Tipu Sultan: The Tiger Of Mysore

Tipu Sultan is called the tiger of Mysore. Why is he called tiger? Let us know.
Tipu Sultan ruled about 200 years ago. His capital was Srirangapatna. Srirangapatna was an island formed by tributaries of the Kaveri river between Bangalore and Mysore. From there, he ruled over Mysore. His kingdom extended from the Krishna River in the north to Dindigul in the South and from Malabar in the west to the slopes of the Eastern Ghats in the east. Today Mysore is the name of a city in Karnataka, and Dindigul is in Tamil Nadu, and Malabar is a part of Kerala.

Tipu’s father, Hyder Ali, never dreamed of becoming the king of Mysore. At that time, Mysore was ruled by the Wodeyar family, and Hyder was a soldier. But the Wodeyar rule came to an end due to fighting amongst themselves. Then Hyder Ali became the king from there. Hyder and his wife Fakr Un Nisa did not have any children for a long time. Then both of them went to the Dargah of Pir Baba Tipu Mastan Auliya located at Arcot. He made a vow that he would hand over his first child to Allah.

Their prayers were successful, and Tipu was born in 1750. According to their vow, Tipu’s parents started teaching him religious texts and important books.
Tipu was the son of a soldier, so he also learned horse riding, swimming, sword fighting, and wrestling. When Tipu was 5 years old, his brother Abdul Karim was born. Abdul was much weaker than Tipu. So Haider announced that he would make Tipu the king.

The heroic act of Tipu

Tipu was very fearless since childhood. Once when he was only 10 years old and Abdul was 5 years old, someone wanted to kill Haider. Haider somehow managed to escape, but the enemies took Tipu and Abdul captive in a tower. While comforting his younger brother, Tipu’s mind was thinking of a way out from there.

Suddenly he saw a small skylight near the ceiling. Somehow climbing the wall, he signalled to his father’s companions. Within a few hours, both the brothers were rescued by his father’s friends. As Tipu Sultan grew older, his fame also increased. He successfully led many battles and helped Hyder to expand his kingdom. When Tipu Sultan was 23 years old, he married Rukaiya, the daughter of a Lal Mian soldier.

Hyder Ali died in 1782, and Tipu Sultan became the king of Mysore. Tipu was supported by the British’s old enemy, the French. The British with red coats were also enemies of Tipu. They came to trade as the East India Company in the seventeenth century. When Charles Cornwallis came to India as Governor-General in 1786, the Indian subcontinent was ruled by the British. Almost the whole of the South had become a part of his kingdom. Only Mysore raised its head was still independent.

Tipu Sultan defeated By Cunning British

The British made a plan to defeat Tipu Sultan. He made a treaty of friendship with Travancore. Travancore was the only kingdom of Malabar that was not under Tipu. When Tipu attacked Transvancore, he fell into the trap of the British. The British army reached the same place with the help of Marathas and Nizam. Tipu was defeated in this war.

Tipu was forced to sign the Treaty of Srirangapatna in 1792. The French also did not come to Tipu’s aid as he had already signed a peace treaty with the British. As punishment, Tipu was to pay damages of Rs 3 crore within a year. The British kept his two sons Abdul Khaliq and Muid-ud-Din till he paid the fine. Ruqaiya had also died at that time. It was a very sad time for Tipu. Tipu paid all the damages within a year, but the British took more than 2 years to release his sons.

Tipu did not give up

Tipu suffered a lot due to the war. Many soldiers were killed, fields and property were destroyed by the British with wars. So Tipu took care to make up for the loss. He established silkworm farming industries. He called artisans from other countries to train the people of his kingdom in ship making, cannon making and glassmaking. Tipu sent traders from place to place and promoted the export of spices, sandalwood and cloth. He promoted planting cash crops such as mango, coconut, pine, betel, sandalwood, and peepal trees.

Tipu’s love for books never waned. He built a good library and got scholars to get Persian translations of famous texts done. He fully agreed with the American Declaration of Independence.
The new Governor-General Richard Wellesley came to India in 1798. Due to his new instructions, the Indian kings were forced to keep British soldiers in their respective states, and Tipu refused to accept it.

At that time, many people had betrayed Tipu. They joined the British in the greed of money and reward. The most tragic betrayal was done by Mir Sadiq, the head of Tipu’s intelligence department. Wellesley accused Tipu of preparing for war. The British already had the support of the Marathas and the Nizams.

When Tipu Sultan died

The war started, and the fort of Srirangapatan was filled with the people of Red coats. Still, Tipu Sultan did not give up. He continued to fight with his soldiers. Tipu Sultan, who never gave up on his country, was martyred while fighting. That day was 4 May 1799. At that time, Tipu Sultan’s age was not even 48 years. After Tipu’s death, the British, Marathas and Nizamo divided Mysore among themselves.

Many historians say that Tipu Sultan was cruel and religious. At the same time, other historians believed that he treated all people equally. He also encouraged the children to teach. During the time of Tipu Sultan, Mysore was a symbol of unity, prosperity and peace.
Tipu’s symbol was a tiger. The tiger’s orange and black stripes adorned its flag and ensign. His throne, swords and cannon had the head of a tiger. Perhaps this was why Tipu Sultan is called the tiger of Mysore for killing his life for Mysore.
Had the walls spoken, the walls of the Mysore Fort would have narrated the stories of the bravery of Tipu Sultan.