Quiet Tipu Jayanti as state govt ignores day

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: A quiet Tipu Jayanti was observed in Bengaluru on Friday as some admirers of the 18th century monarch expressed disappointment with the State government for not even acknowledging the day.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and their Cabinet chose to remain silent rather than acknowledge the king of Mysuru who is widely regarded as a freedom fighter for his resistance against British colonial rule.

The BJP and its Sangh Parivar associates on the other hand see the monarch as “anti-Hindu” alleging that his wartime hostilities were directed at non-combatants of the community.

This is in sharp contrast to Siddaramaiah making Tipu Jayanti an official State government celebration during his first term as CM.

However, when the BJP assumed power in 2019 with BS Yediyurappa at the helm, they removed Tipu Jayanti from the list of official celebrations. It is apparent that Siddaramaiah has chosen to not reinstate or even acknowledge Tipu Jayanti due to fears of a Hindutva backlash.

Srirangapatna town in Mysuru district, the erstwhile capital of Tipu where he is buried, witnessed the imposition of section 144 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which prevents the assembly of more than four or more people.

Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, admirers of Tipu Sultan gathered at the king’s summer palace in Chamarajpet. They paid floral tributes to the portrait of the monarch and recited poetry glorifying him.

However, Chamarajpet MLA and Minister for Housing and Minority Affairs Zameer Ahmed, who usually co-opts Tipu’s image as the community’s icon, was nowhere to be seen. Congress MLA from Shivajinagar Rizwan Arshad however, did tweet on the occasion.

“My humble tributes to the Tiger of Mysore, India’s first freedom fighter and a pioneer of rocket artillery on his Birth Anniversary. Tipu Sultan was the only Indian ruler who understood the dangers the British posed to India, and fought four wars to oust them from India,” he said.

“When he died there were jubilant celebrations in Britain, with authors, playwrights and painters creating works to celebrate it,” he added.