The told & untold history of Mysuru Kingdom

Research and author: Ameen Ahmed Critics of Tipu Sultan (and Haidar Ali) give examples of four major communities as proof of brutalities and religious bigotry of these father-son rulers- Christians of Coastal Karnataka, Nayars of Malabar (Kerala), Coorgis and Brahmins, particularly the Mandyam Iyengars of Melukote. The later three are often clubbed together as Hindus. And then there is a counter against these arguments by authors who believe Haidar-Tipu were just like other rulers of that day and age- neither heroes nor villains but a product of their times. A closer look at the social structure and caste hierarchy of Kerala in the 18th and 19th centuries and the place of one of the castes- the Nairs during the period, suggests the conflicts may not have been religious. It is well known fact that Haidar Ali rose to power from the position as an ordinary soldier in the army of the Mysore Hindu Wodeyars in early 1750s. But what is not known much is that when he joined service of W...

Introduction There is a belief in today's mainstream political discourse in India that the Maratha Empire favoured ' Hindu nationalism '. This essay highlights how  during their repeated invasions of Karnataka (Mysore Kingdom) in 17th and 18th centuries CE, Maratha soldiers committed sexual violence against Hindu Kannadiga women, after  having deliberately destroyed dozens of towns and temples . There was also an instance when the Peshwa Maratha camp purified its entire camp after a member of Maratha Army's Brahmin advisor near had a sexual intercourse with a married Dalit woman near Shivamogga (Shimoga), around  Jan. 3, 1792 when  the town was captured from Tipu Sultan's army.  'Sketch of the advanced guard of the Mahratta army, coming to join Earl Cornwallis, near Seringapatam 26th May 1791' (1).  Source : James Rennell, 1792, Downloaded from the website of Royal Collection Trust on Aug. 25, 2020    Witnessing the Maratha Emp...

Introduction The Third Anglo Mysore War (1790-92 CE) saw Maratha Armies under Parshuram Bhau and Hari Pant (spelled  Puraseram Bhow  and  Hurry Punt  respectively by contemporary English writers) sweep through most settlements and farmlands of Mysore Kingdom (a big part of which is the present day state of Karnataka).  The Marathas were in action with a detachment of British East India Company's Bombay Army led by Captain little from May 1790 to June 1792. Both Hari Pant and Parshuram Bhau had about 12,000 men with them (1). While the general populace suffered heavily, contemporary writings say the non-Brahmins, referred to as Shudras by Francis Buchanan (2), suffered the most. While one reason for this was the segregation of residential layouts based on 'varna' or caste system in which  Brahmins resided in the most fortified part  of a settlement or even within actual forts, a closer look reveals the deliberate targeting of non-Brahmins/ Dalits by t...

The residential areas of 18th century Mysore Kingdom seem to have followed the age old varna or caste system of Hinduism according to eye witness accounts. Francis Buchanan^, an  early 19th century English Physician, traveler and writer says Brahmins always occupied the most fortified part of  the villages, towns and forts that he visited. Hence, according to him non-Brahmins were the worst sufferers of invasions by external forces. Here are a few such accounts by him: 'It must be observed, that throughout both Carnatica, except at Madras, and some other  large towns under the government of infidels, the Brahmans appropriate to themselves a  particular quarter of every town, and that generally the best fortified. A Sudra is not  permitted to dwell in the same street with a Brahman; while he again exacts the same  difference from the Whalliaru or Parriars, and other low caste. These people in general  live in wretched huts about the suburbs. A Brahman...