Tippu Sulthan

Tippu Sultan is one of P K Balarishnan’s earliest works on one of India’s prominent historical personalities sometimes loosely described as a religious fanatic. Tippu's life is an unusual tragedy. Anybody who comes into contact with the facts of his life will be attracted by the drama of his tragic life. This has lead to various dramas and novels on his life in different languages. And histories doing factual justice to his life were practically non-existent.

Tippu Sultan who fought the British relentlessly is however neither included in the regional loyalists category nor the national champions'. In Tippu Sultan, Balakrishnan studies Indian history in a rare light that reflects on other champions of our national cause and also takes a look at the ugly side of our national pride.

Tippu Sultan's contact with Malabar is a very small portion of his history. To correctly assess Tippu Sultan and Malabar invasion, it is necessary to have a proper understanding of Indian history. More than two thirds of this book contains Indian history. In that larger Context, relevant Kerala history is described as a 'close up'.

This book is dedicated to the memory of the author's friend P.K. Abdul Khader.