BENGALURU: T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education, has opposed the state government’s plan to celebrate Tipu Jayanti by saying that it is like the Union government celebrating the birth anniversary of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Aurangzeb was a tyrant and a fundamentalist, Pai told reporters on the sidelines of an RSS event here.
Tipu Jayanti, slated to be celebrated across the state on November 10, is being observed since last year by the Siddaramaiah government. This had triggered a major row and violence had erupted in Kodagu district last November.
Pai rued that the government is playing politics over Tipu Jayanti and urged it to celebrate the anniversaries of benevolent rulers like the Wodeyars and Mysuru Diwan Mirza Ismail. “Let them also celebrate Sir Visveswaraya, the greatest engineer we ever had,” he added.
Instead of playing politics, the government should bring different communities together, said Pai.
Pai said he felt offended that the government will be celebrating Tipu, who was a “bigot and tyrant”, who killed people belonging to different communities like the Kodavas and converted people to Islam. “I am a Konkani and I feel offended that the government is celebrating somebody (Tipu),” he said.