“TIPPOO SULTAN”
A Tale of The
DR
MRS. ILA RAO
In
The Confessions of a Thug, Meadows Taylor had a very patronising
attitude towards the main character, for the activities of thugs were in no way
affecting the British interests in
With
regard to Tippoo Sultan, however, the attitude, though basical
by the same, is slightly different. Care is taken to increase and exaggerate
the faults of Tippoo Sultan and his so-called cruel and atrocious deeds so that
there could be some justification for British action in
In
the novel Tippoo Sultan, Meadows Taylor has very cleverly manipulated
historical events and romance. A close study of the book reveals that the
emphasis was more on the story of the other characters than on the story of
Tippoo Sultan. There is no distortion of the historical events, on the other
hand they have been very faithfully presented but the title is quite
misleading, for the plot is built round two characters, Meer
Kasim Ali and Herbert Compton and not on the
character of Tippoo Sultan. Very few events from the life of Tippoo Sultan
figure in the novel, only those that are relevant to the stories of these two
characters of Meer Kasim
Ali and Herbert Compton are given prominence. What was of primary importance
was the struggle of the British against the might of Tippoo Sultan, and the
effect it had on the life of two characters–one an Indian and the other an
Englishman. It was absolutely important to magnify the defects of the Indian
rulers and justify the British rule. Thus the story of the two characters,
though dissimilar are also similar and coincide at certain points like two
circles which are also so close to each other than they overlap at two points.
Then again Tippoo’s character is not directly
presented but only through the attitudes of these two characters.
The
novel starts with the description of a party of people on horseback being
escorted across the plains of Adoni by a strikingly
stalwart man of middle age, elaborately dressed in very rich garments. This is
Abdul Rhyman Khan, one of Tippoo’s
favourite commanders at Seringapatam.
He was travelling with his third wife, a young girl
of striking beauty, called Ameena. Suddenly a
terrific storm arose and the party was completely shelterless
and their only refuge was a small village across a stream which the rain had
transformed into muddy torrent. The rest of the party crossed the stream with
the aid of their horses, but Ameena insisted on being
carried across in her palanquin; while the bearers were carrying the palanquin
through the raging waters, one of them slipped and the palanquin fell into the
water. Ameena had not a chance of saving herself and
was carried off swiftly down the stream. The rest of the people were
dumb-founded and thunder-struck by this unforeseen calamity and the Khan was
absolutely grief-stricken and gave Ameena up for
lost. In the meanwhile a little distance down the stream a young man, Meer Kasim Ali, who belonged to
the village, was watching the rising waters of the stream. Seeing Ameena floating past, he jumped into the stream at the risk
of his own life and rescued her. Meer Kasim Ali carried Ameena home and
then came to know that she was the Khan’s wife. He speedily went to inform the
Khan that his wife had been saved. The Khan was filled with admiration for this
brave young man Meer Kasim
Ali and was thankful for Ameena’s safety. He gladly
became Kasim’s guest for the night and he made up his
mind to reward the young man for his brave act. Kasim
Ali, on the other hand, had been so impressed by the beauty of Ameena that he spent a restless night. His mother, realising his feelings, quietly suggested that since Ameena was already married he should banish all thoughts of
her from his mind. Kasim Ali quietly said, “Her fate
is with mine, mother, from the moment I was impelled to rescue her from the
waters, I felt that my life was connected with hers”.1 Next morning
at the time of departure, the Khan felt that the most fitting reward for Meer Kasim’s services was a
position in Tippoo’s army. He offered to take him to
the court of Tippoo and give him a good position in the army. Meer Kasim readily agreed, for he
looked upon this offer as the only way in which he could at least be near Ameena. Thus Kasim Ali gladly
joined the Khan’s group when they resumed their journey. While passing through
the town of
The
scene now shifts to the West, in the words of the author, “To the perfect
understanding of the events connected with this veritable history, therefore,
we feel ourselves obliged to retrograde, a few years, and to leave the glowing
climate of the East for a while, to breathe in idea the colder yet more
congenial air of England”.2 The narrative then moves on to the
family of the Rector Mr. Compton. His eldest son Herbert Compton had joined the
army and was proceeding with his regiment to
Meadows
Philip Dalton falls in love with his friend’s
sister, marries her and returns to
In
the court of Tippoo there were violent misgivings about an impending battle
with the English. It was absolutely essential to have the help of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Peshwas of Maharashtra. Kasim Ali was despatched as a
messenger to the Nizam. Kasim
Ali came back with the promise of help from the Nizam.
