Tippu Sultan

Context: The birth anniversary of Tippu Sultan was observed recently, bringing his contested legacy to the forefront of political discourse once again.

About Tippu Sultan:

• Tippu Sultan was born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tippu on November 10, 1750 in Devanahalli, present-day Bangalore.
• He was born to Hyder Ali, who rose through the ranks of the army of the Wodeyars, the then Hindu rulers of Mysore.
• Tipu Sultan was also known as the Tiger of Mysore.
• He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin.
• 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 Srirangapatna.
• He negotiated the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore with the British, ending the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
• Tipu’s conflicts with his neighbours included the Maratha–Mysore War, which ended with the signing of the Treaty of Gajendragad.
• In the Third Anglo-Mysore War, he was forced into the Treaty of Seringapatam, losing a number of previously conquered territories.
• In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, a combined force of British East India Company troops, supported by the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad defeated Tipu in 1799.

Contributions and conflicts associated with Tippu Sultan:

• He made regular endowments during this period to many Hindu temples, including the famed Ranganathaswami Temple at Srirangapatna.
• Many sources mention the appointment of Hindu officers in Tipu’s administration] and his land grants and endowments to Hindu temples, which are cited as evidence for his religious tolerance.
• Among the punishments Tipu applied to rebels or conspirators were forced conversion and the transfer of people from their home territories to Mysore.
• His religious legacy has become a source of controversy in India, with some groups proclaiming him a great warrior for the faith or Ghazi for both religious and political reasons.
• Various sources describe the massacres, imprisonment and forced conversion of Hindus (Kodavas of Coorg, Nair’s of Malabar) and Christians (Catholics of Mangalore), the destruction of churches and temples, and the clamping down on Muslims (Mappila of Kerala, the Mahdavia Muslims, the rulers of Savanur and the people of Hyderabad State), which are sometimes cited as evidence for his intolerance.

Reforms Introduced:

• Tippu is credited for the introduction of iron-cased rockets in warfare.
• Tippu Sultan introduced first modern war rockets in the Anglo Mysore Wars (though some sources say that it was his father Hyder Ali who introduced these and Tipu only improved upon existing models).
• Tipu Sultan also pioneered administrative and economic reforms.
  • coinage system:
  • Haidar Ali added pagodas on coins with Persian legends, always in the name of the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II.
  • His successor, Tipu Sultan, continued to issue pagodas, mohurs and rupees, with legends that were completely new.
  • As for copper, the new large paisa was commenced by Haidar Ali and was continued throughout the reign of Tipu Sultan, who added other denominations.
• He started a new land revenue system in Mysore, as well as introduced sericulture, which continues to employ many Kannadigas to date.

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Which one of the following statements does not apply to the system of Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley? (2018)

1. To maintain a large standing army at others expense
2. To keep India safe from Napoleonic danger
3. To secure a fixed income for the Company
4. To establish British paramountcy over the Indian States