To Siyad Abdulla, Dated 18th January 1790. With the grace of God and help from Muhammad, we have almost entirely converted the non-believers. A few a… - Tipu Sultan

Your Majesty’s gracious letter…has given increased [value] to our friendship…You were pleased to write that it was the object of yours to crush the infidels and to propagate the religion of Muhammad; please God, your Majesty would soon proceed with the conquering army to prosecute a holy war against the infidels and heretics…It is my hope…that the oppression of the infidels and polytheists may be destroyed by the avenging sword of those who have been selected by God to exercise dominion… The English having received intimation of the arrival of the ambassadors of the Sarkar [Tipu’s ambassadors] at your Highness’s court…have taken umbrage, and in concert with the infidels, taken up arms against me and they have written that they entertain the design to subvert Islam. Many are the words that proceed from their lips but their words are nought but lies.

It is our constant object and sincere intention, that those worthless and stiff-necked infidels, who have turned aside their heads from obedience to the true-believers, and openly raised the standards of infidelity, should be chastised by the hands of the faithful, or made either to acknowledge the true religion or to pay tribute, particularly at this time, when owing to the imbecility of the princes of Hind, that insolent race having conceived the futile opinion, that the true believers are become weak, mean and contemptible; and not satisfied even with this, but preparing for war, have over-run and laid waste the territories of the Moslems, and extended the hand of violence and injustice on the property and honour of the faithful.

If none of your Majesty’s noblemen should be sufficiently in your confidence or equal to the undertaking, and if your Majesty should be entirely at ease with respect to the state of your country… it is proposed that you should in person proceed to Delhi, and having made the necessary arrangements there, establish one of your confidential servants in the office of the Vizier and return to your own capital. The person who may be selected…[as the] Vizier must be a man of enterprise and status, that remaining twelve months with his army in Delhi, he may be able to bring under subjection the chiefs of the neighbouring country. The second year, your Majesty should also send from your capital a small army as a reinforcement so that the Vizier…may proceed with the chiefs of Hindustan towards the Deccan. Should those infidel Brahmins direct their power to that quarter, by the grace of God, the hands of the heroes of the Faith in this part of the world shall be raised for their chastisement. After their extirpation, it will be proper to enjoin the Vizier…to fix upon a place of rendezvous and there to meet me and then a proper means may be adopted for the settlement of the country.