Pakistan, May 22 -- May 4 was the Yaum-e-Shahadat of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in South India. He introduced a number of administrative innovations during his rule, including a new coinage system and calendar, and a new land revenue system which initiated the growth of the Mysore silk industry. Tipu Sultan fought numerous battles against the British and rival kingdoms. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery and expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin.

Napoleon Bonaparte, the French commander-in-chief, sought an alliance with Tipu Sultan. Both Tipu Sultan and his father used their French-trained army in alliance with the French in their struggle with the British, a...