Short Description
In the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, there is a gallery which houses imperial artifacts from the British Raj. In a prominent section of the gallery that was opened by none other than Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, there is a collection of artifacts from Tipu Sultan of Mysore.
In the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, there is a gallery which houses imperial artifacts from the British Raj. In a prominent section of the gallery that was opened by none other than Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, there is a collection of artifacts from Tipu Sultan of Mysore. The plaques attached to the artifacts pay glowing tribute to the Tiger of Mysore as a worthy foe who earned the respect of his enemies through his valor and undaunted courage.
Alas, the name of Tipu commands more respect in the museums of the British who fought him than in his homeland for which he laid down his life. The Sword of Tipu kept the British Empire at bay for forty years. He chose martyrdom over surrender, showing a path of dignity for his countrymen to follow. He is justly the First Freedom Fighter of India.
I have covered at length the life and times of Tipu Sultan in elsewhere in this Encyclopedia (www.historyofislam.com). Here I will highlight a few observations on his fight for his country.
Tipu’s father, Hyder Ali Khan, was a brilliant soldier who rose through the ranks in the Mysore army to become the de-facto ruler of the state. India was in turmoil at this time. The Mughal Empire was weak and was ruled by incompetent monarchs. In 1739, the Persian Nadir Shah invaded India and carried off the peacock throne. The Maratha armies moved up north to fill the political vacuum created by the Persian invasion and carried their sway all the way to Lahore. In 1757, the British occupied Bengal. In 1761, the Marathas were defeated by Ahmed Shah Abdali of Kabul at the Third Battle of Panipet. The aftermath of the Third Battle of Panipet created opportunities for new entrants at the periphery of the Maratha empire. It is in the political context that we have to understand the emergence of Hyder Ali in Mysore and the Sikhs in Central Punjab.
There emerged four contestants for power in Southern India. The Nizam was an appointee of the Moghul emperor. He governed the richest of the Moghul provinces consisting of what are today Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and large parts of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. The Nizam’s dominions had three subdivisions: Hyderabad, Arcot (modern Tamil Nadu) and Sira (old Mysore State). The second contestant was the Maratha Empire. Although they suffered a reversal at the Third Battle of Panipet, they remained the dominant power in Central and Western India. Based in Sitara-Poona, the southern reaches of the empire nominally extended to the Cauvery River. The third contestant was the East India Company which emerged as the dominant European power after outmaneuvering the French. The fourth was Hyder Ali of Mysore.
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Source:
http://historyofislam.com/contents/the-modern-age/muslim-contributions-to-indias-freedom-struggle-a-different-narrative/
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