All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelana president Ko Channabasappa supported naming the proposed university at Srirangapatna after Tipu Sultan.
He was speaking at the All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelana here on Saturday. He said that a few writers are defaming Tipu Sultan stating that he was anti-Hindu and forcibly converted 71,000 Hindus of Kodagu to Islam.
Channabasappa said that when he read the news, he checked the Kodagu gazetteer and found that in 1871 the total population was 1,68,312. According to the 1961 census, the total population of Kodagu was 3,22,829, he added.
He said that during the regime of Tipu Sultan in 1792-1799, there were 1 lakh people in Kodagu. He questioned how one could forcibly convert 71,000 people out of a lakh to Islam. He said that those who claim to be the “representatives of Saraswati” should at least know the basic truth about history. He appealed to such scholars not to instigate hatred between Hindus and Muslims by spreading falsehood.
He said that Tipu Sultan was never anti-Hindu. Tipu had reconstructed the Sringeri Sharada Temple after it was destroyed by the Marathas, he added.
Tipu Sultan had written letters to Sringeri Jagadguru in Kannada and had donated a palanquin to the temple to take out the procession of the deity, he said.
Channabasappa said the new university should be named after Tipu Sultan to send a message of communal harmony.
He advised Kannadigas to win the hearts of pro-Maharashtrians of Belgaum and border areas of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
He said that though pro-Maharashtrians demand that Belgaum and Nippani be merged with Maharashtra, Kannada activists should not be provoked. He said that according to the Constitution, these areas are a part and parcel of Karnataka. If pro-Maharashtrians create problems, it is the duty of the police to take action, he added. He appreciated the Marathi people of Bijapur who came forward to welcome the guests for the Sahitya Sammelana.
Govt Won’t Go Against Kannada, K’taka: CM
Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said that this government will never compromise with anybody when it comes to the interest of Kannada and Karnataka.
He said that the government will never succumb to any lobby which harms the interest of the state.
On the decision to form 43 new taluks, the Chief Minister said that it will help good administration and lead to fast development. He assured that the government will provide all basic infrastructure to the newly formed taluks.