1. The Real Tipu
A Brief History of Tipu Sultan
Presentation Based on a
Book by
H. D. Sharma
2. India in 18th century
• After Aurangzeb Mughal Empire vanished
because of the bigotry, intolerance and wrong
policies.
• With the weakening of central rule, local
governors, nawabs and rajas declared
themselves independent one by one.
3. Rulers of India in 18th century
• Bengal was ruled by Siraj-ud-daula(1756-57), Mir
Jafar(1757-60) & Mir Kasim(1760-63).
• Awadh came under Shuja-ud-daula.
• Ranjit Singh(1780-1839) consolidated the Sikh Empire in
Punjab and extended it to Kashmir & North-west
Frontier.
• Jats were active around UP and Bihar.
• Marathas covered the largest parts Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Central Provinces.
• Mysore was ruled by Hindu dynasty Wodeyars.
• There were many other small states ruled by Hindu rajas and
Muslim Nawabs.
5. Foreign powers in India
• Two foreign powers- English and the French
took advantage of this tumulus and chaotic
situation.
• British were more successful, they had built forts
at Madras & Calcutta.
• They got Bombay as a part of dowry given to
Charles II when he married Catherine.
6. Northern India came under English rule
• English defeated Siraj-ud-daula in the battle of
Plassey in 1757. And then ruled Bengal.
• In 1764 the English defeated the combined
forces of Mir-Qasim, Shuja-ud-daula of Awadh
and Mughal king Shas alam II at Buxar
• Bihar was annexed and Awadh had sign the
notorious Subsidiary treaty.
• Thus, the whole of Gagnatic plane came under
the direct or indirect English rule
8. English-French Conflict
• Initially French defeated English and occupied
Madras for sometime.
• The French were defeated in the third Carnatic
war at Wandiwash.
• After that the French influence declined and
French soldiers in India fought for whoever paid
them well.
9. It is believed that
Haider Ali
Haider‟s ancestors were
from Baghdad, settled in
Punjab and later
migrated to the south.
10. Haider Ali’s family background
• Haider‟s father Fatah Muhammad was soldier
• Fatah Muhammad had 3 wives & 5 sons. Shahbaz &
Hiader were born to the youngest wife, whom he had
married along with her sisters.
• After Fatah‟s death, his family was not treated well.
So they migrated to Bangalore.
• When the boys grew up they were brought to
Seringapatam where Commander-in-Chief Nanjaraj
employed them as soldiers
11. Haider-From a soldier to the
Ruler of Mysore
• He soon rose in ranks because of his wicked
ways and bravery.
• He slowly usurped power(1761)of the king
though officially he remained a regent
throughout his life .
12. Haider Ali Plundered Bednur
• In 1763, Rani Virammaji of Bednur was defeated
by Haider. Bednur was plundered for many days
& was burnt down.
• Rani Virammaji was humiliated & imprisoned
but was rescued by Marathas.
• By the time Raja Nanjaraja Wodeyar came of age
and started to assert authority. Haider got him
killed in 1771.
13. First and second Mysore wars
• After the First Mysore War Haider agreed to join
Nizam and Marathas against the English.
• Haider did not live to see the end of this
protracted war & died in a camp in December
1782.
• His son Tipu continued this war till March 1784.
14. Haider’s character
• Haider was not a bigot and respected Hindu
religion and tradition.
• Though he was a very cruel, extremely avaricious
treacherous and unscrupulous person but he
never mixed religion with politics.
• He was illiterate but was full of ambitions.
• He was one of the few secular Muslim rulers in
India.
15. Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan was the
son of Haider Ali
and haider‟s third
wife Fakhr-un-Nissa
16. Tipu Sultan- Islamic zealot
• Haider appointed a „maulvi‟ for Tipu‟ education.
• As a result Tipu became a religious zealot and he
hated everything that was not connected to Islam.
• Tipu built a musjid (mosque) in every town and
appointed a „Moula‟ and „Kazi‟ to promote Islamic
education.
18. Jama Masjid
The mosque built
by Tipu Sultan in
Srirangapatnam.
19. Haider was not happy with Tipu’s
character. So he made him sign ‘Iqrar
nama’
20. Iqrar Nama
• I must be punished if I do anything without the proper
permission of Hazarat Khudawand Nimat (Haider Ali Khan)
• I must be hanged if I commit any act of theft or embezzlement
while performing duties, pertinent to government.
