A review of the book 'Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum (1760-1799)' written by Vikram Sampath.
Meticulously researched, authoritative and unputdownable, Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum (1760-1799) written by Dr. Vikram Sampath opens a window to the life and times of one of the most debated figures from India's history.
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Coming up: A review of the book 'Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum (1760-1799)' written by Vikram Sampath.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
Dr. Vikram Sampath is a historian based in Bangalore. He is the author of ten acclaimed books, including Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars, Voice of the Veena: S. Balachander, Women of the Records, and Indian Classical Music and the Gramophone, 1900─1930. His two-volume biography of V. D. Savarkar, Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past, 1881─1924 and Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, 1924─1966, Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History and Waiting for Shiva: Unearthing the Truth of Kashi’s Gyan Vapi, have all gone on to become national bestsellers.
In 2021, Vikram was elected a fellow of the prestigious Royal Historical Society. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi’s first Yuva Puraskar in English literature and the ARSC International Award for excellence in historical research in New York for his book My Name Is Gauhar Jaan: The Life and Times of a Musician.
Vikram was among four writers and artists selected as writers-in-residence at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2015. He has a doctorate in history and music from the University of Queensland, Australia, and was a senior research fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. He was also a fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and Eisenhower Fellowships 2020 and a visiting fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. Currently, he is an adjunct senior fellow at Monash University, Australia.
Vikram is the founder of the Archive of Indian Music (AIM) and the Foundation for Indian Historical and Cultural Research (FIHCR).
Let me read a brief description of the book:
QUOTE
Over two centuries have passed since his death on 4 May 1799, yet Tipu Sultan's contested legacy continues to perplex India and her contemporary politics. A fascinating and enigmatic figure in India's military past, he remains a modern historian's biggest puzzle as he simultaneously means different things to different people, depending on how one chooses to look at his life and its events.
Tipu's ascent to power was accidental. His father Haidar Ali was a beneficiary of the benevolence of the Maharaja of Mysore. But in a series of fascinating events, the Machiavellian Haidar ran with the hare and hunted with the hounds; he ended up overthrowing his own benefactor and usurping the throne of Mysore from the Wodeyars in 1761. In a war-scarred life, father and son led Mysore through four momentous battles against the British, termed the Anglo-Mysore Wars. The first two, led by Haidar, brought the English East India Company to its knees. Chasing the enemy to the very gates of Madras, Haidar made the British sign such humiliating terms of treaties that sent shockwaves back in London.
In the hubris of this success, Tipu obtained the kingdom on a platter, unlike his father, who worked up the ranks to achieve glory. In a diabolical war thirst, Tipu launched lethal attacks on Malabar, Mangalore, Travancore, Coorg, and left behind a trail of death, destruction and worse, mass-conversions and the desecration of religious places of worship. While he was an astute administrator and a brave soldier, the strategic tact with opponents and the diplomatic balance that Haidar had sought to maintain with the Hindu majority were both dangerously upset by Tipu's foolhardiness on matters of faith. The social report card of this eighteenth-century ruler was anything but clean. And yet, one simply cannot deny his position as a renowned military warrior and one of the most powerful rulers of Southern India.
Meticulously researched, authoritative and unputdownable, Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum (1760-1799) opens a window to the life and times of one of the most debated figures from India's history.
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One of the strengths of this book is how Sampath contextualizes Tipu Sultan's rule within the larger narrative of colonialism in India. He examines the complex dynamics of the power struggles between various Indian kingdoms and the British East India Company, illustrating how Tipu's determination to protect his kingdom was intertwined with the shifting allegiances and rivalries of the time.
The narrative is enriched by Sampath's descriptive prose, bringing to life the battles, political intrigues, and cultural milieu of Mysore. His attention to detail allows us readers to visualize significant events, such as the siege of Srirangapatna and the diplomatic maneuvers that characterized Tipu's interactions with other Indian rulers, especially the Marathas and the Nizam on one side and the British on the other.
I would like to present a few extracts from the book which I think are really worth knowing:
1. Though himself illiterate, Haidar strove to get his sons educated. However, Haidar was deeply disappointed by the quality of education that was being imparted to his son, as he was to discover accidentally. Hayavadana Rao writes about this episode:
QUOTE
Haidar, who lamented more deeply than we will ever be able to discern or measure, the lack of education in himself, not only encouraged Mullahs for teaching the elements of Persian and Hindustani, but also, what is more interesting, entrusted the care of Tipu, his son and successor, to a duly qualified Muslim teacher. His attempt at educating Tipu in the traditional mode is a chapter of history by itself. It is said that Tipu’s teacher was never questioned by Haidar as to the progress made by the boy for many years, at the end of which period, he one day conducted a public examination of Tipu. This showed that the boy had not obtained the training required for a soldier’s son; instead, he made everything that would be requisite to turn him into a good Moulvie. Haidar’s displeasure knew no bounds and he exclaimed, much in the strain of Aurangzib, that his boy had not been taught in the things that would make him a great and good ruler. He had not been taught; he thundered forth, the modes of warfare he should know, the manner of conquering countries or conducting diplomacy with the surrounding nations, or even the duties of kingship. Instead, Haidar protested, everything requisite for converting him into a religious zealot had been done and his mind filled with notions and fancies which had made him hate everything not connected with Islam. Everything indeed had been done, concluded Haidar in his anger, to ruin his family and his kingdom and nothing to advance either.
UNQUOTE
2. On 3 May, 1786, Tipu issued his famous proclamation or manifesto. The manifesto was like an article of faith of his Sarkar-e-Khudadad, its policy towards believers and infidels and how each category needed to be treated. It seems like a manifesto both for war as well as peacetimes, including for Muslims living in kingdoms ruled by infidels. Declaring a holy war or jihad against the infidels, Tipu proclaimed at length, quoting verses generously from the Quran. This manifesto has been mentioned in detail spread over almost three pages.
3. Tipu developed particular suspicion for the Hindus, especially the Brahmins, as Kirmani records:
QUOTE
As the Sultan had a great aversion to Brahmuns [sic], Hindus and other tribes, he did not consider any but the people of Islam his friends, and therefore, on all accounts his chief object was to promote and provide for them. He accordingly selected a number of Mussulmans who could scarcely read and write, and appointed them Mirzas of the treasury departments and placed one over each of the other accountants to the end that the accounts might be submitted by them to him in the Persian language, and in the extent of his dominions, in every Purgana by his orders was placed an Asof [Magistrate] and in the towns yielding a revenue of five thousands … pagodas, one Amil [collector], one Serishtadar, one Ameen and one Mujmoodar, all Mussulmans.
UNQUOTE
Conclusion:
Readers like me who have read the author's previous work titled “Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars” will feel a sense of deja vu reading this book. In fact, I think the narration of Tipu’s end, especially the reaction of the British officers after they came to know that Tipu is no more, was narrated in a better way in the previous book than in this book.
Overall, "Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum" is a landmark publication which is exhaustively researched, engagingly written, and critically important for understanding not just Tipu Sultan but also the broader canvas of 18th-century India.
I give this book 4.5/5.
The book is currently available in Hardcover and Kindle formats, and it is yet to be made available in Paperback and Audible formats. I have given the respective buy links in the show notes. Please check them out for the latest prices.
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