Published on: 11/7/2015IST
Why BJP doesn't want Karnataka govt to celebrate Tipu Sultan's birthday
The BJP has opposed the Karnataka government’s move to celebrate Tipu Sultan's birthday in a grand manner, terming the ruler as anti-national.
The Karnataka government's move to celebrate Mysuru warrior Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary as an official event across Karnataka on November 10 has ruffled the BJP and right-wing groups. They've opposed the government's move to celebrate the event in a grand manner, terming the ruler as anti-national.
The decision to commemorate Tipu's birth anniversary as a state-sponsored one was made by chief minister Siddaramaiah at the release of a book on Tipu in 2014. The BJP has accused the CM of trying to appease the minorities with the decision and has opposed the setting up of a university named after the ruler. Senior BJP leader D H Shankaramurthy, who is chairman of the Karnataka legislative council, told TOI that though he cannot comment on the celebrations, he will not attend the main function in Bengaluru.
The government's move has cleaved opinion on Tipu, with historians, writers and politicians on both sides. While historian M Chidananda Murthy has likened Tipu to Adolf Hitler, writer S Shettar says reviling the rule without research is abuse of scholarship. Shettar said, "Condemning Tipu as anti-Hindu without properly studying the facts about his contributions and administration amounts to abuse of our scholarship. It is possible that Tipu might have hurt the sentiments of a particular community during his rule which could be a political compulsion rather than his hatred for that community. The scholars.'' With less than a week for the function, rightw i n g groups have gone into a huddle deliberating ways to oppose. BJP legislator from Mysuru, Go Madhusudan, is against setting up of a Tipu varsity, claiming that Tipu had offered support to Afghan ruler Ahmed Khan Abdali in waging war against India. "This shows he was an antinational and doesn't deserve to be venerated," he said.
Historian Talakadu Chikkarange Gowda debunks theories that the ruler killed Hindus for refusing to convert to Islam. "In 1781, Peshwa Parasuram Bahu pillaged Sringeri Shankaracharya's mutt. It was Tipu who came to the mutt's rescue. Do rightwingers know that Chhatrapati Shivaji was betrayed by his own Peshwas," he asked. He also pointed to temples in the vicinity of Tipu's palaces in Mysuru or Bengaluru. "I agree there are lapses on his part. But one mistake should be overlooked for the 99 other welfare measures he brought in,'' he added. Barkur Udaya, assistant professor, department of history, Mangalore University, said the anti-Tipu brigade is only reiterating Britishers' view of him as a traitor.
11/7/2015 | | Permalink