Haidar ali and tipu sultan

CHAPTER V

THE MARATHAS INVADE MYSORE A SECOND TIME

HAIDAR was conscious also that, by having ousted the Marathas from the Sira district, when he obtained the sham title of Nawab from Basalat Jang, he had incurred the resentment of the Peshwa, as well as that of the ruling Nizam. He therefore, after conquering the small territory of Sunda, north of Bednur, availed himself of the aid of Raza Ali Khan, son of Chanda Sahib, who had served with the French, to train and discipline his troops, preparing himself for the inevitable struggle before him. Madhu Rao, who had succeeded his father, Balaji Baji Rao, as Peshwa in 1761, was an able and energetic ruler, and ill disposed to submit tamely to the insult put upon him by Haidar. He made extensive preparations to compel the latter to surrender the territory he had usurped. Haidar, on his part, knowing, what a formidable enemy he had to meet, endeavoured to win over to his side the Nawab of Savanur²¹, but failing in his attempts, attacked that chief and ravaged his country, seizing also the fortress of Dharwar on the other side of the Tungabhadra. In order to check his advance, the Peshwa pushed on Gopal Rao, the chief of Miraj with a considerable force to attack Haidar, but the latter, notwithstanding his inferiority in numbers, obtained a victory. Soon, however, the main body of the Maratha army advanced to meet him, and a bloody contest ensued near, Rattihalli, south of Savanur, in which, in spite of his skilful manoeuvres, Haidar was overwhelmed by the Maratha horse, and signally defeated, losing the best portion of his troops.

To such a stress was Haidar now reduced that he had to flee with a few cavalry to the woods of the Bednur country, and although Madhu Rao’s advance was for a time checked by the rainy season, he soon crossed the Tungabhadra, and pursued so vigorously that Haidar, hemmed in on all sides by the Marathas, was forced to despatch his family and treasure to Seringapatam, and to sue for peace. Madhu Rao consented, on condition that all the territory formerly held by Morari Rao of Gutti should be restored, that Savanur should be surrendered, and that thirty-two lacs of rupees should be paid as an indemnity for the expenses incurred by the Marathas. Haidar was not however disturbed in the possession of Sira, or of the tracts wrested by him from the neighbouring Palegars.

CHAPTER VI

CONQUEST OF MALABAR

IT is a remarkable fact that, although his fortunes seemed now to be reduced to the lowest ebb, Haidar immediately set about, planning fresh conquests in another direction. A soon as order was restored in the eastern part of Mysore, where, owing to his defeat by the Marathas, an insurrection had broken out, he turned his, eyes to an invasion of Malabar on the west coast, on the plea that it formed part of the Bednur principality. This region was first made known to Europeans by the voyage of Vasco da Gama, whose exploits are recorded in the celebrated Lusiad of Camoens. The seventh and eighth cantos of that poem give an interesting account of the interviews between the Portuguese hero and the Samuri or Zamorin²².

The region was originally, called Kerala. It had been held by a chief styled Perurial Cheraman, deputy of the kings of the Chera dynasty, whose dominion appears to have extended over all the country west of the ghats, from Gokarnam in North Kanara down to about the ninth degree of north latitude. Tradition says that the last of these Viceroys became a Musalman about the year 825 A.D., and resolved to go to Mecca, but, before doing so, he divided his possessions among his principal chiefs. To the Chirakkal or Kolaittiri chief he left his regalia and the northern part of his territory; to the Utayavar of Venat, ancestor of the Travancore Raja, the southern part; to the Perimpatappa chief, who is supposed to have been his son, Cochin; and to the Zamorin his sword, and as much country as the crowing of a cock could be heard over²³. The language spoken in this part of Southern India is Malayalim, a Dravidian tongue closely allied to Tamil; and from time immemorial the matriarchal system prevailed, that is, on the death of a chief, for instance his sister’s sons succeeded, to the exclusion of his own sons, while females were adopted in case of failure of direct issue. It was formerly, and is perhaps to some extent still, the custom among the Nairs, who form the bulk of the population, that one woman should marry several brothers²⁴. At an early period, owing to the constant commercial relations with Arabia, Islam was introduced among the NAIRS, and the descendants of the mixed race, half-Arab and half-Hindu, were called Mapillas²⁵ - a hardly military race, but bigoted and fanatical. Haidar entered the country on the invitation of Ali Raja of Cannanore, a feudatory of the Kolattiri chief who aimed at independence. He also claimed from the Zamorin a large sum due to Mysore, which that chief had engaged to pay in order to buy off Haidar’s troops when, in 1757, they had espoused the cause of his rival, the Palghat Raja. Owing to the gallant resistance of the Nairs, and to the difficulty of forcing his way through the thick forests which impeded his progress, Haidar’s losses were heavy. But after determined opposition on the part of the enemy, and tremendous carnage in their ranks, he succeeded in reaching Kalikat (Calicut) when the Zamorin tendered his submission. Haidar received him kindly, and settled his military contribution at four lacs of sequins, but, suspecting treachery, sent troops to occupy Calicut; and as the Zamorin delayed payment, he and his minister were imprisoned, the latter being, tortured. The Zamorin, fearing a similar disgrace, set fire to the house in which he was confined: and perished in the flames. The chiefs of Cochin and Palghat at once bowed their heads to the conqueror, and Haidar, after strengthening the fort of Calicut, proceeded to Coimbatore. Yet three months had hardly elapsed after his departure, when the Nairs rose in insurrection, and compelled his speedy return.

His lieutenant, Raza Sahib, marched from Madak-kara to suppress the revolt, but was hemmed in by the Nairs, unable either to advance or retreat. Haidar, in spite of the inclemency of the season and the flooded state of the country, advanced boldly into the interior, his troops being exposed to heavy rain, and having frequently to cross the mountain streams up to their chins in water. The Nairs collected their forces in and entrenched camp, and inflicted great loss on the Mysore troops; but a French officer in Haidar’s service gallantly led a storming party, which carried the enemy’s position, and completely routed them. Resolved to strike terror into the insurgents, Haidar at first beheaded or hanged all who were taken prisoners, and then restored to the expedient of deporting the wretched inhabitants wholesale to the plains of Mysore, where thousands of them perished from hunger and misery.