Tipu Sultan- A forgotten history of the tiger of Mysore

Tipu Sultan, the de facto ruler of Mysore, is possibly one of the most extraordinary rulers of India. For starters, those of us who have read, Wings of Fire, by Dr. A.P. J Abdul Kalam, probably got the first stroke of our knowledge about the genius of the man whose picture hangs in NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia. Reason? He is supposed to be the man who has pioneered the technology of War rockets.

He was from a humble background yet his father, Hyder Ali educated him well while also training him in all sorts of combat arts. Tipu Sultan could speak Arabic, French, Kannada, Persian and English fluently. His royal library contained 40,000 books.

Tipu was a devout muslim yet he was kind and considerate towards his hindu subjects. On the request of the French, he also constructed the first church in Mysore. Tipu donated generously to the Hindu temples and gave alms to the brahmins. A linga donated by him to the Nanjagud temple is worshipped till today.

If you have been to Bangalore, you've probably visited Lalbagh. Both Tipu and his dad were ardent nature lovers. Lal Bagh was made by Hyder Ali by procuring several plants from Delhi, Multan and Lahore. Tipu further extended it by planting specimens from France, Turkey and China. Three mango trees planted by him bear fruit even today.

Tipu Sultan died in the battle field while defending Sriangapatna, in the fourth Anglo Mysore war in 1799. He was himself quite capable of defeating the British, but by making use of the policy of divde and rule, the British took the support of the Hyderabad Nizams, the Marathas and the rulers of Travancore and Coorg, against Tipu. It's true when two monkeys fight, the cat benefits. The British, wallowed in cream, by turning the Indian rulers against each other. After his death, his capital was razed to the ground and his relics destroyed. His war rockets were seized by the British and were renamed Congreve, after William Congreve, a subaltern who had fought Tipu in 1799.

That is how the legacy of this great man died with his death. It is sad that we and our government have not given this man honor and recognition like he deserved. The circle which faces the main gate of the Srirangapatna fort is named after a former minister. Very close to it, is the Masjid-e.Ala, where Tipu moved and commanded his soldiers to do-or-die for the freedom of India.

Bahadur Shah II - What if

It is said, when destiny calls, you must answer. In the history of India, there was a man whom destiny literally screamed at, come and get me! Unfortunately, this man, Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor of India, did not listen to his destiny. And he died an unhappy man.


During the Revolt of 1857, Indian soldiers charged to Delhi, rallied around Bahadur Shah and proclaimed him the Shahenshah-i-Hindustan. Even the other Kings of India wanted Bahadur Shah to become the emperor of India and liberate them from the British. Every rebel leader raised the banner of revolt in his name.


Obviously, this made Bahadur Shah an eyesore for the British who launched a military attack against him. Bahadur Shah prepared his counter attacks under the able guidance of Subedar Bakht Khan who defeated the British in successive attacks. Bahadur Shah also asked help from the Sikhs, but unfortunately the Sikhs were so poisoned against him by Sir John Lawrence, the Chief Commissioner of Punjab, that they instead sided with the British.


At one stage in the ongoing onslaughts against the British, Bakht Khan asked Bahadur Shah to come along with him for a new kind of a strategic attack on the British. Unfortunately, Bahadur Shah, who listened to Elahi Baksh, a man bought by the British, refused. By refusing to go with Bakht Khan, the Emperor sealed his fate and also the fate of the country. Elahi Baksh further helped the British in capturing Bahadur Shah who tried him and sentenced him to life imprisonment. They humiliated him by making him live in poverty at Red Fort and making him a peep show for the European Visitors. They finally exiled him to Rangoon in October 1858 where he died in 1862.

Bahadur Shah being taken as a prisoner by the British
(Picture courtesy : Wikipedia)

As a father, he lived to experience the death of his sons and grandsons, in animal like fashion by the British. Also, Captain Hudson who caught hold of the three royal princes after capture of Bahadur Shah, stripped them and shot them dead. He also beheaded and presented their severed heads to the emperor with the remark, "Here is the company's Nazar (tribute) to you which had not been presented for years."

Bahadur Shah, during his life imprisonment. 
(Picture courtesy : Wikipedia)

In exile at Rangoon, Bahadur Shah longed to be back home and wrote poetry which has kept his memories alive even today. Zafar was his adopted poetic sobriquet.


It would not be wrong to state that he died, eventually of a heart break.


This is his poem written on his epitaph- it beautifully expresses the pain of the man.


My heart is not happy in this despoiled land.
Who has ever felt fulfilled in this transient world.
Tell these emotions to go dwell elsewhere.
Where is there space for them in this besmirched heart?
The nightingale laments neither to the gardener nor to the hunter.
Imprisonment was written in fate in the season of spring.
I had requested for a long life, a life of four days.
Two passed by in pining, and two in waiting.
How unlucky is Zafar! For burial
Even two yards of land were not to be had, in the land (of the) beloved.