Hyder ali and Tipu Sultan - Dindigul connection


Haidar Ali : 1722-1782 A.D. vedamsbooks.com

Tipu Sultan (Tiger of Mysore) November 1750 to May 1799. alamy.com

Hyder Ali   (c 1720 - 7 December 1782) and  his son Tipu Sultan (20 November 1750 - 4 May 1799,  during their reign of the Mysore kingdom in the 18th century, had a military alliance with the French military and had never allowed the British move  farther  down south in the Indian Subcontinent. The British had to fight tooth and nail to get them out of the way. Being the rulers of Mysore,  they never had failed to have good relationship with Tamil Nadu with which they had close links. They, as part of their rule, won several battles across the state. 
Quote of Tipu sultan. msharifkpt.wordpress.com

The very name of Tipu Sultan reveals how closely they were connected to their neighbors -Tamil Nadu. Hyder Ali did not have a child for a pretty long time  and used to visit the renowned Sufi
 
Tipu Mastan Aulia's Tomb, Arcot, Tamiladu. hoparoundindia.com

saint Hazrath Tipu Mastan Aulia, whose tomb is in Arcot town, Vellore district.  Along with his wife he  prayed  for a child.
The Sufi saint  told the ruler they would be blessed with sons and the first son would be dedicated to the service of the god almighty. However, when Tipu was born, the couple were thrilled and kept him closer to them. They went back on their word and never dedicated his son to the service  as promised by them to the Sufi saint. 

Hyder Ali and his wife  chose  one Raushan Begum, daughter of Imam Saheb Bakshi of Arcot town, Vellore district, as the  bride of Tipu Sultan. Raushan  was one of the three wives of Tipu Sultan.

Among many places  where they  camped and fought battles against the British forces  it was in Dindigul where both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan stayed for many years.  The then  Mysore ruler installed Hyder Ali as the commandant of Dindigul, in recognition of his valor and dedicated  military services to the kingdom. 

On assuming his work in  Dindigul , he substantially increased the tax collection  and part of the money was spent on building temples, mosques and factories. He never failed to seek the advice of French engineers. His efficiency, good administration impressed on the local people and they gave him full cooperation and support to his projects. Circumstances and political instability in the Mysore kingdom, gave Hyder Ali  an excellent opportunity to rule the kingdom later. Though illiterate, he learned the arts of administration, etc the hard way and became a force to reckon with.
The Rock Fort, atop a small hill, built by King Muthukrishna Naicker of Madurai is an  historical landmark of Dindigul. Lots of people visit this fort.  Hyder Ali, his wife and son Tipu  came to Dindigul in 1755, but they ruled the fort from 1784 to 1790. Only after the death  of Tipu at Srirangapatna in 1799, this fort became part of the English company.

Begampur Mosque, oldest mosque Dindugul  built by Hyder Ali.. en.wikipedia.org

Hyder Ali had a mosque built here in memory of his  younger sister Ameerunnisa Begum  who was buried here . The Begumpur mosque, named after her is quite popular.  The father son duo fought many  battles against the English in Tamil Nadu. Their strong cavalry and Mysorian rockets  gave nightmares to the British. This was quite true of the Maratha rulers who gave severe resistance to the English rulers. After Tipu was killed in the last Angelo-Mysore war in 1799, the British put the entire family behind the bar in Vellore fort. After Vellore Mutiny (10 July 1806), Tipu's second son Fateh Hyder,  was transferred to Kolkata to avoid further trouble in the future. Some of  Tipu's  family members were interred in the Vellore fort.

 Rani Velu Nachiyar, an 18th-century Princess of Ramnad and wife of Raja of  Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, was the first queen to fight against the British in India. When the British  and the son of Nawob of Arcot killed her husband, his first wife and his son, Rani Nachiyar went to Virupachi near Dindigul along with her daughter and was in exile for 8 years. During that period, with substantial support from one  Palayakaarar Kopaala Naayakkar and  Hyder Ali, she raised a powerful army. In 1780 she won the battle against the British and became the queen of Sivagangai. Velu Nachiyar was the first one to train a separate women's army and human bomb, perhaps first in the world. During her long exile, Hyder Ali was of great help to her.

In June, 2013, the  Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa,  announced construction of a mani mandapam in Dindigul in honor of Hyder Ali and Tipu.