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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Persecution of Hindus in pre-1947 India}}
The '''Captivity of Nairs at Seringapatam''' was imposed on the [[Nairs]] of [[Malabar (Northern Kerala)|Malabar]] by [[Tipu Sultan]], the ''de facto'' ruler of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] from 1786 to 1799. They were subjected to forcible conversions to [[Sunni Islam]], the official religious sect sanctioned by the [[Ottoman Caliphate]], who's approval and alliance was sought by Tippu Sultan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncfIAAAAQBAJ&q=sunni+ottoman+tipu+sultan&pg=PA194|title = The Persian Gulf in History|isbn = 9780230618459|last1 = Potter|first1 = L.|date = 5 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uX4fEAAAQBAJ&q=sunni+ottoman+tipu+sultan&pg=PA8|title=Noncooperation in India: Nonviolent Strategy and Protest, 1920-22|isbn=978-0-19-758056-1|last1=Hardiman|first1=David|date=March 2021}}</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20201008012707/https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/khilafat-scriptural-sanction-and-historical-antecedents-2704819.html</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210711004105/https://fiveminthistory.com/history/kingdom-of-mysore/tipu-sultans-relations-with-the-ottoman-empire/amp/</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20171209214727if_/https://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-two-faced-tipu-sultan-political-double-trouble-2272500</ref> those who refused conversions had to face many humiliations, hardships, torture, and even death.<ref>{{harvnb|Fernandes|1969|p=120}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Knight|1858|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QuY-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA94 94]}}</ref> The Nairs were treated with extreme brutality due to their strong adherence to the [[Hindu]] faith and martial tradition.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharma|1991|pp=34–35}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Punganuri|1849|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_7QIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA40 40]}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Palsokar|1969|pp=75–79}}</ref> The captivity ended when Nair troops from [[Travancore]] defeated Tipu in the [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]].<ref>{{harvnb|Craik|MacFarlane|1847|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uMhLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA161 161]}}</ref><ref name="Honor">{{harvnb|Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain)|1842|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ad9PAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA494 494]}}</ref> It is estimated that out of the 30,000 Nairs put to captivity (including women and children), only a few hundred returned to [[Malabar (Northern Kerala)|Malabar]] alive.<ref name="Honor"/><ref>{{harvnb|Prabhu|1999|p=250}}</ref>

North Malabar was divided into the [[Nair]] principalities of Chirakkal, Kadattanad, Kottayam, Kurangod and the [[Moplah]] principality of Cannanore which owed nominal allegiance to Chirakkal. South Malabar was divided between the [[Zamorin of Calicut]] and the [[Raja]] of [[Cochin]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hasan|first=Mohibbul|title=History of Tipu Sultan|date=1 December 2005|publisher=Aakar Books|page=140|isbn=9788187879572|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkbJ6xA1_jEC&q=kirmani+tipu&pg=PA372|access-date=14 February 2014}}</ref>

==Nairs under Hyder Ali==
The period of [[Mysore kingdom|''Sultan'' of Mysore]] [[Hyder Ali]] conquest of Malabar between 1766 and 1793 was met with stiff opposition from the local Nairs.<ref name="Tipu"/> In 1766, he marched into [[Palakkad]] and [[Malabar (Northern Kerala)|Malabar]], followed by another march into Malabar via [[Thamarassery]] ghat in 1767.<ref name="Tipu"/> Hyder quickly understood the Nair psyche and caste pride and decided to use it to facilitate conversions.<ref name="Tipu">{{harvnb|Fernandes|1969|p=38}}</ref> To this end, he deprived Nairs of [[caste privilege]]s, equating them to [[Paravas]], prohibited them from [[carrying arms]], and outlawed them.<ref name="Tipu"/> Furthermore, he offered privileges back to anybody who converted to Islam.<ref name="Tipu"/> This forced some Nairs and many members of the Hindu community to adopt Islam, and resulted in the first appearance of Islam in the Malabar countryside.<ref>{{harvnb|Mathur|Anthropological Survey of India|1977|p=348}}</ref> Humiliated by these perceived slights imposed by the ''Sultan'', the Nairs rose in rebellion.<ref name="Tipu"/> They harassed isolated block-houses set up by Hyder, raided, pillaged, and destroyed stores and munition dumps.<ref name="Tipu"/>

