AGENCIES / BENGALURU
Soon after coming to power, the BS Yediyurappa government in Karnataka issued an order cancelling the “Tipu Jayanti” celebrations, initiated by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government as an annual affair on November 10, 2015. The BJP opposes any celebration related to Tipu Sultan on the grounds that he was a “tyrant”.
“Our government has cancelled observing the controversial and communal Tipu Jayanti,” the party tweeted today, four days after taking over the reins of the state.
There is a history to this. When the Congress first announced that the state would celebrate the birthday of Tipu Sultan in November every year, the BJP and other right-wing groups broke out in protests. It sparked off violence, especially in regions where Tipu Sultan had ruled, even resulting in the death of a man in 2015.
Although the then government continued holding the annual event under heightened security, debates over the Muslim ruler’s role in shaping Karnataka and its adjoining regions refused to die down. The questions asked were the same: Was he a freedom fighter or a tyrant? A man who contributed to society or a bigot?
Bengaluru South lawmaker Tejasvi Surya applauded the BS Yediyurappa government for calling off the festival. “Tippu Sultan was a tyrant who massacred thousands of Hindus, and it is shameful that previous governments felt it was their duty to honour him with a Jayanti. Shri @BSYBJP govt now undoing all the wrongs of the mismatched coalition, one masterstroke at a time,” he tweeted.