Hyder vs Tipu: converts

Source: Nidhin George

During campaigns

Tipu

So imagine where Tippu is angry with Shimogas palegar who refuses to bend before him. Tipu would besiege the city and the palegar loses the war. The palegar and his family will be taken captives to Spattana and kept in house arrest with an allowance. If he was important enough and had a daughter or sister of marriageable age Tipu did institute a practise (probably inspired by Akbar - as Kirmani alludes to specifically) of marrying her.

What would happen to other people of Shimoga - brahmins and others who also had sisters /daughters - I have seen ZERO evidence except in 1 case in an assault on kurnool where women were taken captive as state policy. Coorge however was adifferent and Tipu gave instructions to take men women children captive - I assume Brahmins too - same for certain refractory kingdoms in Malabar.

Kirmani mentions 4 or 5 instance of major Mysore victories against Maratha armies in small skirmishes and in all these cases mentions tipu releasing the women with gifts and oaths that their husbands would not fight Mysore any longer.

Haider

Haidars policy was more rough. I have seen all his incursions into Bednur/Carnatic involve massive abductions of women folk. In 1 instance in the sack of Bednur Kirmani writes of Haidar exhorting his men to seize the beautiful brahmin women as prizes. Please note even till Tipus time the large majority of Mysores standing army was Hindu (except the cavalry component) so I assume the Hindu soldiery also participated in plunder. At no point were calls (which were largely useless as no one paid heed) given to isolate Muslim women from Hindus like for eg during Timurs or Nadir Shahs sack of Delhi.

So if you ask me - In whose time were Hindu/Brahmin women of a newly conquered city safer - Haidar or Tipu’s. Definitely Tipu’s.