Difference between revisions of "Haider Ali" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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| title = Ruler of Mysore
 
| title = Ruler of Mysore
 
| image = [[Image:HyderAli.jpg|200px|Engraving of Hyder Ali by William Dickes, 1846]]
 
| image = [[Image:HyderAli.jpg|200px|Engraving of Hyder Ali by William Dickes, 1846]]
| reign = ? - [[1782]]
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| reign = ? - 1782
 
| coronation =
 
| coronation =
 
| predecessor =  
 
| predecessor =  
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| father =  
 
| father =  
 
| mother =  
 
| mother =  
| date of birth = [[1722]]
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| date of birth = 1722  
 
| place of birth =  
 
| place of birth =  
| date of death = [[1782]]
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| date of death = 1782
 
| place of death = [[Chittoor]]
 
| place of death = [[Chittoor]]
 
| buried =
 
| buried =
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}}
 
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'''Hyder Ali''' or '''Haidar 'Ali''' (c. [[1722]] - [[1782]]), was the de facto ruler of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] in southern [[India]].  
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'''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).  
  
Hyder Ali was a soldier-adventurer, who, followed by his son [[Tipu Sultan]], became one of the most formidable Asiatic rivals the British had ever encountered in India. He was arguably the greatest Military Generals to have walked the face of Asia. 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]]. 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 [[France|French]] when 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, and is thus credited with having been "the first Indian who formed a corps of [[sepoy]]s armed with firelocks and bayonets, and who had a train of artillery served by Europeans." He  induced [[Shamaiya Iyengar]] into his ministry as minister of post and police and later Shamaiya served under Tipu.
 
  
At the siege of Devanhalli ([[1749]]) Hyder's services attracted the attention of Nanjaraja, the minister of the [[Raja]] of Mysore, and he at once received an independent command; within the next twelve years his energy and ability had made him completely master of minister and raja alike, and in everything but in name he was ruler of the kingdom. In [[1763]] the conquest of [[Uttara Kannada|Kanara]] gave him possession of the treasures of Bednor, which he resolved to make the most splendid capital in India, under his own name, thenceforth changed from '''Hyder Naik''' into '''Hyder Ali Khan Bahadur'''; and in [[1765]] he received previous defeat at the hands of the [[Maratha]]s by the destruction of their forces at the [[Malabar coast]], and followed by the conquest of [[Calicut]]. Hyder Ali now began to occupy the serious attention of the [[Madras Presidency]], which in [[1766]] entered into an agreement with the [[Nizam]] of [[Hyderabad state|Hyderabad]] to furnish him with troops to be used against the common foe. But hardly had this alliance been formed when a secret arrangement was come to between the two Indian powers, the result of which was that Colonel Smith's small force was met with a united army of 50,000 men and 100 guns. British dash and sepoy fidelity, was devastated, first in the [[Battle of Chengam]] ([[September 3]], [[1767]]), and again still more remarkably in that of [[Tiruvannamalai]] (Trinornalai).
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==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]]. 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 [[France|French]] when 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 favoreable 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.
 +
 
 +
===De Facto Ruler===
 +
Replacing Mamjaraja as minister, in 1761 he placed the Rajah under house arrest and took over the reigns of power. In 1763, he led the conquest of [[Uttara Kannada|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 state|Hyderabad]] and with the Marathas to furnish them with troops to use against their common foe. 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.  He own troops advanced to within five miles of Madras. Quite willing to use diplomacy as well as his army, he then entered a protection treaty with the British at Madras against the possibility of Marathan retaliation for their earlier defeat.  He also entered a commercial treat with the Bombay Presidency. In 1771, the Maratha did attack but Haider Ali discovered that the British did not always keep their word; they did not assist him and consequently he lost a fleet he had just built as well as forts on the western coast. Stung by this treatment, he turned aside from diplomatic dealings with the English, instead seeking an alliance with the French.  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 Frencg concession but within his jurisdiction. The following year he again waged war, gaining territory in the Karnatic and inflicting another defeat on the British. 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 conflicst, 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.  Although he sent Tippu to seek French help, this did not materialize before his own sudden death in 1782,
  
