Fact Check: Slave trader Tippu Tip passed off as Tipu Sultan

Users claim that one of the two is an original photograph of Tipu Sultan. The post said Congress was using wrong picture of Tipu Sultan in textbooks

By Newsmeter Network  Published on  4 Aug 2021 4:19 AM GMT
Fact Check: Slave trader Tippu Tip passed off as Tipu Sultan

Hyderabad: A set of two pictures is viral on social media.

Users claim that one of the two is an original photograph of Tipu Sultan. The post said Congress was using wrong picture of Tipu Sultan in textbooks

The post on Facebook reads: "टीपू सुल्तान ना केवल शक्ल से बदसूरत और राक्षस जैसा दिखाई देने वाला इंसान था बल्कि शक्ल की तरह ही क्रूर, निर्दई, भी था। उसकी क्रूरता को याद करते हुए मेलकोट के अयंगर ब्राह्मण आज भी दीवाली नहीं मनाते लेकिन वोटों के लिए सेकुलर भांड उसे महान आदमी का दर्जा देते हैं…!!"

"Tipu Sultan was not only ugly and demon-like in appearance, but cruel, ruthless. Remembering his cruelty, Iyengar Brahmins of Melkot do not celebrate Diwali even today. But for votes, secular rhetoric gives him the status of a great man (sic)," reads the English translation of the message

He is known as the sultan of Mysore. Tipu Sultan was born in Devanahalli in 1750.

The Archived link to the post is here.

Similar posts can be viewed here.


Fact Check:

The claim is false.

NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and the same photo was found in the Stock Photo Website Getty images. According to the description of the photo, "the person is Tippu Tip (1837-1905) real Name is Hamad Bin Muhammad Bin Jumah Bin Rajab Bin Muhammad Bin SaId Al-Murghabi. Swahili-Zanzibari Slave Trader, Plantation Owner, Governor Of The Stanley Falls District And Supplier Of The Carriers On Sir Henry Morton Stanley's Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, 1887-1889."


We found 'The Illustrated London News' archive which carried the same image on the front cover of its December 7, 1889, issue. The caption of the image on the front cover reads, 'Tippoo Tip, the Arab chief of the Manyewa, Upper Congo.'


We found that Tipu Sultan died in 1799 during fourth Anglo-Mysore war long before the camera came into existence. The picture being used is more of an artistic representation.



In fact, the world's first photograph was taken in 1826 by a French scientist Joseph Nicephore. Tipu Sultan was already dead by then. Tipu Sultan died in 1799.


Hence, the claim is false. The person in the photo is Tippu Tip and not Tipu Sultan.

Claim Review:The picture attached in the post shows the real photo of Tipu Sultan.
Claimed By:Social Media Users
Claim Reviewed By:Newsmeter
Claim Source:Social Media
Claim Fact Check:False
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