DigitEye India Fact Checkers
Recently, an image purportedly of Tipu Sultan has gone viral on WhatsApp with a claim that the black and white photo shows that of real Tipu Sultan, an 18th century ruler of Karnataka, comparing with that of a coloured image with the claim that it was the “Photo that Congress kept printing in Indian school text books.”
The caption reads “Propaganda aisa failao ki puncture wale shakal wala lootera bhi sultan dikhe”, which is translated into English as: “Spread propaganda in such a way that even a robber with a punctured face looks like a Sultan.”
See the WhatsApp image sent to Digiteye India for fact checking.
Tipu Sultan, an erstwhile ruler of Mysore Kingdom (part of present Karnataka) in the 18th century. He was known as the Tiger of Mysore but, of late, his name has become controversial amid claims by the conservative groups began a new narrative about him as a cruel, anti-Hindu leader who slaughtered many Hindus, while many believe him to be a patriot.
Fact Check
The Digiteye India found that the image has been in circulation since 2018 and it was first tweeted by BJP leader Ramesh Mendola from Indore with the known image of Tipu Sultan from the Indian Government’s official postage stamp and other text books.
A Google Reverse Image Search of the black and white photo revealed that the original is available in the archives at Pixels it belongs to 18th century trader Hamad bin Muhammad al-Murjabi, usually known by his nickname Tippu Tip. He was an ivory and slave trader based in Zanzibar, who in the second half of the 19th century, built up wide influence and a strong trading empire in the “Arab Zone” west of Lake Tanganyika, according to Oxford Research Encyclopaedias.
And Tippu Tip had bulgy nose bringing him the name as such. Thus, the image viral on social media is not of Tipu Sultan but of Tippu Tip, a slave trader from the Middle East in the 18th century.
Claim: Image with a claim that “Real Photo of Tipu Sultan” compared to that Congress kept printing in Indian school text books.
Conclusion: The black and white image is not of Tipu Sultan but of Tippu Tip, a slave trader from the Middle East in the 18th century. False.
Rating: Totally False — 
