Everything you need to know about Tipu Sultan's anniversary controversy

The Karnataka government is going ahead with plans to celebrate Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary on November 10 amid passionate wrangling among politicians and historians over whether the 18th century king deserve to be glorified.

The ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom is a divisive historical character. The Congress government headed by chief minister Siddaramaiah insists Tipu was a true patriotic nationalist ruler who fought and laid down his life fighting the British.

In 2015, this decision met with stiff resistance as many felt that the celebrations were unwarranted. The event will be organised by the department of Kannada and culture and the state budgets has earmarked Rs 60 lakh towards the celebration of Tipu's anniversary.

Several opposition parties including the BJP and its affiliates such as the RSS, however, say he was a religious bigot who forcibly converted thousands to Islam. Several historians and prominent citizens have also joined the debate.

VOICES AGAINST CELEBRATING TIPU SULTAN'S ANNIVERSARY

Mohandas Pai

Eminent Bangalorean and educationist Mohandas Pai has lashed out at the Karnataka government for organising the Tipu Jayanti celebrations on November 10. "Tipu Jayanti is like celebrating the anniversary of Aurangzeb, who was a tyrant Mughal emperor and a staunch religious fundamentalist," said Pai at an RSS function in Bengaluru.

"Tipu Sultan is a fundamentalist and a tyrant who massacred several people. I am a Konkani and he (Tipu) murdered hundreds of people belonging to my community. Tipu destroyed our temples and I oppose the government's decision to hold Tipu Jayanti," said the Manipal Global Education chairman.

"Historians who have documented Tipu Sultan's regime have mentioned how Tipu forcibly converted hundreds of people in Kodagu. He is said to have 20,000 Christians in captivity apart from hanging 700 Melkite Brahmins in Srirangapatna for which he was termed a bigot and a tyrant," Pai alleged.

"Tipu was a brave warrior but he has a dark side. He was a religious bigot, he killed Nair community in Kerala and converted them, the Mangalorean community was devastated because of him. Tipu is a controversial leader.

The Congress as a party can play communal politics. Even BJP can do that but government of the day should not do that," Pai said.

Ramachandra Guha

In a reaction to a news paper Noted historian Ramachandra Guha said, clearly doesn't see the need for it. In my opinion, Tipu Jayanti shouldn't be backed by the state government.

I have no issues if an individual or a group celebrates it, but in India, which is a democracy, there shouldn't be celebration of a monarch or for that matter any kind of feudal lord. If the government has to celebrate, it should be the democrats who have had their share of contribution for the nation as we see it today."

Gauri Lankesh

Gauri Lankesh minces no words when she calls it a "vote bank gimmick". She says no government has any business organising jayantis of any kind. "It's a political game to appeal to communities.

I fear that such vote bank gimmicks will only lead to more violence by pitting communities against one another. From Kodagu, the violence might spread to other places too. Putting people's lives at risk for larger political gain is not done.

As much as I respect Basavanna or Tipu, I think jayantis of all kinds are unnecessary. People who want to celebrate them can do so anyway," she says to a South Indian daily.

Shashi Deshpande

Popular writer Shashi Deshpande also says he sees no reason in celebrating Tipu Jayanti."History is reinterpreted over and over again; so it's better to just leave him in peace.

Let us learn about him, but a celebration of this kind is a waste of money; just politically motivated, done with an eye on the vote bank. Instead, collect money and build some schools in Kashmir. This is a waste of time, we don't need it," he says while talking to a paper.

BJP, RSS TO PROTEST AGAINST CELEBRATIONS

The RSS and the BJP have decided to hold state-wide agitations and it is expected to culminate in a mega rally on November 8 in Bengaluru. Some Christian organisations have also raised the red flag over Tipu's birth anniversary being celebrated as a state event.

CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATIONS

Several Christian organizations have also joined the chorus of protests against the government move. The United Christian Association in the coastal district of Mangalore has opposed the event, saying Tipu forcibly converted Catholics and destroyed churches alongside temples during his reign.

Robert Rosario, member of the United Christian Association, said: "We will be observing Tipu Jayanti as a black day. A protest will be taken out. We have also written to the bishop to make an announcement about the protest, so that the public gets to know about the event through churches."

VOICES IN FAVOUR OF CELEBRATING TIPU SULTAN'S ANNIVERSARY

Karnataka CM Siddaramiah

"Why should we not go ahead with the celebrations? This year also we will hold Tipu Jayanti. There will be no law and order issues," said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress committee working President Dinesh Gundurao

"It is the RSS and the BJP who want to use this issue, don't we celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's anniversary, he was shot down by the RSS. Don't we celebrate Deen Dayal's anniversary? Tipu has contributed so much to Karnataka towards sericulture.