Ayaz Khan was a [[Nair]] from [[Chirakkal, Kannur|Chirakkal]] who had been taken prisoner by Hyder during the latter's [[Malabar region|Malabar]] campaign of 1766.<ref>{{Cite book|last=The Proceedings of the Indian History|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.21492|title=The Proceedings of the Indian History Congress Ninth Session,annamalai University|date=1945}}</ref> He became a [[Muslim]] and was enlisted in the Asad-i-Ilahi (new converts) troops. Finding favour with [[Hyder Ali]], in 1779 he became Governor of [[Chitradurga|Chitaldroog]] and in 1782 of Bednur. The British approached him and he rejected their overtures, but after Hyder's death he agreed to support them and handed over Bednur to them.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hasan|first=Mohibbul|title=History of Tipu Sultan|date=1 December 2005|publisher=Aakar Books|page=28|isbn=9788187879572|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkbJ6xA1_jEC&q=kirmani+tipu&pg=PA372|access-date=14 February 2014}}</ref>

==Nairs under Tipu Sultan==

===Related Letters===
[[File:Tipu Sultan BL.jpg|thumb|right|[[Tipu Sultan]] (1750–1799), the architect of the Seringapatam Captivity]]
In his letter to the Governor of [[Bekal]], Budruz Zaman Khan, in the year 1200 AH (1785 AD), Tipu approved of forced conversions of Nairs:<ref name="Calicut"/>
{{quote|text="Your two letters, with the enclosed memorandums of the Nâimâ (Nair) captives, have been received. You did right in causing a hundred and thirty-five of them to be circumcised, and in putting eleven of the youngest of these into the Usud Ilhye band, and the remaining ninety-four into the Ahmedy troops, consigning the whole, at the same time, to the charge of the ''[[Kiladar]]'' of [[Bednur|Nugr]] (Bednore).}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Kirkpatrick|title=Select letters of Tippoo Sultan to various public functionaries|year=2012|publisher=General Books|page=256|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n9FCAAAAcAAJ&q=Select+Letters+of+Tippoo+Sultan+to+Various+Public+Functionaries|access-date=14 February 2014}}</ref>

In May of the same year, an order was sent to the ''[[Faujdar]]'' of [[Kozhikode|Calicut]], Arshad Ali Baig, pertaining to the treatment of a Nair dissident:<ref name="Calicut">{{harvnb|Sen|1930|p=158}}</ref>
{{quote|text="Getting possession of the villain, Goorkul, and of his wife and children, you must forcibly make Mussalmans out of them, and then dispatch the whole under a guard to [[Seringapatam]]."<!--Putn in the reference actually stands for Seringapatam. Refer https://books.google.com/books?id=VLEo_DUL9XgC&pg=PA261#v=onepage&q&f=true.-->}}

===Proclamation===
In 1788, Tipu issued a proclamation to the Nairs of Malabar, wherein he outlined his new scheme of social reform:<ref name="Malabar">{{harvnb|Menon|1962|pp=155–156}}</ref>

His proclamation was met with widespread resentment and consequently, the Hindus of Malabar rose in rebellion.<ref name="Malabar"/> Due to fear 30,000 Brahmins fled to [[Travancore]].<ref name="Malabar"/> The Kottayam and Kadattanand Rajas sought protection from the English East India Company.<ref name="Malabar"/> In November 1788, Tipu's forces attacked [[Zamorin|Calicut]] and captured the Karanavappad of Manjeri.<ref name="Malabar"/> Their assaults were met with resistance by the Nairs of Calicut and southern Malabar led by [[Ravi Varma of Padinjare Kovilakam|Ravi Varma]] and other princes of the Padinjare Kovilakam.<ref name="Malabar"/> Tipu set 6,000 troops under his French commander, M. Lally to raise the siege, but failed to defeat Ravi Varma.<ref name="Malabar"/>

===Captives===

The following year in 1789 Tipu sent Gulam Ali, Gaji Khan and Darvedil Khan with troops into [[Coorg]] by way of Siddhesvara.<ref name=Moegling4>{{cite book|last=Moegling|first=H|title=Coorg Memoirs: An Account of Coorg and of the Coorg Mission|year=1855|page=98|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5ABAAAAQAAJ&q=moegling+coorg|access-date=11 February 2014}}</ref> where they took up strong positions, seized grain, men, women and children while burning houses that they pillaged.<ref name=Moegling4/> They set fire to the [[Bhagamandala|Padinalkanadu]] temple.<ref name=Moegling4/> Later the 'Maleyalam' ([[Malabar region]]) people joined the Coorgs.<ref name=Moegling4/> Tipu sent Gulam Ali into Malabar but en route Gulam was attacked by the Coorgs.<ref name=Moegling4/> Gulam managed to reach Malabar where he burnt down the [[Payyavoor|Payyavur]] temple and attacked that region.<ref name=Moegling4/>

