Biography of “Tipu Sultan”
1. Fateh All, known as Tipu Sultan, was the son of a great father, Haider All. When Tipu Sultan was born in 1740, his father was an officer in the service of Mysore. But after his birth, his father rose in rank. In five years’ time he became the Governor of Dundigal. One year later he became a general in the Mysore army. Later on he became the king of Mysore.
2. Haider Ali was not well educated yet he achieved so much success. This shows that he was gifted with great qualities as a warrior and a ruler.
3. Haider Ali thought that his rise was due to the birth of his son. He loved his son very much and gave him the best possible education.
4. At a very early age he learnt the Holy Quran from able teachers. This was followed by the study of other branches of knowledge. Well-learnt instructors taught him the martial arts of riding, shooting and fighting. His father also taught him the art of war. As a result, Tipu Sultan acquired a life-long love for learning. He also proved to be a good general himself.
5. Tipu Sultan shared a number of qualities with his father. Chief among them were his love for freedom and hatred for foreign domination. Haider Ali had the foresight and had seen the growing power of the English as a threat to the freedom of his people.
6. He was also aware of the threat of Maratha expansion. Haider Ali tried to meet both these threats. Tipu Sultan continued the struggle for freedom heroically after his father’s death. Tipu Sultan was a devoted Muslim.
7. He spent huge sums to build mosques. He was just to his subjects, whatever religion they followed. He introduced many reforms. He also built up a large personal library.
8. The English looked upon Tipu Sultan as their chief enemy. Like his father, Tipu Sultan had fought against them the whole of his life. The English won the sympathies of Nizam of Hyderabad and Marathas against Tipu Sultan. They also bought traitors like Mir Sadiq. All these factors went against Tipu Sultan, yet he never lost heart.
9. In 1799, the English began a final trial of strength. They were helped by a number of Indian princes. Tipu Sultan suffered a few defeats and was pushed back into Seranga Patem. He preached to his soldiers that Jehad is the real Islam. He had immense faith in God and believed that a man could die only once. He also believed that.
10. One day of a lion’s life was better than a hundred years’ life of a jackal. He chose to fight till death in 1799. Thus the life of a great son of Islam ended. But he lives forever as a martyr in the minds and hearts of the Muslims. Truly he is not dead because he laid down his life for the cause of Islam.
