
The Tiger of Mysore - Thevet
http://www.historytoday.com/zareer-masani/tiger-mysore
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quantumtremor
Although I don't know for sure, I believe Borges' short story The Zahir [0]
refers to Tipu in his usual convoluted way.

>In 1832, on the outskirts of Bhuj, Taylor heard the following uncommon
expression used to signify madness or saintliness: “Haber visto al Tigre”
(Verily he has looked on the tiger) He was told that the reference was to a
magic tiger that was the perdition of all who saw it, even from a great
distance, for they continued to think of it till the end of their days.
Someone mentioned that one of those unfortunates had fled to Mysore, where he
had painted the figure of the tiger in a palace.

>Years later, Taylor visited the prisons of that kingdom; in the jail at
Nithur, the Governor showed him a cell on whose floor, walls and vaulted
ceiling a Moslem fakir had designed (in fantastic colors, which time, rather
than erasing, refined) of an infinite tiger. It was a tiger composed of many
tigers, in the most dizzying of ways; it was crisscrossed with tigers, striped
with tigers and included seas and Himalayas and armies that resembled other
tigers.

[0] [http://southerncrossreview.org/66/borges-
zahir.htm](http://southerncrossreview.org/66/borges-zahir.htm)

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negamax
Not sure how BJP (current ruling party) has come to be identified as anti
left. It gained power simply because past governments (lead by Congress) were
divisive, had done massive scams and corruptions. Previous parties (who also
ruled) fanned religious divisions and kept people as vote banks, promoted
caste based policies. India's current reservation system is one such e.g.
Hosts of scams are many.

~~~
glasshead969
Not even sure what is left in Indian sense. its not as clear cut as it is in
west. And congress really doesn't have a clear ideology it stands right now
except may be the misguided notion that Rahul Gandhi is amazing.

~~~
negamax
Current ruling party (BJP) is left as far as left's ideologies goes

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douche
As a relatively entertaining fictional account of events around the downfall
of the Tipu Sultan, I have to recommend Sharpe's Tiger[1]

[1][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpe's_Tiger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpe's_Tiger)

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dleslie
> It is ironic that the current Hindu nationalist view of Tipu as a sadistic,
> fanatical war criminal so closely echoes the narratives of the British
> officers who fought and defeated him more than two centuries ago. It is
> equally surprising to find this Muslim autocrat, who revelled in the forced
> conversion of many thousands of Christian and Hindu prisoners, being hailed
> as a tolerant, secular nationalist by the Indian left.

This is going to be interesting.

> According to the memoirs of survivors, 52 British teenage boys were chosen
> for conversion to Islam in 1783. They were plied with bhang (hashish), held
> down by their arms and legs and circumcised by a barber. They were then
> plunged into scalding hot cauldrons of water to disinfect their wounds.
> Surprisingly, only one of them died. The rest were recruited into Tipu’s
> European brigades, while the youngest and prettiest became palace servants
> and dancing boys. Sadly, they were not released under subsequent peace
> treaties with the Company because Tipu maintained that they were willing
> converts and therefore his subjects.

 _sigh_

I suppose that was tolerant for the time.

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mankash666
The initial paragraphs summarize the dichotomy of Tipu's legacy, with the BJP
obsessing over his crimes against humanity, which the article itself details.

While Tipu might have been a fearsome leader, conqueror, there's no denying
his Islamist crimes. There's no way an airport or public holiday can be named
after him without controversy, just like one cannot exist in memorial of
Hitler.