But at the last moment the Nizam goes back on his
word and allies himself with the English. This was the greatest blow to Tippoo’s plans. Undaunted, he attacks Travancore
and brings the full force of the British army on himself. The British then
direct their attack on Bangalore and Tippoo is
defeated and forced to sign a treaty. For a while there is peace, then the
combined armies of the British, the Nizam and the Peshwas launch their attack on Mysore.
Addul Rhyman Khan was
killed and Kasim
Ali badly injured. The British captured him and it was here that he met Philip
Dalton who was anxious for news about. Herbert Compton. Kasim
Ali was touched by the humane treatment of the English which was quite a
contrast to the cruel treatment of Tippoo. He gradually developed a hatred for
the tyrannical acts of Tippoo Sultan and consequently great admiration for the
English. The treaty by which most of the dominions of Tippoo Sultan were taken
away and given to the Nizam effected the possessions
of Kasim Ali. All his lands were annexed now to the Nizam and this facilitated his resignation from Tippoo’s army and it also facilitated his alliance with the
English. In the final attack of the English on Seringapatam,
Kasim Ali helped the English and showed them a route
into the fort that was known only to him. Tippoo Sultan was killed and the
English brought the Hindu dynasty to the throne of Mysore.
The conflict with Tippoo comes to an end, and Meadows Taylor rounds off the
story of Herbert Compton and Kasim Ali. He is too
competent a story-teller to leave the narrative unfinished. Herbert Compton who
was found in a prison in Coorg is saved and
subsequently reunited with his family and Amy Hayward. Kasim
Ali managed to find Ameena and settles down happily
with her.
Tippoo
Sultan is more a romance than a historical novel. The
actual facts have been very carefully maintained in the book and the story is
very skilfully manipulated into the framework of
history. Meadows Taylor is certainly a very interesting story-teller and he
uses all the traditional tricks of intrigue, suspense and mystery. The novel
starts after the Second Mysore War when Tippoo
Sultan’s supremacy in the South had been established. The novel deal’s with ten
years from 1789 to 1800. In the account that Meadows Taylor gives of the
British attack of Bednore and the seige
and capture of Anantapur, he makes it quite clear
that his main intention was not to state facts of history but to make it a
proper backround for the story of Herbert Compton.
“It is far from our intention” he says, “to follow seriatim the operations of
this campaign, which are already the matters of history, except as they are
necessary to the explanation of the positions into which the fate Herbert
Compton led him”. 3 Tippoo Sultan’s attack on Travancore
is also described at length, and here again the stress is not on the historical
significance but the way these events are described. ”It is foreign to our tale
to describe every event of the war, which has already been so much more
efficiently done in the histories of the periods, besides we have a pleasant lience in such matters without which it would be impossible
for us to conduct our readers to any satisfactory conclusions of our history”.4
All the important events of the year are very faithfully described but not with
much stress on the historical significance. There is a very happy blending of
fact and fiction. The death of Tippoo Sultan, though of vital importance in
Indian history, brings the novel to a happy conclusion so far as the main
characters are concerned.
What
is more amazing is the skill with which Meadows Taylor keeps up the continuity
of the story, in spite of the confusing details and numerous characters. His
style of narration follows the zigzag method where alternatively he narrates
the story of each character up to a certain point and then finally brings all
the characters together. The method is very much like a pendulum oscillating between
two important points, and in between he narrates also the intrigues of the
wives of Abdul Rhyman Khan, the story of Philip
Dalton, but he maintains the unity by connecting everything finally to the two
important characters, Herbert Compton and Meer Kasim. Tippoo Sultan is the final binding factor in all
this confusion.