• I must be put to gallows if I am bound telling any lie or
commit any act of treachery.
• I should be exiled after being deposed if I am found to accept
„nazr‟(offering) or any such thing from any quarter without the
information of „Huzur‟ (Haider Ali Khan).
21. Iqrar Nama
• I must be killed if found indulging in consultation (conspiracy)
with any person or agency on matters other than pertaining to
my relevant duties and functions.
• If I am assigned the governorship of any territory of the State
and armed force is placed under my command for the said
purpose then 1 would be duty bound to act in consultation
only with those nobles or officers who are appointed by the
'Huzur ' in this connect ion. In case 1 am found acting
otherwise my head must be severed.
22. Iqrar Nama
• I am pledge herewith to act only on the advice of the
councilors appointed by the Huzur if 1 receive any
communication from any quarter (local or foreign).
• I am placing these clauses on record of my own accord with
their memory preserved duly in my heart and. hereby, resolve
to strictly adhere to them; and in the event 1 am found acting
contrary to the spirit of the text 1 must be punished in the
manner deemed suitable by the Huzur ."
23. Daria-Daulat-Bagh
Tipu Sultan's
summer palace
at
Srirangapatnam,
Karnataka
24. Lal-Mahal
The ruins of Tipu's
Palace - Lal Mahal
at Srirangapatana.
26. • After Haider‟s death, Tipu antagonized and even
killed the Haider‟s most trusted generals.
• Haider‟s cabinet consisted mainly of Hindus.
• But Tipu kept his higher command in the family.
Several of his top generals were his relatives.
27. • Tipu ordained that all the revenue records would
be kept in Persian language replacing other local
languages.
• He even confiscated funds of the temples.
• He replaced the Hindu calendar with an Islamic
calendar based on the life of prophet Muhammad.
28. Tipu was a mighty changer of old pagan names, so
as to give them a Muslim cast.
Calicut Ferokhabad
Chitaldurg Farrukh-yab-Hissar
Coorg Zafarabad
Devanhalli Yusafabad
Dindigal Khalilabad
Gooty Fyze-il-azum After Tipu‟s death
Mysore Nazarabad these Islamic names
Pennkonda Fakhrabad were forgotten and the
Sankridurg Muzzafarabad old traditional names
Sira rustmabad replaced them.
Brahmapuri Sultanpet
29. Tipu’s Islamic Coins
• He issued gold, silver and copper coins. They
were named after prophet Muhammad, the first
2 Caliphs and the 12 Shia imams.
▫ On the obverse is written:
“the religion of Ahmud enlightened the world
from the victories of Hydur.”
▫ And on the reverse:
“He is the sole and only just king.”
30. Coins of Tipu Sultan
Most of the coins
were Arabic and
Persian coins
which hardly any
Mysorean could
understand.
31.
32.
33.
34. Revenue and Trade
• The state monopolized the sale of sandalwood,
pepper, tobacco and the precious metals.
• Export and import was prohibited for the
protection of domestic trade.
• Only trade from true believers from Arabia was
encouraged.
• Since commerce and banking were in the hands
of Hindus, they were ruined by such measures.
35. Treacherous nature of Tipu Sultan
• One clause of the treaty of Mangalore was to to
exchange the prisoners of war.
• But Tipu ordered the killing of many prisoners
of war including Gen. Matthews even after
signing the treaty.
36. Atrocities in Coorg
• He imprisoned about 40,000 to 50,000 of the
population in the Coorg.
• Prisoners were driven off like herd of cattle to
Seringapatam where they were converted to
Islam
• Land in Coorg was distributed to Muslim
settlers.
37. Tipu was born as ‘Tipu Sultan’ and
died as ‘Tipu Sultan’
38. • Tipu was aware of his low birth. Sultan was only
a part of his name not his title.
• Tipu demanded as a preliminary an inter-
marriage in the families, but Nizam considered
himself of superior lineage to that of Tipu so the
negotiation came to nothing.
• He even tried to copy Mughal Emperor Akbar
and wanted to marry a Rajput princess. but all in
vain.
39. Tipu’s Harem
• There were 601 inmates altogether
▫ 268 relicts of Haider Ali.
▫ 333 of Tipu
• Tipu classified 2 as wives, 80 as women of superior
grades and the rest as their attendants or slaves.
