Tipu Sultan and the story after death

Tipu Sultan (1750-1799) was the de-facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. His full name was Sultan Fateh Ali , Tipu ascended the throne of his father after his death in 1782 In addition to his role as ruler, he was a scholar, soldier, and poet, Tippu was fluent in Persian, Arabic, Kannada, English and French, and the royal library had 40,000 books.

Tiger of Mysore
Tipu was commonly known as the 'Tiger of Mysore' and adopted this animal as the symbol of his rule. It is said that Tipu Sultan was hunting in the forest with a French friend. He came face to face with a tiger. His gun did not work, and his dagger fell on the ground as the tiger jumped on him. He reached for the dagger, picked it up, and killed the tiger with it. That earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore"

He even had French engineers build a mechanical tiger for his palace. The device, known as Tipu's Tiger, is on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not only did Tipu place relics of tigers around his palace and domain, he also had the emblem of a tiger on his banners and even on some arms and weapons.

Tipu Sultan - innovations in the use of rocketry

Tipu was a pioneer in modernising his army too. After the Third Mysore War, as a war strategist, he engaged French technicians to improve upon existing weaponry and develop new ones. After the fall of Tipu Sultan, his rockets were taken to England. They were renamed Congreve (after William Congreve who, as a subaltern, had fought Tipu in 1799) rockets and introduced in the British service in 1806.

President Abdul Kalam in his autobiography, Wings of Fire, says Tipu was revered in America too, and recalls his own experience at NASA. He had been to the Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island in East Coast, Virginia, which was a base of NASA's sounding rocket programme, and had seen a painting displayed prominently in the lobby there. It depicted a battle scene with rockets flying in the background. Later, he came to know it was Tipu Sultan's army fighting the British. He writes: "The painting depicted a fact forgotten in Tipu's own country but commemorated here on the other side of the planet. I was happy to see an Indian glorified by NASA as a hero of warfare rocketry".

Tipu introduced a new calendar, new coinage, and seven new government departments,
during his reign, and made military innovations in the use of rocketry.


Tipu Sultan is the only king who died on the battlefield.
"To this day, Tipu remains a hero to Indians everywhere".

The story after tipu sultan was killed in 1799
Place on the banks on Cauvery River in Srirangapatnam where Tippu’s body was found. Presently it is a protected monument by Archeological Survey of India. A close-up view of the battleground where Tippu’s body was found. The plaque was placed by the archaeological department.

Sword of Tippu Sultan
Tippu Sultan had lost his sword in a war with the Nairs of Travancore in which, he was defeated. The Nairs under the leadership of Raja Kesavadas, defeated the Mysore army near Aluva. The Maharaja, Dharma Raja, gifted the famous sword to the Nawab of Arcot, from where the sword went to London. The sword was on display at the Wallace Collection, No. 1 Manchester Square, London. At an auction in London in 2004, the industrialist-politician Vijay Mallya purchased the sword of Tippu Sultan and some other historical artifacts, and brought them back to India for public display after nearly two centuries.

Tipu Sultan's family
Tipu, the king of Mysore, was defeated and killed at Srirangapatanam (near Bangalore) by the British army in 1799.

Tipu Sultan's family was sent to Calcutta by the British. A descendent of one of Tipu Sultan's uncles Noor Inayat Khan was a British Special Operations Executive agent during the Second World War, murdered in the German Dachau concentration camp in 1944.

Tipu was the grandfather of Husain Shah's great grandfather Anwar Shah, who has a major thoroughfare named after him in Kolkata.

"After Tipu was killed by the British in Mysore, his 12 sons and relatives, a group of 300 people, were sent to Kolkata, so as to prevent the family from becoming a rallying point of revolt against British rule," Husain Shah told IANS in an interview.

Tipu sultan fort

Tipu Sultan Fort was initially built by Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore. The fort was later extended by Tipu Sultan, the Emperor of Mysore. Situated near the City Market, the fort dates back to the year 1537. It was here that Hyder Ali, the father of Tipu Sultan, imprisoned David Baird, along with a number of other army officers of the British. The Fort stands as a witness to the struggle of the Mysore Emperor against the British domination. After the death of Tipu sultan, the palace was used by the British as their secretariat, till the year 1867.


Tipu sultan tomb
Tipu Sultan built Gumbaz in the midst of Lal Bagh, a beautiful garden. He built tombs for his father Hyder Ali and mother Fathima Begam (Fakr-Un-Nisa) in Gumbaz.The tomb of Tipu Sultan was added to Gumbaz after he died.You can also find the tombs of other family members of Hyder Ali in the open veranda and surroundings.



The treasure found - 4th may 2009
Sweeping through a musty palace room, researchers are amazed to find the silk outfit Tipu Sultan wore the day he died fighting the British

Researchers have stumbled upon a priceless piece of history in a dump: the quilted kurta-like dress warrior-king Tipu Sultan wore the day he died fighting the British

The silk garment, with Tipu's bloodstains, lay in a room full of old papers and discarded furniture at the palace in Srirangapatna,

Tipu's war costume including a kurta-like wardress, saddle on which Tipu sat during his final battle, his silver and gold coins, his prayer beads and personal copy of the Koran were among the treasures recently discovered in the dumps at Gunjam in  Srirangapatna where Tipu's mausoleum is situated, around 200 years after his death in 1799.