That same year (1789), when Tipu was marching against the [[Nairs]] at [[Calicut]] who had become rebellious, he heard of another rebellion in [[Coorg]]. He sent a force towards [[Coorg]] under Burhan ud Din and Sayed Hamid. Tipu himself crossed the [[Thamarassery|Tamarasseri]](Tamrachadi) Ghat and entered [[Malabar region]]. There he ordered some of the inhabitants to be converted (made Asadulai), placed Officer Ghafar in command there and had a wooden fort or stockade built.{{sfn|Punganuri|1849|p=40}}

[[Tipu Sultan|Tipu]] had halted in the Malabar to enforce his proclamation.<ref name="Malabar"/> General orders were issued to his army that 'every being in the district without distinction should be burned, that they should be traced to their lurking places, and that all means of truth and falsehood, force or fraud should be employed to effect their universal conversion'.<ref name="Malabar"/> The Raja of Cherkal ([[Chirakkal, Kannur]]) fled to [[Thalassery|Tellicherry]] but when he was intercepted he killed himself. Then his body was dragged round the camp and hung from a tree.<ref>{{cite book|last=Moegling|first=H.|title=Coorg Memoirs|year=1855|page=100|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5ABAAAAQAAJ&q=moegling+coorg|access-date=15 February 2014}}</ref> Tipu besieged the Kadattanad Raja's fortified palace at Kuttipuram, and 2,000 Nairs—forced to surrender after a resistance of several days.<ref name="Malabar"/> Several ''Rajas'' and wealthy land owners fled to Travancore, where the [[Dharma Raja]] helped them to rehabilitate themselves in their new surroundings.<ref name="Malabar"/> On the other hand, Nairs retreated into the jungles where they engaged in guerrilla warfare against the invading Mysorean army.<ref name="Malabar"/>
Tipu further organised a regular and systematic hunt for Nairs.<ref name="Malabar"/> He then proceeded to [[Kannur|Cannanore]] and after celebrating the marriage of his son with the daughter of the [[Ali Raja]], marched along the coast of Chowghat.<ref name="Malabar"/> He then made arrangements for the administrative reorganisation of the province, and retired to [[Coimbatore]], leaving a permanent occupying force to frighten and subjugate the local population.<ref name="Malabar"/>

==See also==
* [[Mysorean invasion of Kerala]]
* [[Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam]]
* [[Captivity of Kodavas at Seringapatam]]
*[[Moplah rebellion]]

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|colwidth=50em}}
* {{Cite book
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|first2=Charles
|authorlink2=Charles Macfarlane
|last1=Craik
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|year=1847
|title=Pictorial history of England: being a history of the people, as well as a history of the kingdom, Volume 6
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uMhLAAAAYAAJ
|publisher=C. Knight
|access-date=28 November 2011}}.
* {{Cite book
|last=Fernandes
|first=Praxy
|year=1969
|title=Storm over Seringapatam: the incredible story of Hyder Ali & Tippu Sultan
|publisher=Thackers
}}.
*{{cite book
|title=History of Tipu Sultan
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkbJ6xA1_jEC&q=kirmani+tipu&pg=PA372
|last=Hassan
|first=Mohibbul
|year=2005
|publisher=Aakar books
|isbn=9788187879572
}}.
* {{Cite book
|last=Knight
|first=Charles
|year=1858
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|publisher=Bradbury & Evans
|access-date=28 November 2011}}.
* {{Cite book
|last=Kirkpatrick
|first=William
|year=2002
|title=Select Letters of Tippoo Sultan to Various Public Functionaries
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n9FCAAAAcAAJ&q=Select+Letters+of+Tippoo+Sultan+to+Various+Public+Functionaries
|publisher=General Books
|access-date=14 February 2014}}.
* {{Cite book
|last2=Anthropological Survey of India
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|first1=P. R. G.
|year=1977
|title=The Mappila fisherfolk of Kerala: a study in inter-relationship between habitat, technology, economy, society, and culture
|publisher=Kerala Historical Society
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* {{Cite book
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|first=A. Sreedhara
|year=1962
|title=Kerala District Gazetteers: Arnakulam
|publisher=Superintendent of Govt. Presses
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|first=R. D.
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|publisher=s.n
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* {{Cite book
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|isbn=978-81-86778-25-8
}}.
* {{Cite book
|last=Punganuri
|first=Ram Chandra Rao
|year=1849
|title=Memoirs of Hyder and Tippoo: rulers of Seringapatam, written in the Mahratta language
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* {{Cite book
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* {{Cite book
|last=Sharma
|first=Hari Dev
|year=1991
|title=The real Tipu: a brief history of Tipu Sultan
|publisher=Rishi Publications
}}.
* {{Cite book
|last=Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain)
|year=1842
|title=Penny cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volumes 23–24
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ad9PAAAAMAAJ
|publisher=C. Knight
|access-date=28 November 2011}}.
{{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Captivity Of Nairs At Seringapatam}}
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