Stock-taking of statues in poll-bound Karnataka
As Karnataka heads into elections, the number of statues of historical greats the government installs rises significantly. Invocation of warriors and caste and community icons and their deification or demonisation has begun. The BJP is the master of this game and has set the tone early, leaving the opposition to react, condemn and attempt to reclaim what are seen as their traditional heroes. While Kranti Veera Sangolli Rayanna, a Kuruba Gowda who fought the British, Kittur Rani Chennamma and Chhatrapati Shivaji are old favourites, the BJP is looking to appropriate Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru and a Vokkaliga chieftain, to make inroads into the Old Mysuru belt. Simultaneously, it seeks to demonise Tipu Sultan as a communal leader who persecuted Hindus, turning him into a pet hate figure.
Tipu has been a polarising factor in elections for at least a decade. Now, his exploits of having fought the British are being questioned, and so is his death—did the Muslim warrior, given the vaunted title of Tiger of Mysore, die fighting the British as written in history books, or was he killed by two local Vokkaliga warrior brothers, the until-now unknown Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda? Historians are also puzzled by the sudden propping up of the Gowda brothers and claim they are fictional. For months, there has been a gradual build-up to change the Tipu narrative, starting with the controversial book Tipu Nija Kanasugalu (Tipu’s Real Dreams) by Addanda C Cariappa, who, as Rangayana director, adapted it for the stage too. But with the introduction of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, the BJP appears to have bitten off more than it can chew. The Adichunchanagiri Mutt of the dominant Vokkaliga community is concerned that it could portray the community negatively and raise communal tensions. The mutt seer, prompted by Vokkaliga leaders, stepped in to question the historical basis, and stopped film producer and minister Munirathna from producing a film on the brothers, thus aborting the birth of new heroes.
While it is disturbing that history is being blatantly rewritten to suit the ruling party’s interests, it is the public which should wise up to the fact that Tipu Sultan belongs to the past and cannot impact the real poll issues of rising prices of fuel, cooking gas and other essentials, corruption, a depressed job market and others. It is up to the opposition to lead the charge and nudge the voter into making an informed choice.