It
is interesting to note the attitude that Meadows Taylor had towards Tippoo
Sultan. Most of the time only his faults have been highlighted and he has been
portrayed as a fanatic, superstitious and cruel. Only rarely does Meadows
Taylor refer to his good points. He indirectly points out the staunch views of
Tippoo Sultan. “He is faithful to those he loves, but a bitter foe to those who
provoke him”.5 The author is not completely biassed
in his assessment of Tippoo’s character, for he
explains and gives reasons for his hatred of the English.
“He
sees their restless love of intrigue and power, he knows how they have sown
dissensions in Bengal and wrested many fair provinces from the sway of the true
believers”. 6 There is the incident of the slaughtering of the bull
and the smearing of the blood on the face of a Brahmin, which is most
revolting. One does not know the truth behind such stories. By hearsay Tippoo
Sultan, though a staunch Muslim, had respect and regard for the Hindu religion
as can be seen from the various temples he allowed in the kingdom–the chief, of
course, being the temple of Sriranga
from which the town of Seringapatam takes its name. Tippoo’s ill-treatment of English prisoners might be true
enough, but when he was out to defend his own country he had every
justification to act in this manner. Tippoo was by nature very superstitious
and on this quality most writers have stressed upon. A
completely different picture is presented in a Bengali drama on Tippoo Sultan,
written by Mahendra Gupta. Here he is
portrayed as a very heroic character with no signs of meanness in his attitude.
The supreme moment of frustration and tragedy in his life
comes when he realises that he is alone in his
struggle against the British and that the Nizam
and the Peshwas have deceived him. There is a great
deal of exaggeration in the delineation of Tippoo’s
character by Meadows Taylor. Consequently in the character of Kasim Ali, Meadows Taylor makes every effort to justify his
actions. Right from the start he has been pictured as a very heroic, handsome
and noble figure. Lest this figure be tarnished by his act of treachery to
Tippoo Sultan, the author makes haste to reassure us that at the time of the
betrayal he was no longer in the employment of Tippoo Sultan. Besides, Tippoo
Sultan’s own actions had destroyed the feeling of loyalty that Kasim had towards his king.
Meadows
Taylor has a very pleasing style. As seen in The Confessions of a Thug he
excels in descriptions. Though in many ways the subject he has concentrated
upon paints a very hostile picture of India, he makes up for this by
concentrating on the scenic grandeur of the country. To the 18th century
Englishman, India was a land of adventures, battles, curious and interesting
people with different faiths, superstitions and ceremonies–a land which was the
grave of many Englishmen. Nevertheless, it was a charming country which excited
the imagination. Descriptions are an absolute necessity to the novel as the
topography of the country is essential for completing the picture of India that
Meadows Taylor was trying to paint. He was definitely a lover of beauty and
whatever the defects of India in the English eyes, it was certainly a rich jewel
of great value. About the mountains of the South, the author writes “Mountains
of very strange and varied form, whose naked tops displayed bright hues of colour, rose in their precipices out of eternal forests,
and formed combinations of beautiful forms not to be expressed
by words”.7 He is also able to capture the majesty and beauty of the
Nilgiri mountains.
“The
blue distance melted into the sky, by a succession of the tenderest
tints and away through the plains rolled the Bhowanee,
a silver thread glittering amidst the most exquisite colours”.
8
Tippoo
Sultan is a romance and not a complete historical
novel. The historical background is only a setting for the stories of Herbert
Compton and Kasim Ali who can be called the main
characters in the novel. It is their stories that create the suspense and
interest in the novel. The story of Tippoo Sultan is relegated to the
background and occupies only a minor place. The prejudice that the English
would have had towards this character is easily perceptible. The novel is,
however, a good document of the English attitude towards India in the 18th
century.
1
Tippoo Sultan, Meadows Taylor, p. 18
2 Ibid.
p. 59
3 Ibid.
p. 156
4 Ibid.
p. 353
5 Ibid.
p. 90
6 Ibid.
p. 90
7 Ibid.
p. 153
8 Ibid.
p. 220