He made the first missile and also was the only ruler who fought against the British four times. He is the son of the soil, they are making an issue just to politicise it.

Tipu is being targeted only because he was a Muslim, had he been a Hindu ruler, he would have been made the greatest king in India," Karnataka Pradesh Congress committee working president Dinesh Gundurao said.

Dr Narendar Pani

Dr Narendar Pani, a professor in the School of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru says: "He was a trusted and honest leader to his subjects. It is a historical fact that he supported temples by giving huge grants.

He also used to visit the temple located next to his palace in Srirangapatna to seek divine blessings before he embarked to the battlefield."

Professor Shadaksharaiah

BU's history professor Shadaksharaiah says: "It is my duty to tell children about the rulers who made India what it is. He was not just the `Tiger of Mysore', but very much a part of the state and the entire country.

He was known for his bravery in the wars against the British East India Company. He was regarded as the first freedom fighter of India for his fierce battles against the British who tried to conquer the territories under the sultan's rule."

LAST YEAR PROTESTS

Last year on 10 November, violent clashes on the celebrations in Kodagu district ended with two people dead and many injured in police action. Some of the staunchest protests come from regions like Mangaluru and Kodagu districts and both Hindu and Christian communities apart from political parties where the 18th century ruler is considered a " religious bigot" and is believed to have killed thousands and converted many more to Islam forcibly.

LAST YEAR GIRISH KARNAD SUPPORTED TIPU

For Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad, Tipu was a great warrior and possibly "one of the best Kannadigas we have had in the last 500 years, after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire", according to him in an interview with TV news channel. Karnad's comments that he would have liked it if the Bengaluru airport (now called Kempegowda International Airport) in Bengaluru been named after Tipu Sultan since the ruler was born in Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru turned into a big controversy.

Karnad was at the receiving end of online abuse and even death threats after this comment went viral on social media. Later Girish Karnad had apologised for his remarks. He said I did not intend to hurt anyone. I apologise if I have hurt any ones feelings, as I was only expressing my opinion about Tipu Sultan on his birth anniversary.

WHO WAS TIPU SULTAN?

Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore/ Tipu Sahib, is known for his valiant acts in several wars and the sacrifices he made to save his land from foreign invaders. He is remembered for saving Deccan India from the British for a long period of time. He was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782 to 1799.

He relished important victories against the British in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. In 1799 he was killed in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war while defending his fort of Srirangapatnam against the combined forces of the British East India Company and the Nizam of Hyderabad.

Tipu Sultan was born to Hyder Ali and his Fatima Fakhr Un Nisa in 1750. They named their baby Fath Ali but often called him Tipu after the local saint Tipu Mastan Aulia. Tipu Sultan's full name was Sultan Fateh Ali Khan Shahab.

Tipu is credited as the pioneer of rocket technology in India. Tipu Sultan had written a military manual, Fathul Mujahidin, in which he explained the operation of Mysore rockets. Mysorean rockets/ missiles were iron cased rockets fitted with swords in them.

After the death of Tipu Sultan, the British forces took away the sword and ring of Tipu Sultan as war trophies. The irony is that the ring he owned reads "Ram" and Sultan hated Hindu religion. Both the leftovers of Tipu Sultan were displayed in the British Museum till 2004 after which Vijay Mallya bought the sword of Tipu Sultan in an auction.

Tipu Sultan got several names of places replaced with Muslim names.

Mangalore or Mangalapuri was changed to Jalalabad, Mysore to Nazarabad, Bepur to Sultanpatanam, Cannanore to Kusanabad, Gooty to Faiz-Hissar, Dharwar to Quarshed-Sawad, Dindigul to Khaliqabad, Ratnagiri to Mustafabad, Kozhikode to Islamabad, and Dindigul to Khaliqabad. The local residents of all these places could revert to old names only after Tipu Sultan's death.

Tipu Sultan had an obsession for horticulture and gardening. The statement is supported by the fact that much of his correspondence with foreign dignitaries would invariably carry a request for new varieties of seeds and plants. He is attributed for establishing the 40-acre Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore.

Outside the old region of Mysore, in some South Indian regions such as Kodagu, Malabar, and Dakshina Kannada, Tipu has been accused of religious bigotry.

Also Read: