Mysore After Tipu and an Estimate of Tipu Sultan
Modern History › The Anglo-Mysore Wars · Topic 5.6
After 1799 Mysore was reduced and handed to the Wodeyars under Krishnaraja III on a subsidiary alliance; Bentinck took control in 1831 and Ripon restored it in 1881. Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, is remembered as a warrior, a reformer and a ruler of multiple traditions, not a nationalist.
7 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · The Anglo-Mysore Wars
At a Glance
- What it is The settlement of Mysore after 1799 and an assessment of Tipu Sultan
- Restored ruler Krishnaraja III of the Wodeyar family, under a subsidiary alliance
- Turning points 1831 Bentinck takes control; 1881 Ripon restores the kingdom
- Tipu’s titles “Tiger of Mysore”; credited with early military rocketry
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: The Anglo-Mysore Wars
Where Does It Fit?
This is the sixth and last topic of the category on the Anglo-Mysore Wars. The previous topic covered the war of 1799 in which Tipu fell. This topic covers what followed and how historians judge him. The next category begins with the Anglo-Maratha wars. Previous topic: Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and the Fall of Tipu Sultan.
How Was Mysore Divided After 1799?
After the fall of Tipu, the victors rearranged the map of the south.
| Party | What it got or was offered |
|---|---|
| Marathas | Wellesley offered them Soonda and Harponelly districts, which they refused |
| Nizam | Gooty and Gurramkonda districts |
| English | Kanara, Wynad, Coimbatore, Dwaraporam and Seringapatam |
| Mysore | The new state was handed to the old Hindu dynasty, the Wodeyars, under a minor ruler Krishnaraja III, who accepted the subsidiary alliance |
The later history of Mysore had two turns. In 1831 William Bentinck took control of Mysore on grounds of misgovernance. In 1881 Lord Ripon restored the kingdom to its ruler.
Who Was Tipu Sultan?
Tipu Sultan was born in November 1750 to Haidar Ali and Fatima. A well-educated man, he could converse freely in Arabic, Persian, Kanarese and Urdu. He was a great warrior, known as the Tiger of Mysore, and took great care in raising and maintaining an efficient military force.
What Were His Military and Naval Plans?
He organised his army on the European model with Persian words of command. Though he took the help of French officers to train his soldiers, he never allowed them to become a pressure group. Like his father, Tipu saw the importance of a naval force. In 1796 he set up a Board of Admiralty and planned a fleet of 22 battleships and 20 large frigates, with three dockyards at Mangalore, Wajedabad and Molidabad. His plans, however, did not bear fruit.
What Other Contributions Is He Credited With?
- Science and technology He was a patron of science and is credited as the pioneer of rocket technology in India, and wrote a military manual explaining the operation of rockets
- Sericulture He is credited as a pioneer in introducing sericulture to the Mysore state
- Jacobin Club He is reported to have supported the French soldiers at Seringapatam in setting up a Jacobin Club in 1797, to have become a member and been called Citizen Tipu, and to have planted a Tree of Liberty
- Early capitalist steps He is also credited with beginning capitalist development at a time when feudalism was prevalent
- Dislike of palanquins He despised palanquins and described them as fit only for women and the disabled
Some of these claims, such as the Jacobin Club episode, rest on limited evidence, so a careful student treats them as reported rather than certain.
Was Tipu a Bigot?
Some historians have depicted Tipu as a bigoted monarch, which was the main view of colonial historians. This estimate is not fully correct. He crushed the Hindu Coorgs and Nairs, but he also punished the Muslim Moplahs when they defied his authority. He is reported to have demolished temples in Kerala when he conquered places there, but he is also known to have protected Hindu temples within his own kingdom. He sanctioned funds for repairing the Sringeri Temple and for installing the idol of Goddess Sarada, which had been damaged during a Maratha raid in 1791. It is necessary not to judge the characters of the past by modern yardsticks of secularism and democracy. Tipu was a man representing multiple traditions.
Was Tipu the First Indian Nationalist?
Some writers have regarded Tipu as the first Indian nationalist and a martyr for India’s freedom. The historian Mohibbul Hasan called this view wrong, since it projects the present into the past. In Tipu’s age there was no sense of nationalism and no awareness among Indians that they were a subject people, so it is too much to say that Tipu fought the English for India’s freedom. In Hasan’s view he fought to preserve his own power and independence.
A British officer, Lieutenant Moore, described Tipu’s country as well cultivated, populous with industrious inhabitants and flourishing in commerce, which suggests a state well liked by its people.
| Question | Answer in brief |
|---|---|
| A warrior and organiser? | Yes: the Tiger of Mysore, with a European-style army and a naval plan |
| A modernising ruler? | In part: rockets, sericulture and a Board of Admiralty |
| A bigot? | The colonial view is not fully correct; his record is mixed |
| A nationalist? | No: he fought for his own power and independence |
As an analytical point, a fair assessment sets Tipu as a capable ruler and administrator who tried to answer the English with their own methods, and whose defeat owed much to the alliance of the Company with the Marathas and the Nizam, as seen in Third Anglo-Mysore War and the Treaty of Seringapatam.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Personality question Tipu is a very frequent personality in Prelims and Mains
- Direct facts The Board of Admiralty (1796), the Sringeri grant and the 1831 and 1881 dates are standard
- Debate on nationalism The “first nationalist” claim is a Mains favourite
What Came Next?
