HYDER ALI AND TIPPU SULTAN

HYDER  ALI 

AND 

TIPPU SULTAN

Hyder Ali Biography

Hyder Ali (1722-1782) was a great Indian general whose outstanding martial splendor saw him become the factual ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in south-western India. He married Fakhr-un-nissa (Fatima Begum), to become the father of the great warrior-ruler Tipu Sultan, where together they fought many a gallant battle opposing the British invasion in India.Haidar Ali is believed to have been born in 1722, while other sources state 1717 as his year of birth. 

He was born into a devout Shia Muslim family, his great-grandfather being a fakir from Gulbarga in the Deccan. Coming from a military lineage, Hyder’s father was a naik (chief constable), while his brother served as a commander of a brigade in the Mysore army. Assisting his brother, young Hyder slowly learnt the art of warfare over the years, to then infuse his own military brilliance into operations, eventually rising from his humble roots into a ruler of the Hindu state of Mysore.

An adventurous warrior and a great strategist by nature, Hyder Ali is accredited as being the first Indian to have formed to a corps of armed sepoys backed by a artillery base comprising European sailors. His contribution during the siege of Devanhalli (1749) earned him an independent control from the Raja of Mysore, which, over the years he strengthened to gain power, thus becoming the practical ruler of Mysore in 1761.Hence began Haidar Ali’s several conquests to expand the dominions of his kingdom which included the wealthy conquest of Kanara (1763), the conquest of Calicut, and the quashing of the Hindus at the Malabar Coast in 1765, avenging himself against the Marathas. The 1766 agreement of alliance between the Madras Presidency and the Nizam of Hyderabad against Hyder Ali fell through with the British fighting battles at Chengam and Tiruvannamalai against united forces however, prevailed.

Following a rebuke in the peace pr

opositions owing to Hyder’s severe losses on the western coast, he moved his army to the outskirts of Madras, thus resulting in the treaty of defensive alliance and mutual restitution of all conquests in 1769. When the British breached the faith of the treaty resulting in his loss against the Marathas in 1772, Hyder Ali avenged it by seizing Mahe from the French in 1779 and then completely devastated a British force 1780, led by Colonel Baillie in the invasion of the Carnatic region. The British bounced back with all their might in 1781, and Hyder Ali faced three successive defeats against Sir Eyre Coote and the capture of Nagapattinam by the British fleet.

Hyder Ali breathed his last at Chittoor in December 1782, however, his son Tipu Sultan, continued his father’s legacy and unrelentingly wagered on the battle against the rivaling British.

Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu,[2] 20 November 1750 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tipu Sahib,[3] was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali of Mysore.[4] Tipu Sultan introduced a number of administrative innovations during his rule,[5] including his coinage, a new Mauludi lunisolar calendar,[6] and a new land revenue system which initiated the growth of the Mysore silk industry.[7] He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin, and is considered a pioneer in the use of rocket artillery.[8] He deployed the rockets against advances of British forces and their allies during the Anglo-Mysore Wars, including the Battle of Pollilur and Siege of Seringapatam. He also embarked on an ambitious economic development program that established Mysore as a major economic power, with some of the world's highest real wages and living standards in the late 18th century.[







Early years
Childhood

Tippu Birthplace, Devanahalli

Tipu Sultan confronts his opponents during the Siege of Srirangapatna.
Tipu Sultan was born on 20 November 1750 (Friday, 20th Dhu al-Hijjah, 1163 AH) at Devanahalli,[1] in present-day Bangalore Rural district, about 33 km (21 mi) north of Bangalore city. He was named "Tipu Sultan" after the saint Tipu Mastan Aulia of Arcot. Being illiterate, Hyder was very particular in giving his eldest son a prince's education and a very early exposure to military and political affairs. From the age of 17 Tipu was given independent charge of important diplomatic and military missions. He was his father's right arm in the wars from which Hyder emerged as the most powerful ruler of southern Indi

Tipu Sultan was instructed in military tactics by French officers in the employment of his father. At age 15, he accompanied his father against the British in the First Mysore War in 1766. He commanded a corps of cavalry in the invasion of Carnatic in 1767 at age 16. He also distinguished himself in the First Anglo-Maratha War of 1775–1779.[1


