In South India, the English feared two rulers the most—Hyder Ali of Mysore and Muhammed Yusuf Khan of Madura, both defacto rulers who simply sidelined their masters by a coup in the case of the former and intransigence of the latter.
Although much is known about Hyder Sahib and his valiant son, Tipu Sultan, any talk about Khan Sahib—as Yusuf Khan was called by his followers—will be met with flagrant silence and nodding despite the availability of sufficient chronicles relating to his life and events.
A man of few words, Yusuf Khan had to contend with many intrigues peculiar to that age, induced in part due to his nondescript background and his reputation for valour. He nearly escaped the gallows when a dubash of the English decided to show him his place by colluding with the enemy—a Mysorean general.
The conspirators considered two options: waylaying the Khan or incriminating him of treachery. For obvious reasons the first method was struck off, and the dubash nearly succeed with the second plan had not his man bungled under pressure.
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