Tipu Sultan Quotes

In his letter dated 22 March 1789 to Abdul Kadir, the Talukdar of Kotungeery, Tipu boasts: ‘We have conferred the honour of Islamism on ten or twelve thousand infidels, of whom we have detained Lumboony Bhutmar [perhaps a generic name for the Nairs] and some of their principal men who were the instigators of the [late] sedition . . . you must communicate this to the unbelievers [in your quarter] and moreover, sending for them, make Musalmans of them, and then dismiss them to their homes.’

In another letter, addressed to an officer in Coorg, Tipu remarks: You are to make a general attack on the Coorgs, and, having put to the sword or made prisoners the whole of them, both the slain and the prisoners, with the women and children, are to be made Musalmans.

To begin the so much desired work of the conversion of the Hindoos and to seize on the Brahmins, ... and make them examples to the other inferior castes, in becoming Mussulmans, by suffering circumcision and being compelled to eat beef: accordingly many Brahmins were seized in or about the month of July 1788...

In his letter to Syed Abdullah and three others of religious orders, he wrote on 18 January 1790: Through the divine favour and with the assistance of prophesy [Prophet Mohammad], the whole of the infidels inhabiting the districts of Farrukhi [Calicut] have received the honour of Islamism. There are only a few on this side of the country of Cochin who remain [to be converted]; and these also it is our firm determination to exalt and distinguish by bestowing upon them the happiness of the true faith. As this [then] is an affair of holy war [jihad], we write to you, among others who are conversant in sacred matters.40

He wrote a letter to the Mughal Emperor, which read as follows: This steadfast believer, with a view to the support of the firm religion of Muhammad, undertook the chastisement of the Nazarene tribe, who, unable to maintain the war I waged against them, solicited peace in the most abject manner. With the divine aid and blessing of God, it is now again my steady determination to set about the total extirpation and destruction of the enemies of the faith.

I am sending two of my followers with Mir Hussain Ali. With their assistance, you should capture and kill all Hindus. Those below 20 may be kept in prison and 5,000 from the rest should be killed by hanging from the tree-tops. These are my orders.

Oh! Almighty God! Dispose the whole body of infidels! Scatter their tribe, cause their feet to stagger! Overthrow their councils! Change their State! Destroy their very root! Cause death to be near them, cut off from them the means of sustenance! Shorten their days! Be their bodies the constant object of their cares (i.e. infest them with diseases), deprive their eyes of sight, make black their faces (i.e. bring shame and disgrace on them), destroy in them the organs of speech! Slay them as Shedaud (i.e. the Prince who presumptuously aimed at establishing a paradise for himself and was slain by command of God); drown them as Pharoah was drowned, and visit them with the severity of thy wrath. Oh Avenger! Oh! Universal Father! I am depressed and overpowered, grant me thy assistance.

It has lately been represented to us, that the Koorgs have committed some excesses .... You are, in conjunction with him, to make a general attack on the Koorgs; when, having put to the sword, or made prisoners of, the whole of them, both the slain and the prisoners are to be made Musulmans. In short, you must so manage matters, as [effectually]] to prevent them from exciting any further sedition or disturbance.

‘Having circumcised them,’ Tipu ordered, ‘you must enroll them among the faithful [make them Musalmans] . . . if any of those should escape, you will come under our displeasure.

The imbecility and ruinous condition of the kingdom of Delhi are more obvious than the sun. Delhi, which is one of the seats of the Government of the Muslim faith, has been reduced to this state of ruin so that the infidels altogether prevail; it has become proper and incumbent upon the leaders of the Faithful that uniting together they exterminate the infidels.

In early 1796, Tipu had dispatched ambassadors, Meer Habibullah and Meer Mohammad Raza, to Zaman Shah with valuable presents, elephants and messages of friendship to pursue the common cause of ‘carrying on the holy war against the infidels and freeing the region of Hindostan from the contamination of the enemies of our religion.’

With the grace of Prophet Muhammed and Allah, almost all Hindus in Calicut are converted to Islam. Only a few are still not converted on the borders of Cochin State. I am determined to convert them also very soon. I consider this as Jehad to achieve that object.

In yet another letter, written on the occasion of seizing a part of the Nizam’s calvary at Kadapa, Tipu says: Let the prisoners be strangled, and the horses, after being valued, be taken into Government service.

Meer Husain Ali has been dispatched [to you] with two kushoons. With the assistance of Almighty God, and guided by the Divine grace, he will, with the [further] aid of the holy Prophet, [soon] join you. You must [then] in conjunction with the aforesaid Meer, make prisoners of, and slay the infidels [utterly]. Such of the males among them as may be under twenty years of age, are to be made prisoners. Of the remaining unbelievers, let five thousand be suspended to trees.

In letters to Muslim rulers, he abused the Marathas addressing them as “those worthless Sardars of the Poona infidels.” Here is a representative letter addressed to Zaman Shah of Kabul: Your Majesty would soon proceed…to prosecute a holy war against the infidels…should those infidel Brahmins [Marathas] direct their power…the hands of the heroes of the Faith [Muslim soldiers] in this part of the world shall be raised for their chastisement. We should unite in carrying on a holy war against the infidels…Delhi, the seat of the Government of the Muhammadan faith has been reduced to this state of ruin so that the infidels altogether prevail…we should unite in carrying a holy war against the infidels and free these regions of Hindustan.