Haider Ali
| Hyder Ali | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ruler of Mysore | ||
| ||
| Reign | ? - 1782 | |
| Born | 1722 | |
| Died | 1782 | |
| Chittoor | ||
| Successor | Tippu Sultan | |
Hyder Ali or Haidar 'Ali (c. 1722 - 1782), was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. A soldier-adventurer, Haider Ali became one of the most formidable rivals the British ever encountered during their colonial presence in India. He is perhaps only excelled by his own son, Tippu Sultan as the champion of anti-colonial resistance. He was regarded as one of the greatest Generals to have walked the face of Asia. His father was a chief constable in the princely state of Mysore. Early military experience exposed Haider to French tactics and weapons and he began to employ European mercenaries to train and advise his troops. He began by forming his own company, funded by his brother then after fighting for the Rajah of Mysore he was commissioned as an officer in the Mysore army. By 1761, he was minister of state and placing the Rajah under arrest, he assumed control of Mysore. In 1764 he captured Bednor (Haidarnagar), which he made his own capital, adopting the title of Bahadur (warrior) instead of Naik (Constable).
Biography
He was the great-grandson of an Islamic fakir from Gulbarga, Deccan. His father was a naik or chief constable at Budikote, near Kolar in present-day Karnataka. He is said to have traced his lineage back to Muhammad. There is also a fort at Budikote present today at the place where he was born. He was born in 1722, or according to other authorities 1717, however the memorial in Budikote states he was born in 1720. As a youth, Hyder assisted his brother, a commander of a brigade in the Mysore Army, and acquired a useful familiarity with the tactics of the French when they were at the height of their reputation under Joseph François Dupleix. He is said to have induced his brother to employ a Parsi to purchase artillery and small arms from government of Bombay Presidency, and to enroll some thirty sailors of different European nations as gunners. He is probably the first Indian who armed a battalion with firelocks and bayonets and who used European mercenaries to advise, train and fight.
Commissioned Officer
At the siege of Devanhalli (1749) Haider deployed his battalion and attracted the favorable attention of Nanjaraja, the minister of the Rajah of Mysore. For his services, he was awarded a commission in the state army with his own independent command. Within the next twelve years, his energy and ability made him indispensable at court, so much so that in everything but name he ruled the kingdom. At first, he was deputy minister but increasingly he assumed full responsibility for administering the state. In 1757, he was placed in command of the army against a Marathan attack, which he repulsed. In recognition, the Rajah awarded him the title "Bahadur" (Warrior).
De Facto Ruler
By 1761 he had replaced Nanjaraja as minister. Nanjarajah had bankrupted the kingdom and Haider set out to replenish the treasury by conquest. Some accounts say that Haider Ali placed the Rajah under house-arrest, others that his de facto assumption of power was condoned by the ruler. He appears to have made the administration more efficient. Certainly, when the Rajah died in 1766, Haider Ali succeeded him but as a Muslim he was known as a Sultan, not as a Rajah. In 1763, he conquered Kanara, a region that had been ruled by feudal chiefs, seized their treasuries and decided to make Haidarnagar his own capital. In 1765, he inflicted a defeat against the Maratha forces on the Malabar coast, then conquered Calicut. He now attracted the attention of the British in Madras, who in 1766 entered an agreement with the Nizam of Hyderabad and with the Marathas to supply with troops to use against their common enemy. Haider Ali, however, learning of this triple-alliance against him thwarted the plan by inducing the Marathas to defect (he paid them off). Instead, he took Mangalore and inflicted a humiliating defeat on the British Bombay army. However, the British struck back and consequently Haider lost a fleet he had just built as well as forts on the western coast. Quite willing to use diplomacy as well as his military skill, he sued for peace. When the British declined, Haider was able to use his military skill to reverse the situation, taking his army to within a few miles of Madras and breaking a British seige at Bangalore. By April 1769 the British were willing to enter a treaty of mutual protection, which meant that if the Marathas retaliated for their earlier defeat, the British would help. If the British were attacked, he would assist. Haider's position was so strong that it was he who determined the terms of the treaty. He knew that he could not buy them off for very long. He also entered a commercial treat with the Bombay Presidency. This ended what has been called the First Anglo-Mysore War of 1767-1769.
In 1771, the Maratha did attack and Haider Ali discovered that the British did not always keep their word. They failed to send troops. Stung by this treatment, he turned aside from diplomatic dealings with the English, instead seeking an alliance with the French. Seeing an opportunity to regain their position in India, the French responded positively. In 1779, he recruited additional European mercenaries and employed French advisers. He turned to the Nizam of Hyderabad and to the Maratha to form, with the French, an anti-British alliance. He was further enraged when the British occupied the town of Mahé, which was a French concession but within his jurisdiction. They had requested permission to take the town from the French but Haider had refused. The following year he again waged war, gaining territory in the Carnatic and inflicting another defeat on the British in a battle on September 10th. Known as the Second Anglo-Mysore War, Haider took Arcot from the British that October. The British responded by again inducing the Nizam and the Marathas to desert Haider, which enabled them to win a series of battles against him during 1781 at Porto Novo, Pollilur, and Sholinghur. At the first of these conflict, Hyder lost at least 10,000 men. Aided by the French, his son Tippu Sultan led an attack on the British in 1782 at the Coleroon River, where they defeated a small British contingency. Warren Hastings, the British Governor-General then sent a fleet to attack Haider's coastal possessions.
Death
Although he sent Tippu to seek French help, this did not materialize before his own sudden death, from cancer, in 1782. The French did see this as an opportunity to regain their position in India but were unable to deploy enough troops to make a real difference to the outcome of the war. Haider Ali is said to have advised Tippu to make peace with the British but this did not happen and Tippu continued the anti-colonial resistance until his own death during the Battle of Seringapatam. in 1799, which represented the last major resistance to British rule until the First War of Indian Independence in 1857-8.
Polity
Although he is remembered mainly as a military commander, Haider Ali was also a competent civilian administration. As a Muslim ruling a Hindu-majority state, he was careful to govern as a secular ruler, honoring freedom of religion and Hindu legal tradition. He built roads, laid out gardens and fortified Bangalore and Seringapatam (where his son would make his last stand in 1799).
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ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- Bhagwan S. Gidwani The Sword of Tipu Sultan.
- 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica references:
- LB Bowring, Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan, Rulers of India series (1893)
- For the personal character and administration of Hyder Ali see the History of Hyder Naik, written by Mir Hussein Ali Khan Kirmani (translated from the Persian by Colonel Miles, and published by the Oriental Translation Fund)
- The curious work written by M Le Maitre de La Tour, commandant of his artillery, L'histoire d'Hayder-Ali Khan, Paris, 1783
- For the whole life and times see Wilks, historical Sketches of the South of India (1810-1817).
See also
- Muslim warriors
- Kingdom of Mysore
- Wodeyar
- Tipu Sultan
- shamaiya iyengar
kn:ಹೈದರಾಲಿ ml:ഹൈദര് അലി ur:سلطان حیدر علی
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