An important power emerged in Mysore under Hyder Ali near Hyderabad in South India. From the time of the disintegration of the Vijayanagara Empire in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 AD, the Kingdom of Mysore maintained its weak independence and was nominally a part of the Mughal Empire. In 1612 AD, King Venket II of Vijayanagara gave the title of 'Raja' of Mysore to a Raja Wadiyar. In the 17th century, the Wadiyar dynasty expanded their kingdom substantially. In 1732 AD, when a minor prince Immadi Krishnaraja sat on the throne of Mysore, two ministers named Dulavai (chief general) Devaraja and Sambhakari (revenue and finance superintendent) Nanjaraj concentrated the power of Mysore state in their hands. He had turned the king Chikka Krishnaraja into a puppet.
Early Life of Hyder Ali (Hyder Ali's Early Life)
Hyder Ali was a great warrior of South India in the middle of 18th century, who became the ruler of Mysore on the strength of his hard work, dedication and ability, and today a skilled politician and high ranking in Indian history. Revered as the commander of K.
Haider was born in 1721 AD in a very simple family of Budikote, Mysore. His great-grandfather Wali Ahmed had come to Gulbarga from Delhi. Haider Ali's father Fateh Muhammad had reached the rank of commander of Mysore on the strength of his military talent. Due to the death of Fateh Muhammad in a battle in 1728 AD, Hyder Ali could not get proper education, but due to difficulties, he developed qualities like determination, self-confidence, courage etc.
Although Haider was not educated, he was a brilliant soldier of sharp intellect. His elder brother Shahbaz served in the Mysore army. In 1738, at the age of 16, Hyder also joined the Mysore army as a cavalryman.
The Rise of Hyder Ali (Rise of Hyder Ali)
Hyder Ali had a talented general. All the qualities of a clever politician were also present. Gradually progressing with his talent, Hyder Ali reached a high position in the Mysore army. In 1749 AD, he got independent command in Mysore. At this time the kingdom of Mysore was embroiled in a quadrangular struggle between the Nizams, Marathas, British and French. Haider took full advantage of the state's chaotic situation and continued to consolidate his position. Influenced by the discipline and military prowess of European soldiers, he made a deep study of the French war system. When the Marathas attacked Mysore in 1753, 1754, 1757 and 1759 AD, Hyder Ali rose rapidly during this period of crisis. Impressed by his power and ability, Nanjraj appointed him the Faujdar of Dindigal and then the commander of Mysore in 1755 AD. Finally, in 1761, Haider himself became the de facto ruler of Mysore by removing Prime Minister Nanjraj from power. Soon Hyder became a master of manipulation and was able to control the rebellions of warriors, chieftains and landlords on the strength of his military talent.
Hyder Ali's politics (Hyder Ali's Politics)
Despite being illiterate, Hyder Ali's military and political abilities were unparalleled. He had very good relations with the French. He established a modern armory with the help of the French in Dindigul in 1755 AD and arranged for the training of the Mysore army in modern methods. As the commander and ruler of Mysore, he realized that a well organized army was the need of the hour. To face the attacks of the Marathas, a fast and powerful cavalry was needed and a good artillery was needed to deal with the army trained by the French of the Nizam. For the first time, Haider formed a detachment of controlled sepoys armed with guns and bayonets, behind the power of artillery whose artillery was European.
political position : The circumstances of 1761 AD were most helpful in the rise of Hyder Ali. Due to the conflict between the British and the French, Karnataka had become financially poor. The Nizam was first under the influence of the French and later the British and his position was weak. Being defeated in the battle of Panipat, the Marathas were also not in a very good position and were unable to establish dominance in South India. Therefore, after seizing power, Hyder Ali started expanding his kingdom and soon after conquering Badnore, Kanara and small princely states of South India and merged them into his kingdom. But the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the British were all apprehensive of Haider's ability and his expansionist policy. Almost from the very beginning of his power, he had to engage in battle with the Maratha chieftains, the Nizam and the British.
Attack on Bednoor: In 1763 AD the Raja of Bednur died and there was a dispute between his two successors for the throne. Hyder Ali supported one side, but in reality he wanted to usurp Bednoor. So he killed both the claimants and captured Bednoor. He changed the name of Bednoor to Hyderabad.
Conquest of Malabar: After Bednur, Hyder Ali conquered Malabar. He defeated the kings of Cochin, Palghat, Calicut and Dakshina Kannada and forced the Poligars of South India to accept their suzerainty. Hyder annexed Sunda, Siri and Gooty to his kingdom.
