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Tipu as He Really Was
While the official line was that Tipu was a freedom fighter, a liberal, tolerant and enlightened ruler, its opponents accused that he was a bigot, a mass murderer, a rapist. This book is written to show him as he really was.
- GenresNonfiction
95 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 24, 2019
This is the 4th book i have read on Tipu. Everytime i wonder why congress want to celebrate this person. Why they want to celebrate Tipu jayanti. His father Haider Ali was no less. The gives the account of Hyder Ali, father of Tipu Sultan. The author throws some light on Tipu’s religious bigotry, economic disasters, tampering of the calendar, breaking treaties, changing the names of cities and towns to suit his islamic bias, destroying Hindu temples, forming a battalion of forcibly converted youth for Jihad against Hindu against India, and similar acts of cruelty and misdemeanor. He changed the language from kannada to farsi. He imposed Jizya against Hindu. He change the name of many places and destroyed many temples
If we look back at history, we find that Tipu wasn’t an exception. He had fanatical precedence- Muhammad Ghaznavid, Muhammad Ghori, Muhammad Tughlaq, the Bahamani Sultans and Mughals to name just a few prominent fanatical muslim invaders and rulers.
Some political party use Tipu Sultan to make hero out of him and used him to appease some community. Thanks to communist and pseudo liberal, they always distort the facts. Such a shame. Tipu Sultan was no hero. He was a mass murderer. He slaughtered many Hindus in the name of religion and extend his empire. Read this book to know the real Tipu Sultan.
If we look back at history, we find that Tipu wasn’t an exception. He had fanatical precedence- Muhammad Ghaznavid, Muhammad Ghori, Muhammad Tughlaq, the Bahamani Sultans and Mughals to name just a few prominent fanatical muslim invaders and rulers.
Some political party use Tipu Sultan to make hero out of him and used him to appease some community. Thanks to communist and pseudo liberal, they always distort the facts. Such a shame. Tipu Sultan was no hero. He was a mass murderer. He slaughtered many Hindus in the name of religion and extend his empire. Read this book to know the real Tipu Sultan.
January 1, 2021
Let me be honest when I was little I was a huge fan of Tipu (thanks to my textbooks) but when the former government of Karnataka planned to yearly celebrate his birth anniversary as a Jayanti the brave sons and daughters of Kodagu (Coorg) stood up in uprisal and that was when I realised my textbooks lied to me. It was hard for me to digest the fact that someone I grew up believing as a hero was none but an extreme radical face of the history of the southern India.
This e-book is no more than 100 pages and it describes the true face of Tippu. The author writes about the oppression and forced mass conversions of almost 60,000 Christians, 80,000 of Hindus with the extra populations of Nairs and Kodava people. He was driven by his lust of the war he had waged upon the 'infidels' that he drove the christians out of his kingdom despite the revenue they were gaining for him. He hated the matriarchal lineage of the southern coastal areas and not even the Jains were spared. Such was his obsession with conversions that in one of his letters he orders his military administrators to convert the dead bodies too. Not only was he cruel to the native groups he was equally awful to the European prisoners and he extended his hand to the Ottomans to attack India and crush the Marathas while he tried to replace the British with French just to clear his way for his 'War'.
Women and children were treated really really horrible where even the princesses and queens were added to his harem. Children, both European and Indians, were castrated and made to be the dancers.
The author not only evidences the facts through Tippu's letters, the documentations made by his soldiers, the excerpts from the escaped European prisoners but also debunks the tales by the whitewashers where Tipu is praised as a freedom fighter, the first to voice against colonialism and a missile man. The book is straight forward with the citations from various books. I guess this book is enough for anyone to get the gist of the shadowed history. It took me too much of energy to read the 6 chapters. The author is fearless and for every new information he states the citations. One could understand that the author has made a tremendous research and the way he debunks such false glorifying of Tippu is something worth appreciating.
The Kodavas resisted against both Haider Ali and Tippu Sultan over and over engaging themselves in guerrilla wars and all other techniques. It's very saddening that none of us studied about the bravery and unapologetic strength and resistance of our Kodava brothers. The hate against Nairs and the matriarchal concept is so visible in the book however I never saw any Feminists or progressive people question these atrocities. There's so much to say but I feel my emotions tightening up. We have grown up learning about vultures as heroes it's high time we recognise the real heroes and break through the Marxist influenced histories and know our real history. I dedicate this review to my brave Kodavas whose valorous bravery would never be ceased. I grew up studying that Tippu was this brave 'freedom fighter' who fought with a tiger with barehands and dared the British and whatnot. It chills my bone how your history can be deceiving and the clear digging of one's past is a must otherwise we'd be glorifying wrong people which wouldn't be healthy for a prosperous future. This short book is a must for everyone. I highly recommend it.
This e-book is no more than 100 pages and it describes the true face of Tippu. The author writes about the oppression and forced mass conversions of almost 60,000 Christians, 80,000 of Hindus with the extra populations of Nairs and Kodava people. He was driven by his lust of the war he had waged upon the 'infidels' that he drove the christians out of his kingdom despite the revenue they were gaining for him. He hated the matriarchal lineage of the southern coastal areas and not even the Jains were spared. Such was his obsession with conversions that in one of his letters he orders his military administrators to convert the dead bodies too. Not only was he cruel to the native groups he was equally awful to the European prisoners and he extended his hand to the Ottomans to attack India and crush the Marathas while he tried to replace the British with French just to clear his way for his 'War'.
Women and children were treated really really horrible where even the princesses and queens were added to his harem. Children, both European and Indians, were castrated and made to be the dancers.
