Hyder Ali - Rise To Power

Rise To Power

In 1748, Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I, the longtime Nizam of Hyderabad died. The struggle to succeed him is known as the Second Carnatic War, and pitted Asaf Jah's son Nasir Jung against a cousin, Muzaffar Jung. Both sides were supported by other local leaders, and French and British forces were also involved. Devaraja had started vesting more military authority in his brother, and in 1749 Nanjaraja marched the Mysorean army in support of Nasir Jung. The army went to Devanhalli, where the Mysoreans participated in the Siege of Devanahalli Fort. The fort was held by Muzaffar Jung's forces and the siege was conducted by the Marquis de Bussy. During the successful eight-month siege, the Naik brothers distinguished themselves, and were rewarded by the dalwai with enlarged commands. By 1755 Hyder Ali commanded 3,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry, and was reported to be enriching himself on campaigns by plunder. In that year he was also appointed Faujdar (military commander) of Dindigul. In this position he first retained French advisers to organise and train his artillery companies. He is also known to have personally served alongside de Bussy, and is believed to have met both Muzaffar Jung and Chanda Shahib. In these early wars he also came to dislike and mistrust Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, the Nawab of the Carnatic. In fact Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah and the Mysorean leaders were long at odds with each other, seeking territorial gains at the other's expense. Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah had by then formed an alliance with the British, and he was accused by Hyder Ali in later years of effectively preventing him from making any sort of long-lasting alliances or agreements with the British.

Throughout the Carnatic Wars, Hyder Ali and his Mysore battalions served alongside French commanders such as Joseph Francois Dupleix, Count de Lally and De Bussy, he also assisted Chanda Sahib on various occasions. Hyder Ali supported the claims of Muzaffar Jung and later sided with Salabat Jung. During the Second Carnatic War, Hyder Ali was active during the Battle of Seringham, Battle of Golden Rock, Battle of Sugar-loaf Rock, Battle of Tondeman's Woods. During the Third Carnatic War, Hyder Ali was active during the Battle of Trivadi and the Battle of Pondicherry.

Early in his career, Hyder Ali retained as one of his chief financial assistants a Brahmin named Khande Rao. Hyder Ali, who was illiterate, was reported to be blessed with a prodigious memory and numerical acumen, and Khande Rao established an accounting system to manage his finances. The system included checks and balances so sophisticated that all manner of income, including plunder of physical goods of all types, could be accounted for with little possibility for fraud or embezzlement. This financial management may have played a role in Hyder Ali's rise in power.

In 1757 Hyder Ali was called to Seringapatam to support Devaraja against threats from Hyderabad and the Marathas. Upon his arrival he found the Mysorean army in disarray and near mutiny over pay. While Devaraja bought his way out of the threats to Seringapatam, Hyder Ali arranged for the army to be paid and arrested the ringleaders of the mutiny. Hyder Ali then led the Mysorean campaigns against the Nairs of Malabar (the west coast of India). For his role in these activities Hyder Ali was rewarded by Devaraja with the jaghir (regional governorship) of Bangalore. In 1758 Hyder Ali successfully forced the Marathas to lift a siege of Bangalore. By 1759 Hyder Ali was in command of the entire Mysorean army. The young raja Krishnaraja rewarded Hyder Ali's performance by granting him the title Fatah Hyder Bahadur or Nawab Hyder Ali Khan. Because of the ongoing conflicts with the Marathas the Mysorean treasury was virtually bankrupted, prompting the queen mother to force into exile Nanjaraj, who had assumed the position of dalwai upon his brother's death in 1758. Hyder Ali was a beneficiary of this action, rising in influence in the court.

In 1760 the queen mother conspired with Khande Rao, who had gone into the raja's service, to oust Hyder Ali. He was precipitously forced out of Seringapatam, leaving his family, including his son Tipu Sultan, under house arrest. The sudden departure left Hyder Ali with few resources. He may have been fortuitously aided at this time by the faraway Third Battle of Panipat, in which the Marathas suffered a major defeat. Because of this loss, the Marathas withdrew forces from Mysore and Hyder Ali's brother-in-law Makdum Ali chased them into Bidnur and Sunda. Hyder Ali soon consolidated his strength by placing Mirza Sahib as the commander of Sira, Ibrahim Ali Khan in Bangalore and Amin Sahib his cousin in Basnagar. Soon afterward Hyder Ali marched alongside Makdum Ali's forces, which numbered about 6,000, along with the 3,000 men from his garrison at Bangalore, toward Seringapatam.

They clashed with Khande Rao's forces before reaching the capital. Khande Rao, with 11,000 men, won the battle, and Hyder Ali was forced to apply to the exiled Nanjaraj for support. Nanjaraj gave him command of his army, and the title of Dalwai. With this force Hyder Ali again moved out against Khande Rao. The two armies faced each other again, but a deception by Hyder Ali convinced Khande Rao to flee instead of engaging in battle. Hyder Ali sent letters appearing to be from Nanjaraj to some of Khande Rao's commanders, confirming their agreement to hand Khande Rao over to Hyder Ali. Fearing a conspiracy, Khande Rao fled into Seringapatam. After a minor battle against the now-leaderless army, Hyder Ali took over most of its remnants and surrounded Seringapatam. The ensuing negotiations left Hyder Ali in nearly complete military control of Mysore. Concessions that he extracted included the surrender of Khande Rao, who Hyder Ali imprisoned in Bangalore.