External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar attended the launch of historian Vikram Sampath’s book Tipu Sultan: The Saga of the Mysore Interregnum at the Indian Habitat Centre in Delhi on Saturday. During the event, Jaishankar described Tipu Sultan as a “complex figure” in Indian history, noting both his resistance to British colonial rule and the more controversial aspects of his governance.
Jaishankar acknowledged Tipu Sultan’s prominent role in opposing British colonial expansion. He stated, “Tipu Sultan is actually a very, very complex figure in history. On the one hand, he has the reputation as a key figure who resisted the British colonial control over India, and it is a fact that his defeat and death can be considered a turning point when it came to the fate of peninsular India.” However, Jaishankar also pointed out the “adverse” impact of Tipu Sultan’s rule in the Mysore region, mentioning that he still evokes “strong adverse sentiments” in several areas, including Mysore itself.
The Minister criticized the traditional focus of Indian historical narratives, which, according to him, have concentrated mainly on Tipu Sultan’s battles against the British while downplaying other facets of his rule. “Contemporary history writing, certainly at the national level, has focused largely on the former, and underplaying, if not neglecting the later. Let’s be honest, this was not an accident,” Jaishankar remarked.
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Jaishankar also discussed how history is often manipulated to suit political agendas, saying, “Politics indulges in cherry-picking the facts,” and in the case of Tipu Sultan, the emphasis on the Tipu-British conflict has led to the formation of a simplified narrative. “By highlighting the Tipu-English binary, to the exclusion of a more complicated reality, a particular narrative has been advanced over the years,” he explained.
He further noted that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, India has seen the emergence of alternative historical perspectives, stating, “In the last 10 years, the changes in our political dispensation have led to the emergence of alternative perspectives.”
Jaishankar also praised Sampath’s book for offering new insights, particularly about Tipu Sultan’s diplomatic relations with France and England. He pointed out that while India’s post-independence foreign policy is widely studied, the interactions of Indian kingdoms with international powers prior to independence often go overlooked. “The interaction of Tipu’s missionaries with their French and English counterparts is really fascinating,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Jaishankar emphasized the importance of open-minded scholarship and debate in India’s development as a pluralistic and democratic society.
