Tipu Sultan was born on November 20,1750 in Devanahalli near Bangalore as the eldest son of Haider Ali, commander-in-chief of the Mysore army, and his wife Fakhrunnisa Begum. Being illiterate himself, Haider was particular that his heir should get a prince’s education and an early exposure to military and political affairs. Tipu became wel l -versed in Kannada, Urdu, Arabic and Persian. He also received military training from an officer in Haider’s army.
Tipu’s first experience of warfare was at age 13, when he participated in Haider’s attack on Malabar. From the age of 17, he was given independent charge of important diplomatic and military missions .
Haider’s growing power was watched with anxiety by the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Marathas and the British, who jointly declared war on him in 1767 (the First Mysore War).Undaunted, Haider managed to neut ralise the other two allies and took on the British alone.Eventually, the British sued for peace and signed a treaty with him.
The next few years were uneventful except for battles with the Marathas, which helped Tipu gain valuable experience in the art of warfare. He also earned a reputation for great personal bravery.In 1780 came the Second Mysore War, between Haider and the British. Fierce battles were fought at various places. In the midst of this war, Haider suddenly died. Tipu assumed power in a simple ceremony at Chittoor in1782.
The news of Haider’s death delighted the British, who assumed Tipu would be easy to defeat. A garrison under General Matthews sailed from Bombay and occupied a fort near Mangalore. However, Matthews soon found that he had underestimated his enemy. Tipu rushed to the rescue and laid siege to the fort, forcing Matthews to sue for peace. Here too, Tipu showed gentlemanliness by allowing the general and his men to go, on condition that nothing of value was taken from the fort. But Matthews broke the agreement by letting his men loot the fort’s treasury. Tipu, who had let them go in good fai th, soon discovered the truth when he saw the empty treasury. The British army was stopped and searched. Gold and jewels were found in their luggage. Furious at Matthews’ trickery, Tipu took him prisoner and besieged Mangalore, which was under British occupation. Soon, the British had to sue for peace.
18 months later, the terms of the treaty were fulfilled and the princes were released. Meanwhile, Tipu had been busy strengthening his army and seeking military help from the rulers of Afghanistan, Iran and France against the British.
In 1799, the Fourth Mysore War began. The combined armies of the British and the Nizam besieged Tipu’s fort at Srirangapattanam. The fort magnificently withstood their bombardment. Then the British resorted to treachery. They persuaded one of Tipu’s trusted generals to turn traitor and with his help, they breachedthe fort. Fighting valiantly to the end, the Tiger of Mysore breathed his last. The British gave him a funeral with full military honours.
In his personal life, Tipu had been a devout Muslim who led a simple lifestyle, read avidly and involved himself actively in administrative work. His administrative reforms are no less noteworthy than his military achievements. He built a chain of excellent roads and constructed dams to promote agriculture and control monsoon flooding. Further, he promoted trade and commerce actively by setting up factories with foreign collaboration and sending commercial missions to Oman, Persia and Turkey. He introduced sericulture on a
large scale, started mulberry cultivation and patronised weavers.
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To live one day like a lion is better than to live hundred years than a jackal.
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