Clash with Marathas : Hyder Ali was consolidating his power against the Marathas that in 1764 AD Peshwa Madhavrao attacked him. The Marathas captured the fort of Dharwad by defeating Haider's general Fazal Ali Khan. Haider was defeated in this battle and he had to give the districts of Gooty and Banur and 32 lakh rupees to the Marathas.
Anglo-French Rivalry in Karnataka
First Anglo-Mysore War , 1767-69 E. (Anglo-Mysore War I, 1767–69 AD.)
The first war between Haider Ali and the British took place in 1767 AD. In fact, the Marathas, the Nizams and the British were thinking of cracking down on Hyder Ali, being frightened by the rise of Hyder Ali and his expansionist policy. The Nizam hated her by calling her low-born. The Marathas wanted to stop his expansionist policy. The British were angry with him because there was French influence in his court and the French used to provide military training to his army. Furthermore, the British feared that Hyder Ali wanted to conquer Karnataka as he had given refuge to Mahfouz Ali, the elder brother of Muhammad Ali, the Nawab of Arcot. Therefore, the struggle between the British and Hyder Ali became inevitable.
building threesome: Suspicious of Hyder Ali's power and ambition, the British first made a diplomatic treaty with the Nizam in 1766 AD. The company promised to provide assistance to the Nizam against Hyder Ali in exchange for the northern governments. Along with this, Hyder's eyes were on the Nizam's Balaghat area, due to which the Nizam was frightened. Maratha Peshwa Madhavrao was also angry with Hyder Ali as Hyder Ali had taken over Maratha territories and he was in secret talks with his uncle Raghunathrao. Therefore the Peshwa decided to take action against Hyder Ali by befriending the Nizam. Thus the British, Nizam and Marathas formed a faction against Hyder Ali. After this the British attacked Mysore in 1667 AD.
Haider's diplomacy: Hyder Ali was not educated, but he was a skilled diplomat. Without hesitation, acting diplomatically, he separated the Peshwa from the trinity by promising to pay a chauth of 35 lakh rupees and to return the Maratha territories that had been taken away. Similarly, by diplomatic means, he also separated the Nizam from the three faction. He assured the Nizam that he would assist him in taking back the northern government's districts from the British.
Nizam's betrayal: After this the armies of Hyder Ali and Nizam attacked Karnataka. But the British army under Smith defeated the combined forces of Nizam and Hyder Ali in the battles of Changamaghat and Trinomali. After this the Nizam left Hyder Ali and he joined the British.
Hyder Ali was not deterred by the betrayal of the Nizam. He faced the English army with unparalleled valor and courage. He repeatedly defeated the British forces of Bombay and, inflicting terrible destruction, he reached near Madras, which frightened the Madras government.
Treaty of Madras: Hyder Ali forced the British to make the Treaty of Madras on 4 April 1769. The British accepted Hyder Ali's suzerainty over the conquered territories and promised that the British would help Haider if any power attacked Mysore. The British accepted Karnataka as the Karad state of Mysore. Thus the First Mysore War, which was fought for almost two years, proved to be very beneficial for Mysore and proved fatal for the British. This caused a huge blow to the prestige of the British as an Indian power had forced the British to accept their terms.
Second Anglo-Mysore War 1780-1784 E. (Anglo-Mysore War II, 1780-1784 AD.)
The Madras Treaty of 1769 was not a treaty but a ceasefire. Although there was peace between the British and Hyder Ali for ten years after this treaty, but from 1771 AD, the relations between the British and Mysore started getting bitter. In 1771 AD Peshwa Madhavrao attacked Mysore. There were mainly two reasons for this - one was that Hyder Ali had stopped paying taxes to the Peshwa and second, by taking advantage of the internal disputes of the Marathas, he again attacked the territories returned to the Marathas.
Hyder Ali sought help from the British against the Marathas, because after the First Anglo-Mysore War in 1769, the British had promised Hyder that if any third power invaded Mysore. If she does, the British will help her. But in 1771 AD, the British did not help Haider against the Maratha invasion. This made Hyder Ali very angry with the British. Apart from this, the British government had assured the supply of ammunition to Hyder Ali in 1770 AD, but that too was not fulfilled. The French port on the Malabar Coast to meet the need for guns, artillery, gunfire and ammunition for Haider's troops Mahi It was from Hyder Ali was organizing and training his army with the help of French and European mercenaries. The British viewed this Mysore-French relationship with suspicion.
