20 November 2020 marks the 270th birth anniversary of the eighteenth-century Muslim ruler Tipu Sultan. He was born on 20 November 1750 in Devanhalli, Karnataka. Tipu Sultan is considered one of the prominent figures in Indian history. He became the ruler of Mysore on 7 December 1782 after the death of his father Hyder Ali. It is said that Tipu Sultan had learned all the arts of war at a very young age and he became proficient in martial arts at a very young age.
As the eldest son of Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore, Tipu Sultan ascended the throne in 1782 after his father's death. As a ruler, he implemented many innovations in his administration and also expanded the iron-based Mysorean rocket, which was later used against the British forces.
Tipu Sultan is considered to be one of India's first freedom fighter for his fierce fight against the British, who tried to conquer territories under Sultan's rule.
Here are some interesting facts about Tipu Sultan:
1. Tipu Sultan's father Hyder Ali was a military officer of the Kingdom of Mysore in South India who came to power in 1761 as the de facto ruler of Mysore. Hyder Ali was not educated but still, he taught his son Tipu Sultan.
2. At the age of 15, Tipu Sultan supported his father in the first battle of Mysore against the British in 1766. Hyder Ali became a powerful ruler throughout South India and Tipu Sultan played an important role in his father's many successful military campaigns.
3. Tipu Sultan was also known as the 'Tiger of Mysore'. There's an interesting story behind this. It is said that once Tipu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. The duo was attacked by a Tiger. As a result, his gun fell to the ground. Without fearing the Tiger, he picked up the gun and killed the tiger. Since then, he is known as "Tiger of Mysore".
4.Tipu Sultan maintained hostility even after losing several territories. In 1799, the East India Company, along with the Marathas and the Nizams, attacked Mysore, the fourth Anglo-Mysore war, in which the British captured Srirangapatnam, the capital of Mysore, and killed Tipu Sultan.
5. During his reign, Tipu Sultan fought three main wars:
(a). The first battle of Tipu Sultan was the Second Anglo-Mysore in which he succeeded and the Treaty of Mangalore was signed.
(b). The Third Anglo-Mysore War was against the British army. The war ended with the Treaty of Srirangapatna and Tipu Sultan was defeated in it. As a result, he had to leave half of his territories for the other signatories as well as the British East India Company, representatives of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maratha Empire.
(c). The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War took place in 1799. It was also against the British Army and Tipu Sultan was killed during the war.
6. Tipu Sultan belongs to Sunni Islam religion. The weight of his sword is about 7 kg 400 grams with Tiger carved on it. In 2003, Vijay Mallya bought his sword for 21 crores from the auction.
7. The former President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam called Tipu Sultan the innovator of the world's first war rocket. The rocket he invented is still kept in a museum in London.
8. Tipu Sultan was very fond of gardening and thus established the 40-acre Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore.
9- Tipu Sultan was considered the most powerful ruler in the British era and his death was celebrated in Britain. The kind of loot mentioned in the famous British novel 'Moonstone' was seen in Srirangapatnam after the death of Tipu Sultan.
10- Tipu Sultan wrote a book 'Khwabnama' in which he mentions about his dreams where he used to search for signs and pictures about the results of his fight.
Tipu Sultan fought many wars against the British, defended his kingdom fully and died while fighting in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War on 4 May 1799.
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