijay Mallya purchased the sword of Tipu Sultan and some other historical artefacts, and brought them back to India.
[118]
In October 2013, another sword owned by Tipu Sultan and decorated with his
babri (tiger stripe motif) surfaced and was auctioned by
Sotheby's.
[119] It was purchased for
£98,500
[120] by a telephone bidder.
Tipu JayantiEdit
Lok Sabha Congress leader, Mallikarjuna Kharge, hit back at the RSS, asking,
In fictionEdit
- He has a role in G.A.Henty's 1896 book The Tiger of Mysore,[122] and is also mentioned in Henty's 1902 At the Point of the Bayonet,[123] which deals with much the same period.
- In Jules Verne's Mysterious Island, Captain Nemo is described as a nephew of Tipu Sultan.
- Tipu Sultan's life and adventures were the central theme of a short-running South Indian television series "The Adventures of Tipu Sultan", and of a more popular national television series "The Sword of Tipu Sultan".
- Naseem Hijazi's novels Muazam Ali and Aur Talvar Ṭūṭ Gaye (And The Sword Broke) describe Tipu Sultan's wars.
- Wilkie Collins's novel The Moonstonecontains an account of Tipu Sultan and the fall of Srirangapatna in the prologue.
- In The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolf Erich Raspe, Munchausen vanquishes Tippoo near the end of the novel.
- Sharpe's Tiger is a novel in which Napoleonic soldier Richard Sharpe fights at Seringapatam, later killing Tipu Sultan.
- The Only King Who Died on the Battlefield: An Historical Novel Based on Truth(published in 2006), was written by a US-Pakistani resident and a young college student Mohammed Faisal Iftikhar. The novel claims that in recent history, Tipu Sultan is the only king who died on the battlefield.
- Tipu Sultan appears as a "Great Person" in the video games, Sid Meier's Civilization: Revolution and Sid Meier's Civilization IV.
- In his historical novels on the Seringapatam captivity of Konkani Catholics by the Konkani littérateur V.J.P. Saldanha,Belthangaddicho Balthazar (Balthazar ofBelthangady), Devache Krupen (By the Grace of God), Sardarachi Sinol (The sign of the Knights) and Infernachi Daram (The gates of Hell), Tipu is portrayed as cunning, haughty, hard-hearted, revengeful, yet full of self-control.[124]