H.D. Kumaraswamy led Janata Dal Secular and Congress coalition seems to have returned to their old ways in Karnataka. Minority appeasement and divisive politics played by Siddaramaiah during the Congress rule is continuing under the new government as well. Tipu Sultan the destroyer of temples and persecutor of the Hindus and Christians was worshiped by Siddaramaiah prior to the state elections. Several thousand Hindus and Christians were forcibly killed and converted into Islam under Sultan’s order. This fact was forgotten by the Congress and its allies who had tried to celebrate and organise Tipu Sultan Jayanti in Karnataka on the occasion of his birth. Kumaraswamy and his ministers look forward to continuing this trend by naming the Haj House after Tipu. Minority Welfare and Wakf Minister B Z Zameer Ahmad Khan said he would discuss with the chief minister renaming of the ‘Haj Bhavan’ after Tipu Sultan, an 18th century ruler of the Mysore kingdom. Tipu Sultan is seen as a “religious bigot” and a “brutal killer” by the Bharatiya Janata Party which has decided to oppose this move.
The mass tortures on Lingayats, other Hindu sects and Christians who had to flee or convert to Islam in order to save themselves from the wrath of Tipu Sultan, have been lost on the ears of vote bank politics of the Congress. The cries of the Kodava and catholic groups who had joined the BJP and RSS to protest against the Tipu Sultan Jayanti also went unheard in the past. But this time the BJP is planning to take out a strong protest opposing this move. There are a multiple reasons why the JD(S)-Congress government wants to rename the Haj building which is used as a stop for the pilgrims going to Haj.
B Z Zameer Ahmad Khan is the same guy who was in the news for demanding a brand new Fortuner for himself instead of the small Innova. He claimed that he would get more attention if his vehicle was Fortuner instead of Innova. He is a JD(S) turncoat who came to Congress and is known for making rash statements. He obviously is trying to woo the people from his community but would have certainly not thought about the backlash he would receive from the rest of India. His attention seeking behaviour has led him to this stage where he does not shy away from making tall claims despite knowing about the consequences and the impact it is likely to have on the people of the state. Visibly disturbed BJP MP Shobha Karnadlaje said, “If again Tipu (issue) is brought to the fore, the Congress that came in second (in polls) because of Siddaramaiah will now be destroyed in Karnataka because of Zameer (Khan).
The Haj Bhavan whose renaming is being planned was built on the funds allocated by BJP’s B.S. Yeddyurappa while he was in power. The Congress is trying to hijack the credit for the Haj house by renaming it after Tipu Sultan. Controversial figures should be avoided at all costs in a country like India which has so many diversities. BJP leader R Ashoka alleged, “Tipu is a controversial figure, he was not a freedom fighter, and he had killed and converted lakhs of Hindus….”.
The plan to rename the building after Tipu Sultan means that Congress and JD(S) have not learnt from the mistakes made by Siddaramaiah. Tipu Sultan was a tyrant and he does not represent the entire Muslim community, any act which tries to portray him as one is too narrow minded. H.D. Kumaraswamy should quash this move immediately and not let Zameer Ahmad Khan go ahead with his plan to name an important building after a persecutor.