Second Anglo-Mysore War
Main article: Second Anglo-Mysore War
In 1779, the British captured the French-controlled port of Mahé, which Tipu had placed under his protection, providing some troops for its defence. In response, Hyder launched an invasion of the Carnatic, with the aim of driving the British out of Madras.[20] During this campaign in September 1780, Tipu Sultan was dispatched by Hyder Ali with 10,000 men and 18 guns to intercept Colonel Baillie who was on his way to join Sir Hector Munro. In the Battle of Pollilur, Tipu decisively defeated Baillie. Out of 360 Europeans, about 200 were captured alive, and the sepoys, who were about 3800 men, suffered very high casualties. Munro was moving south with a separate force to join Baillie, but on hearing the news of the defeat he was forced to retreat to Madras, abandoning his artillery in a water tank at Kanchipuram.[21]





Mural of the Battle of Pollilur on the walls of Tipu's summer palace, painted to celebrate his triumph over the British
Tipu Sultan defeated Colonel Braithwaite at Annagudi near Tanjore on 18 February 1782. Braithwaite's forces, consisting of 100 Europeans, 300 cavalry, 1400 sepoys and 10 field pieces, was the standard size of the colonial armies. Tipu Sultan seized all the guns and took the entire detachment prisoner. In December 1781 Tipu Sultan successfully seized Chittur from the British. Tipu Sultan had thus gained sufficient military experience by the time Hyder Ali died on Friday, 6 December 1782

In 1789, Tipu Sultan disputed the acquisition by Dharma Raja of Travancore of two Dutch-held fortresses in Cochin. In December 1789 he massed troops at Coimbatore, and on 28 December made an attack on the lines of Travancore, knowing that Travancore was (according to the Treaty of Mangalore) an ally of the British East India Company.[citation needed] On account of the staunch resistance by the Travancore army, Tipu was unable to break through the Tranvancore lines and the Maharajah of Travancore appealed to the East India Company for help. In response, Lord Cornwallis mobilised company and British military forces, and formed alliances with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad to oppose Tipu. In 1790 the company forces advanced, taking control of much of the Coimbatore district.[citation needed] Tipu counterattacked, regaining much of the territory, although the British continued to hold Coimbatore itself. He then descended into the Carnatic, eventually reaching Pondicherry, where he attempted without success to draw the French into the conflict.[citation needed]


General Lord Cornwallis, receiving two of Tipu Sultan's sons as hostages in the year 1793.

In 1791 his opponents advanced on all fronts, with the main British force under Cornwallis taking Bangalore and threatening Srirangapatna. Tipu harassed the British supply and communication and embarked on a "scorched earth" policy of denying local resources to the invaders.[citation needed] In this last effort he was successful, as the lack of provisions forced Cornwallis to withdraw to Bangalore rather than attempt a siege of Srirangapatna. Following the withdrawal, Tipu sent forces to Coimbatore, which they retook after a lengthy siege.[citation needed]

The 1792 campaign was a failure for Tipu. The allied army was well-supplied, and Tipu was unable to prevent the junction of forces from Bangalore and Bombay before Srirangapatna.[citation needed] After about two weeks of siege, Tipu opened negotiations for terms of surrender. In the ensuing treaty, he was forced to cede half his territories to the allies,[18] and deliver two of his sons as hostages until he paid in full three crores and thirty lakhs rupees fixed as war indemnity to the British for the campaign against him. He paid the amount in two instalments and got back his sons from Madras.[citation needed]

Death
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
Main article: Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

Umdat ul-Umara the Nawab of the Carnatic was a covert ally of Tipu Sultan.

The Last Effort and Fall of Tipu Sultan by Henry Singleton, c. 1800

The spot in Srirangapatana where Tipu's body was found

Horatio Nelson defeated François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers at the Battle of the Nile in Egypt in 1798. Three armies marched into Mysore in 1799—one from Bombay and two British, one of which included Arthur Wellesley.[citation needed] They besieged the capital Srirangapatna in the Fourth Mysore War.[36] There were more than 26,000 soldiers of the British East India Company, approximately 4,000 Europeans and the rest Indians. A column was supplied by the Nizam of Hyderabad consisting of ten battalions and more than 16,000 cavalry, and many soldiers were sent by the Marathas. Thus, the soldiers in the British force numbered more than 50,000, whereas Tipu Sultan had only about 30,000.[citation needed]

The British broke through the city walls, and French military advisers told Tipu Sultan[citation needed] to escape via secret passages, but he replied, "Better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep".[37] Tipu Sultan died defending his capital on 4 May.[citation needed]

Tipu Sultan was killed at the Hoally (Diddy) Gateway, which was located 300 yards (270 m) from the N.E. Angle of the Srirangapatna Fort.[38] He was buried the next afternoon at the Gumaz, next to the grave of his father. Many members of the British East India Company believed that Nawab of Carnatic Umdat Ul-Umra secretly provided assistance to Tipu Sultan during the war and sought his deposition after 1799