The next category begins with the Anglo-Maratha struggle for supremacy, starting with the rise of the Marathas and the entry of the English into Maratha politics. Next topic: Rise of the Marathas and the Entry of the English into Maratha Politics.
Key People and Terms
- Tiger of Mysore Tipu Sultan’s popular title as a warrior
- Board of Admiralty The naval body Tipu set up in 1796
- Sericulture The rearing of silkworms for silk
- Jacobin Club A club said to have been set up at Seringapatam in 1797
- Sringeri A temple for which Tipu sanctioned funds
- Krishnaraja III The boy Wodeyar installed as Maharaja in 1799
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Krishnaraja III, a minor, was installed under a subsidiary alliance.
- 1831: Bentinck took control; 1881: Ripon restored the kingdom.
- Tipu born November 1750; Board of Admiralty in 1796.
- Dockyards at Mangalore, Wajedabad, Molidabad.
- Mohibbul Hasan: Tipu was not a nationalist.
Do Not Confuse With
- Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan Haidar was the father who rose to power; Tipu was the son who fell in 1799
- Bentinck and Ripon in Mysore Bentinck took control in 1831; Ripon restored the kingdom in 1881
- Wodeyars and Tipu The Wodeyars were the old dynasty restored in 1799
Memory Hook
A warrior of many traditions, not a nationalist, remembered for rockets and ships.
Mains Angle
Questions ask for an assessment of Tipu Sultan. These points add depth.
- Modernisation Army, navy plans, rockets and silk show an attempt to modernise
- Religious policy A mixed record does not fit the simple labels of the colonial view
- Nationalism He fought for his own power, so calling him a nationalist is anachronistic
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Tipu Sultan was a man of multiple traditions. Assess his role and legacy.”
How to Answer
- His rule Army, navy, rockets and sericulture.
- His religious policy The mixed evidence of Sringeri and of Kerala.
- The nationalism debate Mohibbul Hasan’s view.
- Conclude Say that Tipu was a capable ruler fighting for his own state.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Mysore after Tipu Sultan?
After 1799 the English took Kanara, Wynad, Coimbatore, Dwaraporam and Seringapatam, the Nizam got Gooty and Gurramkonda, and the Marathas refused the districts offered. The rest of Mysore was handed to the Wodeyar dynasty under the minor ruler Krishnaraja III, who accepted the subsidiary alliance.
When did the English take over and restore Mysore?
William Bentinck took control of Mysore in 1831 on grounds of misgovernance. In 1881 Lord Ripon restored the kingdom to its ruler. Between those years the state was governed under English control, after the subsidiary alliance of 1799.
Why is Tipu Sultan called the Tiger of Mysore?
Tipu Sultan was known as the Tiger of Mysore because he was a great warrior who took maximum care in raising and maintaining an efficient military force. He organised his army on the European model with Persian words of command and planned a navy.
What was Tipu Sultan's naval plan?
In 1796 Tipu Sultan set up a Board of Admiralty and planned a fleet of 22 battleships and 20 large frigates, with three dockyards at Mangalore, Wajedabad and Molidabad. The plans did not bear fruit, but they show he understood the importance of naval power, as his father had.
Was Tipu Sultan a bigot?
The view of Tipu as a bigoted monarch comes mainly from colonial historians and is not fully correct. He crushed Hindu Coorgs and Nairs but also punished Muslim Moplahs, and he gave funds for the Sringeri Temple, though he is reported to have demolished temples in Kerala.
Was Tipu Sultan the first Indian nationalist?
The historian Mohibbul Hasan argued that calling Tipu the first Indian nationalist projects the present into the past. In Tipu's age there was no sense of nationalism, and he fought the English to preserve his own power and independence, not for India's freedom.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 Tipu Sultan set up a Board of Admiralty in 1796.
He planned 22 battleships and 20 frigates.
2 Lord Ripon restored the Mysore kingdom to its ruler in 1881.
Bentinck had taken control in 1831.
3 After 1799 the English annexed all of Mysore and ended the Wodeyar dynasty.
The Wodeyars were restored under Krishnaraja III on a subsidiary alliance.
4 Mohibbul Hasan held that Tipu Sultan was the first Indian nationalist.
He rejected that view as projecting the present into the past.
5 Tipu Sultan sanctioned funds for the repair of the Sringeri Temple.
The idol of Goddess Sarada had been damaged in a Maratha raid in 1791.
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