An Unsung Hero of India's Scientific Heritage

A rare photo of Tipu

 The scientific assembly of COSPAR 2012 concluded on July 22 at Mysore along with a lot of idea exchange with an invaluable breakthrough in the history of Indian science. One of the main contribution for science from India got its due respect when the COSPAR credited the advancements in Rocket Science to Mysore and its ruler Tipu Sultan during the scientific assembly that concluded in 2012. Although the international community acknowledges that Mysore Sultans as the fathers of war-rockets, we Indians still hesitate to give due credit to him. At a time when scientific research on the history of science is revealing India's contributions in the fields of astronomy and mathematics, this is a leap in claiming our true scientific heritage.

The painting at NASA at Wallops Islands

The whole story came into the mainstream of India after the release of the book 'Wings of Fire' by Dr. Kalam our former president. Once when Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam went to the Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Islands in East Coast, Virginia, which was a base of NASA's sounding rocket program, he saw a painting displayed prominently in the lobby there (the incidence is explained in his book, 'Wings of Fire'). The painting depicted a battle scene in which rockets are being launched against oncoming troops. Curiously, the soldiers launching the rockets were all dark-skinned, while the targets of the rockets were white-skinned troops in what appeared to be British uniforms.  Kalam took a closer look and realized that the painting was of a battle between Tipu Sultan’s army and colonial British troops on Indian soil. The heroes were Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan and the victim was Arthur Wellesley, the man who later defeated Emporer Napolean in the famous battle of Waterloo!

Territory of Tipu

Rocket Courts of Tipu Sultan in Today's Karnataka were the testing labs and innovation centers of Tipu's rockets. It came into the notice of many people that Rocket Courts are in a very pathetic situation today and the locality is in an ugly situation. As is the tradition in many issues in India, the Karnataka state archaeological department and the ASI are continuing blaming each other to escape from the responsibility of decades of neglect. The fact that the birthplace of war-rockets in the world is in Mysore is a matter of immense pride to every Indian. I think there is a need to discuss and feel the real pride about the real technological advancements of our past rather than talking about fake planet-to-planet flight services.

William Congreve, to whom modern war-rocketry is attributed to, started collection of hundreds of rockets  from the arsenals and battle fields of Mysore immediately after the Mysore Tiger was killed in the Battle of Srirangapatnam in 1799. All the rockets were taken to England and they did reverse engineering to make their own rockets which were later used in the war against USA three years after the War of Mysore, that is, in 1812. A poem written by Francis Scott Key about the war which later turned out to be the national anthem of USA, mention these rockets. The English confrontation with Indian rockets came in 1780 at the Battle of Guntur as told by historians. The closely massed, normally unflinching British troops broke and ran when the Indian Army laid down a rocket barrage in their midst. Unfortunately, a matter of pride, the Rocket Court is lying shattered in the streets of Srirangapatnam today, that place is not even a place of tourist attarction because of the slum-like nature of the locality. Serious efforts were started when Dr. Kalam was the president of India to pay the respect to Tipu Sultan by renovating the place. Even though DRDO announced a rocket museum at the Rocket Court, its not been materialized yet.

End Note: The neglect of government doesn't make Tipu a less important warrior. He is the only Indian King who fought against the Britishers directly in the battle field and martyred in the fields. We the people of India pay homage to this great warrior on the 216th anniversary of his martyrdom on 04th May. Bhagwan S. Gidwani has wrote an excellent novel titled 'The Sword of Tipu Sultan' on Tipu and his times. A historical drama based on the novel was broadcast in DD National in 1990.