Rockets, or "fire-arrows" in some form, have been known for a long time: the Chinese are recorded as having used them in 1232 A. D., and the Europeans in the 14th and 15th centuries.

After having fallen into disuse with the invention and improvement of cannon, rockets reemerged in the Mysore of Hyder and Tipu in the second half of the 18th century; this spectacular revival provides a curious and fascinating episode in Indo-British technological history. More ...

A Lecture delivered on 2 April 1985 at the inauguration of the Centre for History and Philosophy of Science, Indian Institute of World Culture, Bangalore by Roddam Narasimha

Rockets in Mysore and Britain, 1750-1850 A.D., NAL PD DU 8503
Tipu Sultan and the art of Rocketry - Nature / Vol 400 / 8 July 1999

R Narasimha 2003 "Science, Technology and Society: A Tale about Rocket Development during 1750-1850"  In: The Dynamics of Technology: Creation and Diffusion of Skills and Knowledge, Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, 111-136.

Science, Technology and Society: A tale about rocket development during 1759-1850.  NIAS Report R3-99, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, 1999

When Tipu gave the British a nasty rocket. Science Age, 4-8, October 1985

R Narasimha,   "Rocketing from the Galaxy Bazaar". Nature, Millennium Essay, 400:123, (1999)