The Tiger Of Mysore - Hazrath Tipu Sultan (November 10, 1750, Devanhalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapatnam, Karnataka)

 Hazrath Tipu Sultan, also known as the The Tiger of Mysore (November 10 1750, Devanhalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapatnam) Also known as Sultan Fateh Ali Tipu He was the first son of Hyder Ali by his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-nissa. His full name is Sultan Fateh Ali Khan Shahab or Tipu Saheb Tipu Sultan. He ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from the time of his father's death in 1782 until his own demise in 1799. Tipu was a learned man and an able soldier. He was reputed to be a good poet. He was also a strongly religious man, and practised the Sunni branch of Islam.

Hazrath Tipu Sultan was born at Devanahalli, in present-day Bangalore District, some 33 km (21 miles) North of Bangalore city  Near to Nandi Hills. he was born on 10th November 1750 (Friday, 10^th Dhu al-Hijjah, 1163 AH).

Hazrath Tipu Sultan was a farsighted person who could foresee East India Company's design to get entrenched in India. He therefore negotiated with the French for help and also sought assistance from the Amir of Afghanistan and the Sultan of Turkey. The British were scared of Tipu's growing strength and after their defeat in 1783 they formed an alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad and Marhattas. The French, however, deserted Tipu after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The British availed the chance with the help of the Nizam and the Marathas, and started the third Anglo-Mysore war in 1790.  Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, in his Tipu Sultan Shaheed Memorial Lecture in Bangalore (30 November 1991), called Tipu Sultan the innovator of the world’s first war rocket. Two of these rockets, captured by the British at Srirangapatna, are displayed in the Woolwich Museum Artillery in London.It was only after Tipu's death that the technology eventually reached Europe.


 Besides Hazrath Tipu's grand legacy, he also left behind royal memoirs that include his exquisitely ornamented weaponry, the mechanical 'Tippu's tiger', his golden 'tiger-head' throne, Tipu's coinage, as well as the famous engraved royal 'Sword of Tipu Sultan' which he fiercely possessed until after he breathed his last. The majestic Sword has even undergone numerous international possession controversies, to finally being brought back to India for public display by industrialist Dr.Vijay Mallya, after nearly two centuries, "The Sword of  Tipu Sultan" Produced By Sanjay Khan and Directed Sanjay Khan & Akbar Khan ( Acted by Sanjay Khan as Tipu Sultan and Shahbaz Khan as Hyder Ali ) received a very good response by the viewers.The Television serial was first telecast in the Hindi / Urdu language on the Doordarshan channel in the year 1990.
The royal sword even has numerous documentaries and television serials created after it that portray the life of Tipu Sultan. Also famous is Tipu's construction of the 'Daria Daulat Bagh', his summer palace, which is now a national monument and a tourist hotspot. Hazrath  Tipu Sultan's patriotic spirit burned brightly within the hearts of future Indian freedom fighters, paving the path for overthrowing the British Rule in the years to come.

 

Hazrath Tipu Sultan was unsuccessful in preventing his neighbours allying themselves with the British, and was defeated in the Fourth Mysore War by their combined forces. He died defending his capital Srirangapatnam, on May 4, 1799.

Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis receiving Hazrath Tipu  Sultan’s sons as hostages (Robert Home, circa 1793, exhibited at the Royal Academy 1797.) (http://footguards00.tripod.com/09GALLERY/Art/09_cornw-tipu.htm)