When Hyder Ali took control of Coorg and Malabar in 1772 AD, the British in Bombay became apprehensive. In 1775 AD, the British took control of Guntur, this angered Hyder Ali even more because he himself wanted to take over Guntur. America's war of independence also started in 1775 AD, in which France was helping the American colonies. In order to take over the French settlements in India by the British, when the British located in the area of Hyder Ali Mahi Haider's displeasure increased when he took over the French colony. Hyder considered Mahi under his protection. Therefore, he considered the action of the British as a declaration of war. The rulers of South India were irritated for a long time by the presence of the British in their midst. Taking advantage of this, Hyder Ali made an agreement with the Nizam and Marathas against the British in 1778 AD.
In July, 1780, Hyder Ali invaded Karnataka with a mighty army and 100 cannons and destroyed Arcot by destroying a British contingent of 2,800 soldiers under Colonel Bailey. But took possession. Soon almost the whole of Karnataka came under his control. But the power of the British and the diplomacy of Warren Hastings once again saved him. Warren Hastings broke the Nizam by giving him the district of Guntur and separated him from the anti-British alliance. In 1781-82 AD, he made a peace-agreement with the Marathas and thus a large part of his army was freed from the war with Mysore.
Reforms and Policies of Warren Hastings
Hyder Ali firmly faced the situation alone. In July, 1781 AD, the British army under the command of Ayrkut saved Madras by defeating Hyder in the Battle of Portonovo. In this war, more than 10,000 soldiers of Hyder Ali were killed. In September 1781, the British defeated Haider in the Battle of Sholingar. The following year Haider turned the tide of battle, defeating the English army under Colonel Braithwaite and taking Braithwaite captive. Meanwhile a French fleet headed by Admiral Safran came to the aid of Hyder Ali. As a result, Ayerkoot failed to capture Haidar's military center Arni.
The war was not over yet, fortunately for the British, on December 7, 1782, Haider died of cancer. हैदर के बहादुर पुत्र टीपू सुल्तान ने युद्ध जारी रखा। उसने 400 फ्रांसीसी सैनिकों के सहयोग से बंबई से आने वाली सेना को पराजित करके सेनापति मेथ्यूज को बंदी बना लिया। लेकिन इसी समय यूरोप में फ्रांस तथा इंग्लैंड के मध्य युद्ध बंद हो गया। इसलिए टीपू का साथ छोड़कर फ्रांसीसी युद्ध से अलग हो गये।
मंगलौर की संधि: अंग्रेज और टीपू भी युद्ध से थक चुके थे, इसलिए दोनों पक्षों में मार्च, 1784 में मंगलौर की संधि हो गई और एक-दूसरे के जीते हुए सारे प्रदेश लौटा दिये गये। अंग्रेजों ने संकट के समय मैसूर को सहायता देने का वचन दिया। वास्तव में यह संधि टीपू के लिए उत्कृष्ट कूटनीतिक सफलता थी। इस तरह यह सिद्ध हो गया कि अंग्रेज अभी इतने कमजोर हैं कि मराठों या मैसूर को नहीं हरा सकते। किंतु भारत में अपने बल-बूते पर खड़े होने की योग्यता, उन्होंने निश्चित ही दिखा दी थी। गवर्नर जनरल वारेन हेस्टिंग्स इस संधि को अपमानजनक मानता था, हालांकि उसे विवश होकर इस संधि को स्वीकार करना पड़ा था।
इस प्रकार हैदरअली दक्षिण भारत का एक कुशल राजनीतिज्ञ और महान योद्धा था। यद्यपि अंग्रेज, मराठे और निजाम उसके शत्रु बने रहे और उसे मित्रता के बाद धोखा ही मिला। फिर भी, उसने साहस और धैर्य के साथ अंग्रेजों का डटकर मुकाबला किया। उसने धार्मिक पक्षपात से मुक्त होकर प्रजाहित के अनेक कार्य किये। उसका मंत्री पूर्णिया ब्राह्मण था, जो उसका बड़ा ही विश्वासपात्र था। उसने राज्य के प्रायः सभी बड़े पदों पर हिंदुओं की नियुक्ति की थी। भारतीय शासकों में वह पहला था जिसने अपनी सेना को यूरोपीय ढंग से सुसज्जित और प्रशिक्षित करने का प्रयास किया था।
लॉर्ड कॉर्नवालिस के सुधार (Reforms of Lord Cornwallis, 1786–1793)
1857 की क्रांति :कारण और प्रसार (Revolution of 1857:Causes and Dissemination)