• There were 2 sisters of the Raja of Coorg, 3 members
of Mysore family & a Purnaiya‟s niece.
• Most of the women of harem were Hindus whom he
had put to death or held in confinement.
40. Tigers in Tipu’s palace
• On most of his armaments Tipu had inscribed a
cyper „Asad ullah al Ghalib‟(The lion of the God
is the conqueror).
• He kept many tigers chained at the palace gate.
Prisoners were often tossed to the chained tigers
to be devoured by them.
41. The Throne was
made of gold,
ornamented with
The Throne
jewels of great
value in the shape
of tiger. But Tipu
was never
destined to sit
upon his throne
42. 3rd Mysore war
• Tipu attacked district of Travancore which
resulted in 3rd Mysore war.
• He was defeated in 3rd Mysore war.
• The war ended with signing of the Treaty of
Seringapatnam according to which Tipu had to
surrender half of his kingdom to the English
company and send his two sons to them as the
hostages of war.
43. Treaty of Seringapatnam
Lieutenant
General Lord
Cornwallis
receiving
Tipu Sultan‟s
sons as
hostages.
44. Attack on Malabar and Travancore
• He looted the inmates of everything including
ornaments of ladies & destroyed about 8,000 temples.
• He appointed a Shaikh-ul-Islam in each district to teach
the forcibly converted people the ways of Islam.
• Tipu forcibly converted about 2,000 Nairs to Islam.
• Some unhappy captives gave a force assent & on the
next day the rite of circumcision was performed on all
males.
• Every individual was compelled to close the ceremony
by eating beef.
45. 4th Mysore war
• On May 3rd the English succeeded in making a
breach in Forts‟ wall, & were ready for assault.
• Tipu was the prey to great despondency & had no
real confidence in his ability to put up the fight.
46.
47. • He sought the predictions of the astrologers
whose science he had earlier derided. They
warned him that 4th may was ominous.
• Tipu, the bigoted ruler hated the sight of the
Brahmins & had taken great delight in
converting them to Islam.
• He begged the divine blessings of the Hindu
gods whose idols & temples he had destroyed.
49. 4th May-The Battle
• He got the that his most loyal officer, Saiyad
Gaffar had been killed.
• There was a confusion all around. Tipu‟s soldiers
& other people were trying to escape.
• He was shot dead in the crowd and his body was
left to be trampled into obscurity among the
heap of dead and dying.
50. On May 4th,1799,
Death of Tipu Sultan
the English army
aided by the
betrayers broke
through out the
defending walls
and Tipu Sultan
died fighting.
52. Tipu’s body was found here
A close-up view of
the battleground
where Tipu‟s body
was found. The
plaque was placed
by the
archaeological
department.
53.
54.
55. After quite a number of dead bodies
were dragged, Tipu’s body was found.
English buried his body by the side of
his father with honor.
Which only the highly civilized of
English could do to an enemy during
those wild and savage days.
56. Finding body of Tipu
Sir David Baird
discovering the
body of Tipu
Sultan
57. Tipu Sultan’s tomb at Srirangapatna.
Tippu's tomb is in
the foreground
and on the sides
are his parents'
58. After the defeat of Tipu
• Marathas were offered district of Sunda and
Harpanahalli but Peshwa refused it, because
they didn‟t participated in the war.
• The remaining Mysore was set aside for the
ancient Mysore rulers.
• Tipu‟s family was sent to Vellore and liberal
allowance were given to his family members.
60. Was Tipu sultan a nationalist???
• It is said that Tipu was the last king of the Indian
rulers who fought the English in an attempt to
save India from foreign domination.
• In 18th century India was divided into small
states & feudal principalities. Nobody in those
days was thinking of the nation. So there was
concept like „fighting for India‟.
61. He was not a nationalist by any stretch
of imagination
• It is also asserted that Tipu was defeated due to
the treachery of the Indian rulers like the
Marathas and the Nizam.
• Tipu was not fighting for the „freedom of India‟.
He was fighting for himself. The French, who
were the enemies of the English, supported Tipu
for this purpose.
• The seed of Hindu nationalism was sown by
Shivaji which was continued by Marathas.
69. Tipu is remembered today for his
religious zeal by his co-religionists and
for his atrocities by the Hindus and
Christians of Kerala and Coorg. He is
considered as the Aurangzeb of the
south.
