Tipu Cannot Be Called a Freedom Fighter

Author Dr Vikram Sampath claims that Tipu never won a single war against the British, but he fought for his own kingdom

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Mangaluru

Dr Vikram Sampath, a historian and author, on Sunday claimed Tipu Sultan was not a freedom fighter as he never won a single war against the British but he fought for his own kingdom like many other kings.

He was addressing the gathering during the third session of the second day of Mangaluru Lit Fest on the subject titled 'Icons of Today-Dos and Don'ts' and his recently released book titled 'Tipu Sultan- The Saga of Mysore's Interregnum'.

"Tipu was so violent, in his letters he says that not only the living Coorgis but even the dead Coorgis have to be converted to Islam. Tipu even boasts that he has converted 4 lakh kafirs in Calicut. The Anglo-wars were fought completely under the leadership of Hyder Ali and Mysore had unprecedented success. They beat the Britishers in the first Anglo war. In the second Anglo war also, Tipu played only the role of a subsidiary of his father. Ali died in the middle of the battle and Tipu took over at Malabar. Later the scene shifted to Mangaluru and Tipu laid the siege here and ended the second Mysore war on a very high note. The treaty of Mangalore of 1784 is the last document where an Indian power had an upper hand over a European," he said.