On the loss of his recently made fleet and forts on the western coast, Hyder Ali now offered overtures for peace; on the rejection of these, bringing all his resources and strategy into play, he forced Colonel Smith to raise the siege of [[Bangalore]], and brought his army within 5 miles of Madras. The result was the treaty of April [[1769]], providing for the mutual restitution of all conquests, and for mutual aid and alliance in [[defensive war]]; it was followed by a commercial treaty in [[1770]] with the authorities of [[Bombay]]. Under these arrangements Hyder Ali, when defeated by the Marathas in [[1772]], claimed British assistance, but in vain; this breach of faith stung him to fury, and thenceforward he and his son did not cease to thirst for vengeance. His time came when in [[1778]] the British, on the declaration of [[American Revolutionary War|war]] with [[France]], resolved to drive the French out of India. The capture of [[Mahé, India|Mahé]] on the [[Malabar coast]] in [[1779]], followed by the annexation of lands belonging to a dependent of his own, gave him the needed pretext for the [[Second Anglo-Mysore War]].
 
  
Again master of all that the Marathas had taken from him, and with empire extended to the [[Krishna River]], he descended through the passes of the [[Western Ghats]] amid burning villages, reaching [[Kanchipuram]] (Conjeevaram), only 45 miles from Madras, unopposed. Not till the smoke was seen from [[St. Thomas Mount]], where [[Sir Hector Munro]] commanded some 5200 troops, was any movement made; then, however, the British general sought to effect a junction with a smaller body under Colonel Baillie recalled from [[Guntur]]. The incapacity of these officers, notwithstanding the splendid courage of their men, resulted in the total destruction of Baillie's force of 2800 ([[September 10]], [[1780]]). [[Warren Hastings]] sent from Bengal [[Eyre Coote|Sir Eyre Coote]], who, though repulsed at [[Chidambaram]], defeated Hyder thrice successively in the battles of [[Battle of Porto Novo|Porto Novo]], [[Battle of Pollilur|Pollilur]] and [[battle of Sholingarh|Sholingarh]], while [[Tipu Sultan]] was forced to raise the siege of [[Vandavasi]] (Wandiwash), and [[Vellore]] was provisioned. On the arrival of Lord Macartney as governor of Madras, the British fleet captured [[Nagapattinam]] (Negapatam), and forced Hyder Ali to confess that he could never ruin a power which had command of the sea. He had sent his son Tipu to the west coast, to seek the assistance of the French fleet, when his death took place suddenly at [[Chittoor]] in December 1782.
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
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[[Category:Muslim generals]]
 
[[Category:Muslim generals]]
 
[[Category:People from Karnataka]]
 
[[Category:People from Karnataka]]
[[Category:1722 births]]
 
[[Category:1782 deaths]]
 
  
[[es:Hyder Ali]]
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[[fr:Haidar Alî]]
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[[kn:ಹೈದರಾಲಿ]]
 
[[kn:ಹೈದರಾಲಿ]]
[[ka:ჰაიდარ ალი]]
 
 
[[ml:ഹൈദര്‍ അലി]]
 
[[ml:ഹൈദര്‍ അലി]]
 
[[ur:سلطان حیدر علی]]
 
[[ur:سلطان حیدر علی]]
  
 
{{Credit|210319991}}
 
{{Credit|210319991}}

Revision as of 21:50, 9 June 2008

Hyder Ali
Ruler of Mysore
Engraving of Hyder Ali by William Dickes, 1846
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. 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 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 favoreable 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.

De Facto Ruler

Replacing Mamjaraja as minister, in 1761 he placed the Rajah under house arrest and took over the reigns of power. In 1763, he led the conquest of 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 furnish them with troops to use against their common foe. 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. He own troops advanced to within five miles of Madras. Quite willing to use diplomacy as well as his army, he then entered a protection treaty with the British at Madras against the possibility of Marathan retaliation for their earlier defeat. He also entered a commercial treat with the Bombay Presidency. In 1771, the Maratha did attack but Haider Ali discovered that the British did not always keep their word; they did not assist him and consequently he lost a fleet he had just built as well as forts on the western coast. Stung by this treatment, he turned aside from diplomatic dealings with the English, instead seeking an alliance with the French. 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 Frencg concession but within his jurisdiction. The following year he again waged war, gaining territory in the Karnatic and inflicting another defeat on the British. 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 conflicst, 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. Although he sent Tippu to seek French help, this did not materialize before his own sudden death in 1782,


References
ISBN 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


kn:ಹೈದರಾಲಿ ml:ഹൈദര്‍ അലി ur:سلطان حیدر علی

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