Page 9 - Pakistan Link - September 25, 2020

OPINION
147. Muslim Contributions to India’s Freedom Struggle - 4
n By Professor Nazeer Ahmed
Concord, CA
Tipu’s father, Hyder Ali
Khan, was a brilliant sol-
dier who rose through
the ranks in the Mysore army
to become the de-
facto ruler of the
state. India was
in turmoil at that
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 defeat-
ed by Ahmed Shah Abdali of Ka-
bul 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 Hy-
der Ali in Mysore and the Sikhs in
Central Punjab.
There emerged four contes-
tants 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 Kar-
nataka, 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 Em-
pire. Although they suffered a re-
versal at the Third Battle of Pani-
pet, they remained the dominant
power in Central and Western
India. Based in Sitara-Poona, the
southern reaches of the empire
nominally extended to the Cauv-
ery River. The third contestant was
the East India Company which
emerged as the dominant Euro-
pean power after outmaneuvering
the French. The fourth was Hyder
Ali of Mysore.
The expansion of Mysore ter-
ritories 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 Tun-
ga Bhadra and Krishna rivers. The
dispute with the Nizam was for
Bellary, Kurnool and other north-
ern 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 nego-
tiated a truce.
The Second Mysore War
(1780-82) was perhaps the most
Signs from Allah: History, Science and Faith in Islam
memorable from the Indian per-
spective. The War involved the
French and the Dutch on the My-
sore side and indirectly also the
Americans under George Wash-
ington as the American War of
Independence was going on at the
same time. It was in the Second An-
glo Mysore War that Tipu Sultan
distinguished himself by defeat-
ing 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 de-
feat suffered by the British on In-
dian 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 Brit-
ish and used in the Anglo-Ameri-
can 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 Tanjo-
re against Colonel Braithwaite, the
Battle of Bednore against General
Mathews and the Battle of Manga-
lore against Colonel Fullerton. The
Second Anglo Mysore War ended
in 1782 with the Treaty of Man-
galore 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 sur-
rendered to George Washington
at the battle of York in America
was hired by the East India Com-
pany and was sent to India. Using
the experience in the long, hard
fought battles in North America
as a springboard, Cornwallis me-
thodically laid out a plan to con-
tain 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 val-
iantly for three long years. But
the juggernaut laid out by Corn-
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
wallis worked. The allied armies
surrounded Srirangapatam. The
terms of peace were harsh. Tipu
was forced to give almost half of turn to France. Tipu, the tiger of
his kingdom and ransom two of
his children until a large indem- battle, fighting for his country. In
nity was paid to the British.
Tipu Sultan knew the exis-
tential threat to India’s freedom
www.PakistanLink.com
from the British. With his inde-
fatigable 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 Ot-
toman Khalifa in Istanbul. When
Napoleon emerged as the leader
of the French Republic, Tipu Sul-
tan started correspondence with
him to launch a joint attack on the
British in India. These were giant
moves on the world stage. Napo-
leon 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 fledg-
ing 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, ef-
fectively 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 Brit-
ish out, he sought the help of the
Afghans, the Persians, the Oma-
nis, the Turks and the French. But
no help came. The Turks were al-
lies of the British and were fight-
ing the French for their own turf.
The Afghans and the Persians were
bogged down with Shia-Sunni
conflicts along their borders. Na-
poleon lost the Battle of Acre and
was forced to turn around and re-
Mysore, fought alone, and fell 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.
(The author is Director,
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 – PAKISTAN LINK – P9
World Organization for Resource
Development and Education,
Washington, DC; Director, Amer-
ican Institute of Islamic History
and Culture, CA; Member, State
Knowledge Commission, Ban-
galore; and Chairman, Delixus
Group)
KNOWLEDGE FROM P8
Education Commission report for
2013-14. The 3 million enrollment is
15% of the 20 million Pakistanis in the
eligible age group of 18-24 years. In ad-
dition, there are over 255,000 Pakistanis
enrolled in vocational training schools,
according to Technical Education and
Vocational Training Authority (TE-
VTA).
Pakistani universities have been
producing over half a million graduates,
including over 10,000 IT graduates, ev-
ery year since 2010, according to HEC
data. The number of university gradu-
ates in Pakistan increased from 380,773
in 2005-6 to 493,993 in 2008-09. This
figure is growing with rising enrollment
and contributing to Pakistan’s growing
human capital.
Higher education in Pakistan has
come a long way since the country’s
independence in 1947 when there was
only one university, the University of
Punjab. By 1997, the number of univer-
sities had risen to 35, of which 3 were
federally administered and 22 were un-
der the provincial governments, with
a combined enrollment of 71,819 stu-
dents. A big spending boost by Presi-
dent Pervez Musharraf helped establish
51 new universities and awarding insti-
tutions during 2002-2008. This helped
triple university enrollment from
135,000 in 2003 to about 400,000 in
2008, according to Dr Ata ur Rehman
who led the charge for expanding high-
er education during the Musharraf pe-
riod. There are 161 universities with 1.5
million students enrolled in Pakistan as
of 2014. As of 2019, there are 174 uni-
versities in the country.
Former Chairman of HEC
summed up the country’s higher edu-
cation progress well in a piece he wrote
for The News in 2012: “Pakistan has
achieved critical mass and reached a
point of take-off. For this phenomenal
growth to continue, it is important for
the government and other stakehold-
ers to support and further strengthen
the HEC as a national institution and
protect its autonomy. If this momentum
continues for another 10 years, Paki-
stan is certain to become a global player
through a flourishing knowledge econ-
omy and a highly literate population”.
Summary: Pakistan is expand-
ing science and technology education
with institutions like PAF-IAST and
NUTech. These represent progress to-
ward building Pakistan’s knowledge
economy and grow high-value technol-
ogy-based exports. Pakistan is collabo-
rating with several countries, including
the United States and China, to build
up high-skills education capacity in the
country. Early progress is confirmed
by a Nature magazine report that Paki-
stan’s scientific output is growing at the
fastest rate in the world. Pakistan’s high-
tech exports are relatively low but
surging by double digits, according
to the State Bank of Pakistan.
Here’s an introductory video
about Pak-Austria Fachhochschule
Institute of Applied Sciences and
Technology (PAF-IAST) Pakistan:
https://youtu.be/IJDjDisjy_c