Why it's worth Rs 30 crore
In 2004, beer baron Vijay Mallya bought a sword belonging to Tipu at an auction for about Rs 1.5 crore. Tipu's war dress would fetch at least Rs 30 crore if it ever got to the auction market, a historian said. "The sword was one among 13 Tipu used, he said," requesting anonymity. "This dress has much greater value since it was on Tipu's person when he died, and there can be only one of its kind." Clothes worn by war heroes are hardly ever found when they die in dramatic and violent circumstances, he said.


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Rama Devi 29th May 2011 09:37:AM

this is very useful article to us about history of tipu sultan


Rajputana 06th Feb 2014 22:54:PM

Great Heroes live forever and remembered forever. He was one out of such great freedom fighters , a true nationalist and a legendary warrior. Tell me , how old was the dynasty of Mysore and how many Kinds ruled Mysore and today who is being remembered the most , of-course it is Shair e Maysore Sultan Fateh Ali Tippu Sahib Bahadur . Such great people are born once in a thousand years and he was one of his kind in the whole Indian Sub-continent.


santhosh mudaliar 31st Dec 2013 15:20:PM

if you were born by that time, you would have been forcibly converted in to islam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysorean_invasion_of_Kerala


santhosh mudaliar 31st Dec 2013 15:16:PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysorean_invasion_of_Kerala


Rajendra 02nd Nov 2013 00:22:AM

If anyone wants to criticise Tipu sultan he should tell what he would do if he was in the place of tipu.Different historians write history.British plundered india.some british made some good things.like wise.british did not kill tipu on direct attack they made mir sadhik a traitor to kill tipu.Donot post comments against our kings who are brave.Tipu sultan is called the sher of mysore not even one british has like that name.I think why i have not born at that time following Tipu sultan to kill atleast one dirty british general.Vandemataram.


read.. 07th Oct 2013 12:21:PM

Tippu sultan was one of the bedt warrior or commander.and som hd mentioned all as selfish ruler ..if it ws so tippu could hv build a better palace ..could hv allied wit british ..n could hv njoyd the life of jwellery rather than takin up the sword against ..he kept goof terms with mughal.n Napoleon. intruduced new techiniques ..as he coukd forsee the effect of british in.later periods ..n one mre thing stil govrnmnt does nt recognis thr condition of his descedents who hv been suffering n.nobdy see tht .n some historians judg him wrngly cos thos upperclas njoymnts of booz n galz wer punishd by tippu ..n taught to respct gals .n if he ws against non.muslim it ws nt a big deal fr him to demolish the tempk in his door steps in.mysre wich still ther..so respct him ad man who faught fr freedom n hu cared for kids n girls. n who introduced nrw techniqued n.the ruler who respctd ..all religion ..n who was nt brhind luxury wich is evident from his intrest in.library n science.n to evn in a treaty he hd given.his sons to british ws nt tht anuf to prov his quality ..love fr his people .nt to.money or luxury thos kings hu njoyd by allying wit britisj


indian 07th Oct 2013 12:18:PM

its to prasad ..n u were talkin about 1000 temples ryt.. he hd giftd n protrcted around 156 temples ..n am a keralite n u told abt kerala invasion tipu ws written wrngly by the upper class litrates durin those tyms cos tippu punished n chngd the rule tht existed lik .lower class ladies where forced by tippu to cover thr upper body ..n n existed a custom.of ladies matin wit mre membrs in family .n thus customs were erased by tippu n.punished fr such unethical things ..n since upper clase literates lost al ther pleasire they ran to southern kerala where they cn.njoy n strtd to defam tippu ..


shahin 01st Aug 2013 21:48:PM

I m not a fan of Tipu ,but I m disagree that Tipu attacked temples and broke them. If he was unorthodox Muslim. As well as having an ill feeling for Hindus god and goddess, nobody would see a temple in front of Tipu palace. Which palace was collapsed by British after his martyrdom 1799. Today a babri mosque was demolished and u saw result. What will happen if a Muslim will demolish a temple in Hindu majority country India. So respect your legacy, culture, history, u stupid Indians!


Dr Sreejith MD KERALA 21st Jun 2013 02:14:AM

I am a fan of the great hero Tippu. He considered all religion as one. He fought against the EIC . He was a grest reformer and also a good ruler too. He cared for his people. Yes he is a freedom fighter.


mohd sadiq hussain 28th May 2013 14:02:PM

i m very much fan about tipu sultana


Prasad 03rd Apr 2013 18:05:PM

this Tipu's sole aim was to rule India as a supreme authority. He was in good relationship with french. if he was against to foreign powers.. then why he assisted french. Why he attacked travancore, coorg, kochi kingdoms and devastated the holy monuments and architectures? he had helped some temples by offering gold and silver, but destroyed thousands of temples. just visit kerala and see the condition.


Prasad 03rd Apr 2013 17:57:PM

hello rahul... he might have gifted gold or silver cups to one or two temples? tell about the thousands of temples and churches which he had destroyed during the mysorean invasion of kerala. Just visit the central and northern kerala. You may see the relics and remnants of temples and holy idols which he destroyed.


Rahul sharma 07th Jan 2013 17:14:PM

who ever says tipu did not fight for India please do remember he had built a throne, for which he had taken a pledge he wont sit on that throne till he drives out britishers from India, unforturnately it never happened..Person who says wake up..We have woken up..Its time we just just dont listen to what people say about him destroying temples and all ..Please visit famous shringeri temple where tipu use to gift silver cups to a swamy and not only this temple many other. British historians wanted to spoil Tipu's image by saying they liberated India from a bigot rule but that is not true..he was , he is and he will always be 1st person to fight for india's freedom..Its time to wake up for few ppl..


rohitkumar 26th Dec 2012 11:06:AM

he is very great king tipu artical is very useful