The erstwhile ruler of Mysuru, Tipu Sultan has been at the centre of many controversies. The left-liberal cabal has glorified the tyrant ruler alongside the Marxist distorians. Time and again, Sultan has been portrayed as a secular, inclusive, peaceful leader, along with a brave and ferocious warrior. ‘A warrior who never lost any war’.
But, this is not the correct history. Tipu was nothing more than a dictator and religious fanatic who must be known for forceful conversions and massacres. Well, how does it matter after so many decades? It does, because history determines the political course of any country thus impacting the future of the nation. And the same is happening with India.
Salaam Aarti to Deepa Namaskara
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been on a spree of changing names of roads and districts. He was widely criticised for his act. However, then came his reply stating that he was just restoring the original. Something similar is now being seen in the state of Karnataka.
The Bhartiya Janata Party has decided to rename the famous evening prayer, Salaam aarti, to Namaskara. The ritual was started by Tipu Sultan in temples of Karnataka’s several districts including Puttur, Subramanya, Kollur and Melkote. It has been propagated that Tipu got the worship done on his behalf for the welfare of the Mysuru kingdom.
The announcement was made by the Karnataka Dharmika Parishad, which falls under the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments.
“Earlier the ritual was done for the welfare of the state administration, now it will be for the welfare of the people,” said Kashekodi Suryanarayana Bhat, one of the members of the Parishad.
Read more:Tipu Sultan’s Bad Luck is set to burn Congress in Karnataka
BJP fulfilling people’s demand
While the liberals are already crying like dying goats over the decision, saying the the tradition was a symbol of Hindu-Muslim harmony, the Hindus have taken a different route. Hindu organisations have claimed that, ‘Salaam aarti was the symbol of slavery and was imposed to assert domination.’
Earlier, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had put forth the demand to stop Salaam Mangalarti at Sri Mookambika Temple in Kollur of Udupi district. VHP in its memorandum had stated that, ‘offering mahamangalarti in the name of Tipu, the fanatic who killed thousands of Hindus and demolished hundreds of Hindu temples, will harm the sanctity of the temple.’ The VHP claimed that offering Mahamangalarti in the name of Tipu symbolises slavery.
Not only the VHP, the Melkote Chaluvanarayana temple administration had also written to the Muzrai department seeking name change of Salaam Aarti to Sandhya Aarti.
Assembly elections are due in the state for 2023, and listening to people’s demand could rarely go wrong in any democracy.
The psychology of language imposition
As per the priest of Mookambika temple in Kollur, what Tipu did was never for the religion or the people rather for himself. The priest says, ‘When Tipu Sultan was ruling the Mysuru region he had come to destroy this temple but couldn’t enter due to divine powers. When he came to pay obeisance to the deity, Aarti was being performed, he named the arti ‘Salaam Aarti’. Since that day, salaam aarti is performed to commemorate the visit of Tipu Sultan to the temple.’
When Tipu Sultan was ruling Mysuru region, he had come to destroy this temple but couldn't enter due to divine powers. When he came to pay obeisance to the deity, Aarti was being performed, which came to be known as 'Salaam aarti': Priest, Mookambika temple in Karnataka's Kollur pic.twitter.com/Qr67eDoafG
— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2018
Another aspect of tyranny evident in the matter is of ‘IMPOSITION’. The Mughals and Islamists are hailed for their assimilation among the Indians. However, what no one talks about is how they changed the original ethos of the land and imposed the culture, language or religion they brought along with themselves.
Forceful conversions have been documented during the entire ruling period, Moplah Massacre being from the tyrannical rule of Tipu Sultan. Taxes were imposed on Hindus and no Bhartiya Bhasha was the official language. Rather, the language chosen was Persian.
Read more: No room for glorification of tyrants: Karnataka Govt drops Tipu Sultan from school syllabus
As we say in Hindi, ‘धर्म धरोहर होती है, परन्तु भाषा पहचान होती है’ which translates to religion or traditions are the legacy that we hold and pass on to the generations to come, but language is the identity. As Tipu Sultan changed the name of mangalarti to Salaam Aarti, he deliberately took away the original ethos and imposed a foreign language. By doing so, he sent a message to the native Hindus that they were being ruled by an Islamist.
However, the new India does not hold onto that slavery. The Bommai government has put an end to term Salaam Aarti and brought back the old and original name that is Sandhya Aarti.
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