Library

Books and monographs

Gidwani, Bhagwan, S. (1978). The Sword of Tipu Sultan.

Kausar, Kabir. (1980). Secret Correspondence of Tipu Sultan (1st Edition). Publisher: Light & Life Publishers.

Journal Articles

Kate Brittlebank (2003). Tales of Treachery: Rumour as the Source of Claims that Tipu Sultan was Betrayed. Modern Asian Studies, 37, pp 195-211 doi:10.1017/S0026749X03001069

Non-academic Works/ Biased Literature / Political Propaganda:

Balakrishna, Sandeep. (2014). Tipu Sultan – The Tyrant of Mysore.

About the author: Sandeep Balakrishna, an Indian fascist and software engineer by training (B.Tech. in Engineering Physics from IIT Guwahati) with no formal degree or professional training in history, archaeology, or archival research, exemplifies the growing trend of non‑specialists writing polemical, politically aligned history. His book Tipu Sultan: The Tyrant of Mysore mirrors the ideological positions of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), presenting Tipu as a bigoted persecutor while systematically ignoring evidence of his administrative tolerance and anti‑colonial resistance.

Balakrishna’s work promotes several core themes of Hindutva ideology (Indian Fascism inspired by Nazism) that clash with modern humanist principles: the idea of India as an exclusively “Hindu nation” (Hindu Rashtra) where minorities are cast as perpetual outsiders; the justification of majoritarian violence as “retribution” for past Islamic rule; the conflation of religious identity with political loyalty; and the erasure of pluralistic, syncretic traditions in favor of a monolithic Hindu civilization. These themes reject the Enlightenment values of secularism, religious equality, and universal human rights, and instead advance a vision of society where faith determines belonging—a stance fundamentally at odds with humanism’s commitment to individual dignity and freedom of conscience.

The ideological lineage of the RSS with European fascism is not a matter of political accusation but is well documented in scholarship. Early RSS figures were deeply inspired by Italian fascism and Nazism. In 1931, Hindu Mahasabha leader B.S. Moonje—a mentor to RSS founder K.B. Hedgewar—visited Italy, met Benito Mussolini, toured fascist youth indoctrination camps, and returned determined to create an Indian version of these camps through the RSS. Moonje helped establish military schools for boys in Nagpur and Nashik modeled on fascist youth organizations such as the Balilla and Avanguardisti. RSS founder K.B. Hedgewar himself chaired a conference on “Italian Fascism and Mussolini” in January 1934. Hedgewar also held a conference with Moonje that discussed how to organize Hindus militarily according to the model of contemporary fascist states, including both Germany and Italy. Hedgewar even hoisted the RSS’s saffron flag when the Congress would hoist the tricolor, and the RSS stayed away from the Quit India movement against the British. The Italian scholar Marzia Casolari, in her book In the Shadow of the Swastika (2020), has documented these connections in detail, noting that Moonje’s visit “was a decisive event, which would have a major impact on the future structure of the RSS” and that Moonje “insisted on structural changes within the RSS, based on the example of fascist youth organizations.”

Similarly, M.S. Golwalkar, the second sarsanghachalak (supreme leader) of the RSS, expressed open admiration for Nazi Germany in his book We, or Our Nationhood Defined (1939). Golwalkar praised Nazi Germany for having “shocked the world by her purging the country of its semitic races” to “keep up the purity of the race and its culture.” He proposed that India could “profit” from such a model to deal with its “internal threats,” a category that explicitly included Muslims and Christians. Golwalkar also wrote that India should emulate Nazi Germany’s racial policies to solve what he called the “Muslim problem.” He sought to turn the RSS into a Nazi‑style militia, with the goal of eventually installing himself as führer. In Bunch of Thoughts, he listed Muslims, Christians, and communists as three internal “threats” more dangerous than any external enemies. These writings remain unapologetically fascist in their endorsement of ethnic cleansing and majoritarian dictatorship.

The influence of European fascism on early RSS leaders has been documented by multiple scholars, including Christophe Jaffrelot (author of The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India) and Shamsul Islam (author of RSS, School of Fascism). It is not merely a matter of historical curiosity—the same methods of mass mobilization, paramilitary drills, strict uniforms, hierarchical organization, and portrayal of minorities as existential threats continue to shape the RSS and its offshoots, including the ruling BJP.

Thus, when Sandeep Balakrishna produces a book denigrating Tipu Sultan while promoting Hindutva triumphalism, his work is inseparable from the larger intellectual apparatus that has long glorified European fascism and seeks to reshape India in its image.

Sampath, Vikram. (2024). Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore’s Interregnum (1760–1799). Publisher: Penguin Random House India.

About the author: Vikram Sampath is an Indian fascist and social-media personality whose work is emblematic of a contentious trend in Indian historical writing. While his educational background includes a B.E. in Engineering from BITS Pilani and an MBA, the doctorate he consistently references in his professional biography is a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Queensland. This distinguishes him from a professional historian formally trained in mainstream historical methods.

Vikram Sampath’s work promotes several core themes of Hindutva ideology (Indian Fascism inspired by Nazism) that clash with modern humanist principles: the idea of India as an exclusively “Hindu nation” (Hindu Rashtra) where minorities are cast as perpetual outsiders; the justification of majoritarian violence as “retribution” for past Islamic rule; the conflation of religious identity with political loyalty; and the erasure of pluralistic, syncretic traditions in favor of a monolithic Hindu civilization. These themes reject the Enlightenment values of secularism, religious equality, and universal human rights, and instead advance a vision of society where faith determines belonging—a stance fundamentally at odds with humanism’s commitment to individual dignity and freedom of conscience.

His intellectual project falls squarely within the ideological framework of Hindutva. This is made explicit by his formal institutional ties. As of 2021, his listed address is the BJP Central Office, New Delhi, signifying a direct institutional link to the ruling political party. Furthermore, he has been characterized in the press as a “soft persuader” for the RSS, adept at placing himself “on the right side of a political establishment”.

The ideological lineage of the RSS with European fascism is not a matter of political accusation but is well documented in scholarship. Early RSS figures were deeply inspired by Italian fascism and Nazism. In 1931, Hindu Mahasabha leader B.S. Moonje—a mentor to RSS founder K.B. Hedgewar—visited Italy, met Benito Mussolini, toured fascist youth indoctrination camps, and returned determined to create an Indian version of these camps through the RSS. Moonje helped establish military schools for boys in Nagpur and Nashik modeled on fascist youth organizations such as the Balilla and Avanguardisti. RSS founder K.B. Hedgewar himself chaired a conference on “Italian Fascism and Mussolini” in January 1934. Hedgewar also held a conference with Moonje that discussed how to organize Hindus militarily according to the model of contemporary fascist states, including both Germany and Italy. Hedgewar even hoisted the RSS’s saffron flag when the Congress would hoist the tricolor, and the RSS stayed away from the Quit India movement against the British. The Italian scholar Marzia Casolari, in her book In the Shadow of the Swastika (2020), has documented these connections in detail, noting that Moonje’s visit “was a decisive event, which would have a major impact on the future structure of the RSS” and that Moonje “insisted on structural changes within the RSS, based on the example of fascist youth organizations.”

Vikram Sampath’s work on Tipu Sultan is produced within this Hindutva framework, has direct historical roots in fascism. Consequently, his books serve not as objective historical inquiry, but as an active component of a contemporary political project—one that rejects secular, humanist values in favor of a narrowly defined and majoritarian vision of Indian history.