The author not only evidences the facts through Tippu's letters, the documentations made by his soldiers, the excerpts from the escaped European prisoners but also debunks the tales by the whitewashers where Tipu is praised as a freedom fighter, the first to voice against colonialism and a missile man. The book is straight forward with the citations from various books. I guess this book is enough for anyone to get the gist of the shadowed history. It took me too much of energy to read the 6 chapters. The author is fearless and for every new information he states the citations. One could understand that the author has made a tremendous research and the way he debunks such false glorifying of Tippu is something worth appreciating.
The Kodavas resisted against both Haider Ali and Tippu Sultan over and over engaging themselves in guerrilla wars and all other techniques. It's very saddening that none of us studied about the bravery and unapologetic strength and resistance of our Kodava brothers. The hate against Nairs and the matriarchal concept is so visible in the book however I never saw any Feminists or progressive people question these atrocities. There's so much to say but I feel my emotions tightening up. We have grown up learning about vultures as heroes it's high time we recognise the real heroes and break through the Marxist influenced histories and know our real history. I dedicate this review to my brave Kodavas whose valorous bravery would never be ceased. I grew up studying that Tippu was this brave 'freedom fighter' who fought with a tiger with barehands and dared the British and whatnot. It chills my bone how your history can be deceiving and the clear digging of one's past is a must otherwise we'd be glorifying wrong people which wouldn't be healthy for a prosperous future. This short book is a must for everyone. I highly recommend it.
March 7, 2021
The word Itihasa literally means 'that which happened'. But sadly the word has lost its meaning in our education system. Textbooks breed misinformation, misinterpret facts or even misrepresent an event or a person to fulfill certain propaganda. One such 'historically' celebrated person who is widely misrepresented is Tipu Sultan. 'Tipu—The First Freedom Fighter of India' was probably the title given to the chapter in our fifth standard textbooks. The title was sufficient to inflict a sense of pride in me and for a long time I actually adored and considered him as one of the greatest rulers of our country. But the book Tipu As He Really Was by Gajanan Bhaskar Mehendale was definitely an eye opener which unfolds the unknown or blindly ignored facts about Tipu.
The book provides insight into deplorable state of Mysore, Coorg and Malabar during Tipu's regime. Forced mass conversions of lakhs of Hindus and Christians, destruction and plunder of temples and churches, establishment of mosques and huge endowments given to them only speak volumes about how bigoted Tipu was. The pathetic condition of women, dismissal of experienced officials from their positions on the basis of religion and ruthless treatment of prisoners of war reflect the miserable socio-economic condition of day. The mayhem created by the father-son duo over the span of more than two decades in Karnataka and Kerala is something that cannot be put in words. The plight of citizens in the tyrannical state is beyond imagination.
Before questions regarding authenticity of facts are bombarded, it is safe to clarify that the author has mainly drawn references from Tipu's letters to his subordinates, experience of prisoners of war and from various accounts of British and French officials, travelers etc.,
Was Tipu really a freedom fighter? Was he the first missile man of India? Well, the answers to these and other questions lie in this 90 paged book. It is a must read for all the Itihasa lovers!
The book provides insight into deplorable state of Mysore, Coorg and Malabar during Tipu's regime. Forced mass conversions of lakhs of Hindus and Christians, destruction and plunder of temples and churches, establishment of mosques and huge endowments given to them only speak volumes about how bigoted Tipu was. The pathetic condition of women, dismissal of experienced officials from their positions on the basis of religion and ruthless treatment of prisoners of war reflect the miserable socio-economic condition of day. The mayhem created by the father-son duo over the span of more than two decades in Karnataka and Kerala is something that cannot be put in words. The plight of citizens in the tyrannical state is beyond imagination.
Before questions regarding authenticity of facts are bombarded, it is safe to clarify that the author has mainly drawn references from Tipu's letters to his subordinates, experience of prisoners of war and from various accounts of British and French officials, travelers etc.,
Was Tipu really a freedom fighter? Was he the first missile man of India? Well, the answers to these and other questions lie in this 90 paged book. It is a must read for all the Itihasa lovers!
January 4, 2021
It was not surprising for me to find how bigoted ruler Tipu was. He was just like any other Islamic ruler. What surprised me is how celebrated he is under the name of secularism and ''Freedom Fighter!" even today.
This book is extensive in research. It busts all the lies which were told to us throughout our life about Tipu-He was neither a secularist, revolutionist, or freedom fighter!
Although only 90 pages, it was hard for me to comprehend. Also, I felt it lacked fluidity in narration. Or maybe it is just me who has not developed the taste of reading straight-forward researched books.
This book is extensive in research. It busts all the lies which were told to us throughout our life about Tipu-He was neither a secularist, revolutionist, or freedom fighter!
Although only 90 pages, it was hard for me to comprehend. Also, I felt it lacked fluidity in narration. Or maybe it is just me who has not developed the taste of reading straight-forward researched books.
July 8, 2018
can't argue wid the data and references... which Tipu himself chronicled. and still we want him painted Secular Green!
August 22, 2019
You need to understand and read this book what exactly Tipu Sultan was.
December 29, 2021
The book details the appalling conditions in Mysore, Coorg, and Malabar during Tipu's reign. Thousands of Hindus and Christians were forced to convert, temples and churches were destroyed and looted, mosques were built, and vast endowments were handed to them, all of which spoke eloquently about Tipu's bigotry. Women's plight, the firing of experienced officials on religious grounds, and the harsh treatment of prisoners of war all reflect the day's deplorable socio-economic situation. The devastation caused by the father-son combination in Karnataka and Kerala over the course of more than two decades is beyond description. The condition of citizens living in a despotic state is unfathomable.
March 25, 2020
Really good book on Tipu Sultan.
January 30, 2023
Citation citation and more citation. What an amazing book.
November 6, 2025
A must read book on Tipu.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews