[History] Tipu Sultan and His Failed International Alliances

Our mind looks for simplicity in this complex world and sometimes it gets it in the form of simple rules. "Enemy of an enemy is a friend" is one such phrase which need not be always true. Should a mouse think that since snake is a cat's enemy, it could be its friend? Since we know that Tipu Sultan fought and died fighting the British, who were our enemy, so Tipu must be our friend. Does not look like; and here is why.

In those days, so many European predators (btw, all are held examples of great 'culture' today) were looking for preys in unexploited and rich lands like India. Apart from the British, the French were in India, so were the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Spanish, and even the Denmark-Norwegians. Today, we think of only "the British" as our colonizers but the fact remains that when it all started, no one knew which one or ones of these would win over other rivals and establish strong and everlasting colony over dead bodies of our ancestors. From European pack of wolves, Tipu Sultan chose a wrong ally in the French and wrong enemy in the British and that is what made all the difference in our history. But even though he relied in Hindu astrology, he could know it for sure at that time.

Tipu Sultan was an ally of France in its fight against the British. The French trained Tipu's army in India which went on wars against other Indian kingdoms like Marathas, Malabar and Travancore. The French Revolution broke out during that period and hence France could not further its military expeditions. Tipu also tried to woo Napoleon Bonaparte to create a grand international alliance to defeat the British.

Apart from the French, Tipu also sent letters to Zaman Shah Durrani of Afghanistan to help him defeat the British and the Marathas. But Afghans had received an attack from the Persians at that time and could not help. In 1787, Tipu Sultan sent an embassy to the Ottoman Turkey's capital Istanbul, requesting an alliance and asking for troops and military experts. The Ottomans were already in crisis and could not help apart from sending gifts to Tipu. Tipu kept writing to them until he died in 1799. Tipu made several contacts with Mohammad Ali Khan, ruler of the Zand Dynasty in Persia. Tipu Sultan also maintained correspondence with Hamad bin Said, the ruler of the Sultanate of Oman. If Tipu was calling on these foreign states, it was on the basis of his common cause of establishing an "Islamic state" in India.

Tipu Sultan wanted it all - and all only for himself. He wanted to establish an Islamic State of India. His forced religious conversions in Kerala and other South Indian places is legendary and brought him the title of "Aurangzeb of South India" by many. It was only because he did not get all the international alliances he desperately sought for; and because the Marathas and the British were already great forces by then; that he could not fulfill his dreams. But I am sure about one thing - if he got his way we would be much worse off today.

You may also like to read more on Tipu Sultan:

Tipu Sultan’s Religious Intolerance And Forced Conversions

How Tipu Sultan Treated The Royal Family of Wodeyars in Mysore