In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore, one of the most formidable enemies the British East India Company ever faced in India. The episode begins at Seringapatam on May 4, 1799, as British-led forces breach the fortress walls and Tipu’s French advisors urge him to escape. Instead, he chooses to fight, reportedly declaring that it is better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep before dying in hand-to-hand combat near the gateway. That dramatic end was not just the fall of a ruler. It removed the greatest military, economic, and technological obstacle standing between the British and domination of the Indian subcontinent.

The episode also follows Tipu’s rise from the son of Haider Ali, a self-made military ruler, into a hardened commander trained by French officers, fluent in  ...