Karnataka High Court refuses to stay Tipu Sultan Jayanti celebrations

The Karnataka government, headed by Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah, has planned to celebrate Tipu Sulatn's birth anniversary on November 10.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday refused put a stay on Tipu Sultan Jayanti celebrations, slated to be celebrated across the state on November 10.

The Karnataka government, headed by Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah, has planned to celebrate the erstwhile ruler's birth anniversary. However, opposition BJP and some outfits are opposed to Tipu Jayanti celebrations as they call him "religious bigot", "fanatic" and "anti-Kannada".

Tipu Jayanti is being observed since 2015 following a government decision, which had triggered a major row and caused violence in Kodagu district that year.

President Ram Nath Kovind’s mention of the 18th century Mysore ruler, Tipu Sultan, in his address to the joint session of Karnataka legislature on Wednesday triggered a political slug fest between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP.

“Tipu Sultan died a heroic death fighting the British. He was also a pioneer in the development and use of Mysore rockets in warfare. This technology was later adopted by the Europeans,” Kovind said while noting that Karnataka is a land of formidable soldiers.

Recently, Union minister Anantkumar Hegde had stirred a hornet’s nest after he requested the Karnataka government not to include his name in programme invitations for Tipu Jayanti celebrations.

"Conveyed (to) Karnataka government not to invite me to shameful event of glorifying a person known as brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist," Hegde had tweeted.

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker from the state Prahlad Joshi has alleged that Tipu Sultan was "anti-Hindu, anti-Kannada and exploited India".

Known as the "Tiger of Mysore", Tipu Sultan ruled the Mysore kingdom from 1782-1799 succeeding his father Hyder Ali.

Though Tipu Sultan was born in 1750 at Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru, his kingdom's capital was at Srirangapatna near Mysore.

Tipu Sultan is also viewed in a negative light in Kodagu district of the state where he is alleged to have persecuted the local Kodava population, as also the Roman Catholics of Mangaluru, on religious grounds and forced conversion to Islam.