Muslim Contributions to India’s Freedom Struggle - A Different Narrative - 3
By Professor Nazeer Ahmed
Concord, CA
Tipu Sultan of Mysore
In the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, there is a gallery which houses imperial artifacts from the British Raj. In a prominent section of the gallery that was opened by none other than Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, there is a collection of artifacts from Tipu Sultan of Mysore. The plaques attached to the artifacts pay glowing tribute to the Tiger of Mysore as a worthy foe who earned the respect of his enemies through his valor and undaunted courage.
Alas, the name of Tipu commands more respect in the museums of the British who fought him than in his homeland for which he laid down his life. The Sword of Tipu kept the British Empire at bay for forty years. He chose martyrdom over surrender, showing a path of dignity for his countrymen to follow. He is justly the First Freedom Fighter of India.
I have covered at length the life and times of Tipu Sultan in my Encyclopedia ( www.historyofislam.com ). Here I will highlight a few observations on his fight for his country.
Tipu’s father, Hyder Ali Khan, was a brilliant soldier who rose through the ranks in the Mysore army to become the de-facto ruler of the state. India was in turmoil at this time. The Mughal Empire was weak and was ruled by incompetent monarchs. In 1739, the Persian Nadir Shah invaded India and carried off the peacock throne. The Maratha armies moved up north to fill the political vacuum created by the Persian invasion and carried their sway all the way to Lahore. In 1757, the British occupied Bengal. In 1761, the Marathas were defeated by Ahmed Shah Abdali of Kabul at the Third Battle of Panipet. The aftermath of the Third Battle of Panipet created opportunities for new entrants at the periphery of the Maratha empire. It is in the political context that we have to understand the emergence of Hyder Ali in Mysore and the Sikhs in Central Punjab.
There emerged four contestants for power in Southern India. The Nizam was an appointee of the Moghul emperor. He governed the richest of the Moghul provinces consisting of what are today Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and large parts of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. The Nizam’s dominions had three subdivisions: Hyderabad, Arcot (modern Tamil Nadu) and Sira (old Mysore State). The second contestant was the Maratha Empire. Although they suffered a reversal at the Third Battle of Panipet, they remained the dominant power in Central and Western India. Based in Sitara-Poona, the southern reaches of the empire nominally extended to the Cauvery River. The third contestant was the East India Company which emerged as the dominant European power after outmaneuvering the French. The fourth was Hyder Ali of Mysore.
The expansion of Mysore territories under Hyder Ali brought him into conflict with the other three contestants for power. The conflict with the Marathas was for control of the region between Tunga Bhadra and Krishna rivers. The dispute with the Nizam was for Bellary, Kurnool and other northern districts. The contest with the British was control of Arcot.
Hyder Ali fought a series of skirmishes with the Nizam and the Marathas and successfully consolidated his dominions in a vast track extending from Goa in the north to Travancore in the South and from the Arabian sea to the Eastern ghats. It is for his struggles with the British that he is best remembered. The First Anglo Mysore War was fought in 1767-69 and was primarily centered on the control of Arcot. It ended when the Mysore armies conducted a surprise raid on Madras and negotiate a truce.
The Second Mysore War (1780-82) was perhaps the most memorable from the Indian perspective. The War involved the French and the Dutch on the Mysore side and indirectly also the Americans under George Washington as the American War of Independence was going on at the same time. It was in the Second Anglo Mysore War that Tipu Sultan distinguished himself by defeating the British armies on multiple occasions. In 1780 at the Battle of Pollilur, he smashed a force under Colonel Bailie and forced him to surrender. This was the worst defeat suffered by the British on Indian soil. The battle is known for the extensive use of rockets by the Mysore army. After the capture of Srirangapatam (1799) the Mysore rockets were modified by the British and used in the Anglo American war of 1812. It was a sky lit by the explosion of modified Mysore rockets over Washington DC that inspired the Star Spangled Banner. Other notable victories won by Tipu included the Battle of Tanjore against Colonel Braithwaite, the Battle of Bednore against General Mathews and the Battle of Mangalore against Colonel Fullerton. The Second Anglo Mysore War ended in 1782 with the Treaty of Mangalore on terms dictated by Tipu Sultan.
By a coincidence, there was a connection between America and the kingdom of Mysore The American War of Independence ended freeing the British from the burden defending their American colonies. Cornwallis who had surrendered to George Washington at the battle of York in America was hired by the East India Company and was sent to India. Using the experience in the long, hard fought battles in North America as a springboard, Cornwallis methodically laid out a plan to contain Tipu Sultan. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas were lured into a tripartite alliance against Tipu. Using an incursion by Tipu’s armies into Travancore as a pretext, Cornwallis launched a sustained attack against Mysore. More than twenty thousand carts were pressed into service to carry the food and ammunition for the British army. The Nizam invaded from the North while the Marathas moved in from the North-West. The Mysore armies fought valiantly for three long years. But the juggernaut laid out by Cornwallis worked. The allied armies surrounded Srirangapatam. The terms of peace were harsh. Tipu was forced to give almost half of his kingdom and ransom two of his children until a large indemnity was paid to the British.
Tipu Sultan knew the existential threat to India’s freedom from the British. With his indefatigable energy, he streamlined the finances of his kingdom, paid off the British, organized a navy and strengthened his army. He sent delegations to the Amir of Afghanistan, the king of Persia, the Sultan of Oman and the Ottoman Khalifa in Istanbul. When Napoleon emerged as the leader of the French Republic, Tipu Sultan started correspondence with him to launch a joint attack on the British in India. These were giant moves on the world stage. Napoleon responded and moved with a large contingent to occupy Egypt in 1798. The British realized that Tipu was a threat to their interests not just in India but their fledging international empire. No cause for war was needed and British armies from Bombay and Madras invaded Mysore along with forces of the Nizam of Hyderabad and a contingent of the Maratha armies. Outnumbered by the enemy, the Mysoreans fought bravely, effectively using the rockets which terrified the British. However, the odds were too high. Tipu fell in the Battle of Srirangapatam on May 5, 1799.
Tipu Sultan held off the mighty British Empire for forty years. He humbled the British in battle and won their admiration as a worthy foe. To drive the British out, he sought the help of the Afghans, the Persians, the Omanis, the Turks and the French. But no help came. The Turks were allies of the British and were fighting the French for their own turf. The Afghans and the Persians were bogged down with Shia-Sunni conflicts along their borders. Napoleon lost the Battle of Acre and was forced to turn around and return to France. Tipu, the tiger of Mysore, fought alone, and fell in battle, fighting for his country. In the annals of those who laid down their lives for the freedom of India, his name is written in bold letters.
From Tipu Sultan to General Nawaz Shah Nawaz Khan, from Begum Hazrat Mahal to Molvi Ahmedulla, the annals of those who laid down their lives for the freedom of India are studded with Muslim names.
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