Most of his life was spent in fighting and struggling against the British. He showed exemplary courage and remained steadfast.
Hyder Ali or Haidar 'Ali (c. 1722 - 1782), was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. A soldier-adventurer, Haider Ali became one of the most formidable rivals the British ever encountered during their colonial presence in India. He is perhaps only excelled by his son, Tippu Sultan, as the champion of anti-colonial resistance. He was regarded as one of the greatest Generals to have walked the face of Asia. His father was a chief constable in the princely state of Mysore. Early military experience exposed Haider to French tactics and weapons and he began to employ European mercenaries to train and advise his troops. He formed his own company, funded by his brother (or some say with booty from war) then, after fighting for the Rajah of Mysore as a petty officer, he was commissioned as an officer in the Mysore army. By 1757, he was commander of the army. By 1761, he was minister of state and when the Rajah died in 1766 he assumed full control of Mysore. In 1764 he captured Bednor (Haidarnagar), which he made his capital. In a series of wars involving the British with some French assistance, the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad he gained and lost territory, inflicted some humiliating defeats on the British but was able to hand Mysore on intact to his son. Tippu Sultan continued to oppose the British, although on his death-bed Haider had advised him to make peace. Haider Ali used diplomacy, too, to protect his Kingdom from defeat as he tried to ensure that he would not face an enemy alone. In the end, it would be Britain's use of alliances with Indian princes that led to his heir's final defeat. With his son, Haider Ali is an iconic figure in post-colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh because of his determination to remain free of imperial domination. His spent much of his life engaged in war but his basic desire was to protect his native kingdom of Mysore from external aggression at a time when the break-down of the old order allowed territorial opportunism to run rampant and the Marathas, the British and the Nizam vied for power.
Biography
He was the great-grandson of an Islamic fakir from Gulbarga, Deccan. His father was a naik or chief constable at Budikote, near Kolar in present-day Karnataka. He is said to have traced his lineage back to Muhammad. There is also a fort at Budikote present today at the place where he was born. He was born in 1722, or according to other authorities 1717, however the memorial in Budikote states he was born in 1720. As a youth, Hyder assisted his brother, a commander of a brigade in the Mysore Army, and acquired a useful familiarity with the tactics of the French when they were at the height of their reputation under Joseph François Dupleix. He is said to have induced his brother to employ a Parsi to purchase artillery and small arms from government of Bombay Presidency, and to enroll some thirty sailors of different European nations as gunners. He is probably the first Indian who armed a battalion with firelocks and bayonets and who used European mercenaries to advise, train and fight. She appears to have been an ensign or warrant officer at this period. He may have used booty to fund his troop.