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Unit 1: British Expansion

to a close the history of Mysore’s independence. Tipu died fighting bravely. The members of Tipu’s Notes
family were interned at Vellore. The English annexed Kanara, Coimbatore, Wynead, Dharpuram besides
the entire sea coast of Mysore. Some territories were given to the Nizam. A boy of the earlier Mysore
Hindu royal family was installed on the gaddi of Mysore and a Subsidiary Alliance was imposed.
Administration of Tipu Sultan

The only system of government known to the Indian sub-continent at that time was despotism and
Tipu’s system could not be different. The Sultan was the embodiment of all civil, political and military
authority in the state. He was his own foreign minister, his own commander-in-chief and acted as the
highest court of appeal in his kingdom.
In spite of the absence of any constitutional checks on his authority, Tipu Sultan did not behave like
an irresponsible despot. He displayed a high sense of duty to his office and believed that his subjects
“constitute a unique trust held for God, the Real Master.” He took great care to work for the welfare
and happiness of the people.
The Central Administration. Tipu Sultan’s zeal for innovation and improvement prompted him to
introduce a number of changes in the system of government he inherited from his father. H.H. Dodwell
gives Tipu the credit of being the first Indian sovereign who sought to apply the western methods to
his administration. Each department was put under the charge of a chief assisted by a number of
subordinate officers who constituted a Board. The decisions in the department were taken after full
discussion where members enjoyed the right to dissent. The decisions were taken by a majority of
votes and the minutes of the meetings were recorded. However, the final decision in all important
matters rested with the Sultan.
There was no office of the Wazir or Prime Minister in Tipu’s administration. The seven principal
departments each under a mir asif was directly responsible to the Sultan. The seven departments
were the Revenue and Finance Department (Mir Asaf Cutchehri), the Military Department (Mir Miran
Cutchehri and the Zumra), the Commerce Department (Malikut-Tujjar Cutchehri), the Marine
Department (Mir Yam Cutchehri) and the Treasury and Mint Department (Mir Khazain Cutchehri).
37 ½%
Besides there were some minor departments like Post & Intelligence Department, the Public Buildings
Department, the Cattle Department etc.
The Provincial and Local Administration: After 1784 Tipu divided his kingdom into seven provinces
called asafi tukris. Later the number of provinces was increased to 17. The two principal officers in a
province were the asaf (Civil Governor) and the faujdar (Military Governor) and the two were expected
to act as a check on each other. The provinces were further divided into districts and further down
there were a number of villages in each district. The traditional village panchayats provided the
infrastructure for local administration.
Land Revenue: By and large Tipu continued the revenue system of Haidar Ali but introduced greater
efficiency into it. He tried to establish direct relationship between the Government and the cultivator
by discouraging the jagirdari system, resumption of unauthorised inam (rent free) lands and
confiscation of the hereditary land rights of the poligars (zamindars).
The Government employed the method of inducement-cum-compulsion to bring more land under
cultivation. The Amil, incharge of the district, toured his district and sanctioned taqavi (advances of
money) loans to the needy peasants to purchase ploughs and extend cultivation. Further, if the Amil
found that in a household there were a number of men and a few ploughs, he would urge the head of
the family to acquire more ploughs; in case of defiance and if the Amil was satisfied that in a village
there was more ground fit for cultivation (say, of sugarcane) than under actual plough then, as a
penal measure, the Amil could charge the land tax cultivated on the basis of all cultivable land and
not the land under actual cultivation.
The land revenue demand of the state ranged from 1/3 to 1/2 of the total produce, depending on the
fertility of the land and availability of irrigation facilities. In 1792 the state’s income from revenue
was over two crores which was reduced to nearly one-half after the treaty of Seringapatam, 1792
(when he had to surrender half his kingdom to the E.I. Company and her allies). To make up for this
loss in income, in 1765 Tipu increased the assessment by over pre-1792 rates.

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