“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”
These inscriptions were found on the sword of Islamic tyrant Tipu Sultan in Persian, who is often hailed as the mighty warrior in our Marxist textbooks. However, on the contrary it was the dastardly action of Tipu Sultan that has kept a community away from festivals like Diwali for the last 200 years.
Why does Melkote go dark every Diwali?
While the left liberal cabal celebrates Tipu Jayanti along with some major political parties of India, Melkote in Mandya district, situated at a distance of a few hundred kilometres from Bengaluru remains dark every Diwali. It would be tough for anyone to believe that a sacred place like Melkote does not celebrate Diwali. As the place was a home for Sri Vaishnava saint Ramanujacharya for over 12 years. To add on, there is situated the majestic Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple along with many other important shrines and the place holds the reputation of being an ancient centre of learning.
Melukote is home to a community known as Iyengar Brahmins, who till date do not celebrate Diwali. For the community, Diwali is a dark and unwelcome reminder of their tryst with a tyrant, Tipu Sultan. The reason why Melkote goes dark every Diwali.
Read More- How Brave Tipu Sultan really was
Iyengar Brahmins and Mysore Kingdom
The story goes back to the Mysore Kingdom and is connected with Tipu Sultan and his tyrant rule. In the Mysore Kingdom, the region was ruled by the Wodeyars in the 1600s. It was under the Wodeyars that the Mandyam Iyengars- a subset of Iyengars, who had settled in Karnataka post migration, prospered and went on to occupy key administrative and religious posts, including the authority of the Cheluvanarayana temple.
However, with time the Wodeyers had ceded much of their power to the commanders of the kingdom. And after the demise of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II in 1763, the most influential commander of the Kingdom established himself as the undisputed ruler of the Mysore Kingdom. Hyder Ali was succeeded by his son Tipu Sultan.
How Iyenger Brahmins tried to pay back their loyalty
As mentioned above, it was during the rule of the Wodeyars that the Mandyam Iyenger Brahmins had risen to prominence, an influence and prosperity they owed to the largess of the Wodeyars. In their loyalty to the Wodeyars, the Iyengars attempted to dethrone Hyder Ali and place back a Wodeyar. For this, the Mandyam Iyengar backed the Dowager queen Lakshmammani, and two Iyengar brothers Thorumalai and Narayan batted at the forefront. However, the plot was uncovered by Hyder Ali and the Iyenger brothers along with their extended families were imprisoned. The efforts to place back a Wodeyar to throne intensified after the death of Hyder Ali, something for which Tipu Sultan massacred an entire community.
Also Read- The 1000 year old persecution of Brahmans which is continuing till date
Why do Iyenger Brahmins don’t celebrate Diwali?
Under the reign of Tipu Sultan, the Mandyam Iyengars had congregated at Narashimhaswamy temple on the banks of Kaveri at Srirangaptna town to celebrate the festival of Deepavali. The tyrant Islamic ruler found the day of festival appropriate to his revenge and out of his hatred for the Hindus, he ordered a massacre of the entire community. More than 700-800 Iyengar Brahmins were butchered by Tipu’s army and Melkote was laid waste. The rest of the inhabitants were forced to flee the town and this is how Melkote had turned into a ghost town overnight.
This is the reason why on this day, the Mandyam Iyengar community does not celebrate Diwali and observes it as a day of mourning. The memories of the brutal massacre still lies in the collective consciousness of the community. The community still recalls the brutal subjugation by the Islamic tyrant through not just violence, but religious conversion, forced circumcision, vandalisation and plundering of temples and rape and murder.
Tipu Sultan was an Islamic tyrant who was glorified by the Marxist historians. Tipu Sultan should be in the history as told by the Mandyam Iyengar Brahmins- A brutal murderer and nothing more.
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