During the early period of Tipu Sultan's reign in particular,he appears as strict as his father Hyder Ali to any Non-Muslim accused of collaboration with the British East India Company or the Maratha. Both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan were independent rulers of the Sultanate of Mysore, with some degree of loyalty to the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II.Both of them are known to have maintained correspondence with the Mughal Emperor. Furthermore unlike the Nawab of Carnatic, neither owed any allegiance to the Nizam of Hyderabad and often instead chose direct contact and relations with the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II