Tipu Sultan, the celebrated tyrant of Congress

It looks like the Karnataka Government isn’t able to differentiate between a ruthless tyrant and a benevolent ruler. The government is clearly going against the sentiments of the masses and has resorted to acting like monarchy which is quite saddening, as the coalition govt. of JD(S) & Congress was formed citing the development of state and to the benefit of the masses.

But the outright rejection of the above mentioned objectives, is evident in their assertiveness in celebrating the ‘Tipu Jayanti’!

G Parmeshwara, the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka has also released the statement saying, “Government will celebrate Tipu Jayanti, but all processions, both for and against have been banned. We have requested 10 companies of RAF from Centre. All officers have been informed”. 

He further added to it by saying, “The BJP raises protests over Tipu Jayanti without reason. Tipu fought against the British and we will ensure that the celebrations are held peacefully irrespective of protests by any group, the decision to celebrate Tipu Jayanti under the aegis of the government was taken a few years ago and this will continue.” 

This clearly shows how much the Government of Karnataka is concerned about the sentiments of the people.
Now knowing the reason why Tipu Jayanti is being opposed we need to look into the vault, Congress government celebrated “Tipu Jayanti” on November 10, ’17, a state wide festival celebrated the life, times and legacy of Tipu. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah went on to the extent of making unfortunate comparisons, where he compared a murderer like Tipu with saints, philosophers and great statesmen like Basavanna and Kanaka Dasa.

Thus reaching a new low for appeasement of a community at the expense of not only the state but also native Kannadigas, who can never forget the gruesome atrocities committed by the usurper king of Mysore. As a matter of fact the tyrant was born on November 20 while the government decided to celebrate it on November 10. 

In 2015, Hindu outfits opposed to the celebrations and clashed with Muslim groups who took out a rally to Madikeri town in Kodagu district. The clashes resulted in two deaths. Last year, a division bench of the Karnataka High Court rejected a plea to prevent celebration of the Tipu Sultan birth anniversary. A case has been filed again in the high court this year and the matter is posted for hearing on November 9. 

So really what had happened on Nov. 10?

This question was answered by Former Bangalore University Vice Chancellor Thimappa Manchale Suryanarayanarao when he said “The tyrant Tipu’s birthday falls on November 20. November 10 is the day on which he hanged 700 Iyengars in Melkote.” 

Furthermore, this is not just hurting sentiments of people whose forefathers were succumbed to death but actually an act of outright down-trodding!

One can rightly say that it is actually a cruel joke on not only the Iyengars but also on other communities like the Kodavas of Coorg, Nairs of Wayanad and Malabar, Zamorins of Calicut, the Mangalorean Catholics (Nasranis), the Jains of Dakshin Kannada, the Hindus from Dindigal and Coimbatore against whom he had committed unspeakable crimes including forced conversions; which Tipu himself mentioned in his two autobiographies: Sultan-ut Tawarikh and Tarikh-i-Khudadadi, housed in the India Office Library, London.

The glorification of Tipu began with the controversial novel entitled “The sword of Tipu Sultan” by Bhagwan Gidwani, the novel was full of bias, deliberate distortion, fabrication and intentional suppression of many recorded facts of history with the object of glorifying a villain as a man of great religious tolerance, national hero, a benevolent ruler, and an epitome of all virtues. The incisive truth about the sword of Tipu is that it carried an inscription in Persian stating: “My victorious Sabre is lightning for the destruction of the Non-believers. Thou art our Lord, make him victorious who promotes the faith of Muhammad. Confound him, who refuses the faith of Muhammad and withhold us from those who are so inclined”.

Turning the pages of history, on 13th of December 1785, Tipu Sultan connived with General Lally (His French counterpart) at Devattparamb located on banks of the river Kaveri, he sent a message to Kodavas inviting them for negotiations unarmed with his army lurking in the forest, what then followed was a massive carnage where he butchered about 70,000 Kodavas and captured 90,000. It is said that following the bloodbath, river Kaveri ran red from the blood oozing from the dead for 12 days. The ghoulish barbarity of Tipu Sultan has bee chronicled in the widely acclaimed works of Mark Wilks, Lewis Rice and Mir Kirmani. 

Tipu Sultan in 1783 during his siege of Palghat Fort had scaled new heights of savagery where “Tipu’s soldiers daily exposed the heads of many innocent Brahmins within sight from the fort for Zamorin and his Hindu followers to see. It is asserted that the Zamorin rather than witness such enormities and to avoid further killing of innocent Brahmins, chose to abandon the Palghat Fort” as documented in works of Col. Fullarton. 

Tipu had even proclaimed: “It is our constant object and sincere intention that those worthless and stiff-necked infidels (Hindus) who have turned aside their heads from obedience to the true believers, and openly raised the standard of infidelity should be chastised by the hands of the faithful and made either to acknowledge the true religion or to pay tribute.” His notices to commanders and allies read as “you will do whatever may be in your power to increase the lustre of the firm religion” and “the army of the accursed infidels has been trodden underfoot by the hoofs of the horses of Islam and rendered vile and miserable, while the religion of Mohammed has been thereby made to flourish. You, Sir, will, therefore, apply with all your heart the best means of advancing the religion of Mohammed and of administering to the support of Islam.” Even Tipu’s own court bard, Kirmani, concedes, “He (Tipu) had, however, a great dislike to, or rather, an abhorrence of the people of other religions”. 

Major Alex Dirom’s comprehensive account of the Third Mysore War published in 1793 in London, reads as follows:
“I am the Messenger of the true faith.”
“I bring Unto you the Edicts of Truth.”
“From CONQUEST and the Protection of the Royal Hyder comes my tide of SULTAN and the world under the Sun and Moon is subject to my Signet.”

The Karnataka government first should try and clear the strife that is going in their coalition i.e. of JD(S) and Congress. What the government is doing right now clearly shows the very idea of what type of divisive politics they’re trying to get into and impose in the whole state.

It is time they understand the sentiments of the masses and give due regard to it, failing which they will be shown their true place by the masses.