BENGALURU: For over 200 years, Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Srirangapatna who had waged many fierce battles and died fighting the British in 1799, has been a part of history books.
There have been dozens of research papers and debates based on the ruler, but he now seems to be fighting a losing battle against the present BJP government in the state, which has been fiercely critical of him and his legacy.
With just ten days to go for the Tipu Jayanti (birth anniversary), Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday asserted, “101 per cent, we will remove everything related to him,” when asked about his party MLAs writing to him seeking that Tipu Sultan’s name be removed from textbooks. Later, he tempered his reply to another journalist and said, “The government is considering removing references to Tipu Sultan from textbooks also.’’
Within days of taking over, the BJP government, led by Yediyurappa, had cancelled the Tipu Jayanti celebrations, terming it controversial and communal.
Historians reacted with shock, pointing out that this will mean erasing an entire period of history when Tipu Sultan, after taking over from his father Hyder Ali, waged a series of battles and undertook several administrative measures, many of which continued to be in force for decades in the kingdom of Mysore.
A period in history cannot be erased based on religious beliefs, they stressed.
Prof S Chandrashekar, former HoD at Bangalore University said, “This controversy about Tipu Sultan is not new. I have seen this right from 1998-1999 when the then Chief Minister J H Patel wanted to celebrate Tipu Sultan’s bicentenary. Tipu had been made a controversial figure by removing him from context. This
is not academics, but plain politics.’’
Aditya Mukherjee, History Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said, “It is in bad taste. We need to draw positive things from history. Tipu was one of the bravest fighters against the British. He built temples too. When we look at history, motivation is important. They are looking at history for friction and cutting each other’s throat.’’
Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah reacted saying, “The government should not try to twist history. Tipu Sultan fought the colonial British rulers. The BJP leaders are trying to twist historical facts to suit their agenda, which should be stopped. It is only BJP leaders who accuse Tipu of being communal
and not others. It is the saffron cadre which is communal, not Tipu Sultan.”
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “If an ignorant person, or someone who is doesn’t know history, speaks like this, it is understandable. I don’t know why Yediyurappa is speaking like this. Is he an expert in history? It is not right to remove Tipu’s name from textbooks.’’