Tipu Sultan: Diverse Narratives — Ram Puniyani

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When the Maratha army of Patwardhan plundered the Sringeri monastery, Tipu Sultan respectfully restored the monastery to its glory. During his reign, the ten-day Dushehara celebrations were an integral part of the social life of Mysore. 

RAM PUNIYANI | Caravan Daily

SINCE last two years BJP has been carrying out a smear campaign against Tipu Sultan around his birth anniversary (10th November) while on the other hand the Government of Karnataka has been celebrating Tipu Sulatn’s the anniversary since last three years. As such he has been the only king to lay down his life while fighting against the British.

This year as the 10th of November approached, Mr. Anantkumar, the union minister and a major BJP leader from Karnataka, turned down Karnataka government’s invitation to be part of the Tipu’s birth anniversary celebrations. His argument was that Tipu was a mass murderer, wretched fanatic and a rapist. BJP also organised protests at some places.

Certain sections of the society also consider him a tyrant who engaged in forced conversions. He is also accused of promoting Persian at the cost of Kannada. It is also alleged that his letters to his generals, claimed to be in British possession now, show that he believed that kafirs should be decimated.

There is no dearth of such periodic controversies being raked up around his name. What is being propagated on the basis of some flimsy sources is that he destroyed hundreds of temples and killed thousands of Brahmins!

Incidentally just a month ago, Ramnath Kovind, the President of India, who has a RSS background, was on a different trip. He praised Tipu by saying that “Tipu Sultan died a heroic death fighting the British. He was also a pioneer in the development and use of Mysore rockets in warfare.” Many BJP spokespersons, uncomfortable with this statement, undermined the President by saying that false inputs were provided to Rashtrapati Bhavan by Karnataka Government.

Stance on Tipu Sulatan has varied dramatically within the RSS-BJP stable itself. In 2010, on the eve of elections BJP leader, B.S. Yeddyyurappa wore Tipu’s headgear and held a mock sword. In the 1970s RSS had published a book praising Tipu and calling him patriot. This book was part of the Bharat Bharati series.

Noted Kannada playwright Girish Karnad too is all praise for Tipu. He even supported the demand to name Bangaluru airport in his name. Karnad has also stated that had Tipu been a Hindu, he would have been accorded the same status in Karnataka, that Shivaji has in Maharashtra.

Tipu was not a religious fanatic as he is being projected today. Tipu’s policies were not driven by religion. In fact, in his letter to Shankaracharya of Kamkoti Peetham, he refered to the Acharya as Jagatguru (World Teacher). He also donated rich offerings to his shrine.

One recalls that Tipu had been made popular through the 60 episode serial based on Bhagwan Gidwani’s script, the ‘Sword of Tipu Sultan’, which also focused on Tipu Sulatan’s fight against the East India Company. Tipu had corresponded with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad to dissociate themselves from the British forces whose intrusion he saw as particularly harmful for the region.

This policy led to various battles against the British. It was in the fourth Anglo Mysore battle of 1799 that Tipu Sultan lost his life. He has been immortalized in the popular memory of people of Karnataka through folk songs. This is very much akin to idolization of Shivaji in the popular memory in Maharashtra.

Now for the question as to why Tipu used Persian as the Court language, it is important to recognize that Persian was the court language in the sub-continent at that time. Even Shivaji of Maharashtra was using Persian in his correspondence and had appointed Maulana Hyder Ali as his Chief Secretary for doing this.

Tipu was not a religious fanatic as he is being projected today. Tipu’s policies were not driven by religion. In fact, in his letter to Shankaracharya of Kamkoti Peetham, he refered to the Acharya as Jagatguru (World Teacher). He also donated rich offerings to his shrine.

When the Maratha army of Patwardhan plundered the Sringeri monastery, Tipu Sultan respectfully restored the monastery to its glory. During his reign, the ten-day Dushehara celebrations were an integral part of the social life of Mysore.

Sarfaraz Shaikh in his book ‘Sultan-E-Khudad’ has reproduced the ‘Manifesto of Tipu Sultan’ in which he declares that he would not discriminate on religious grounds and would protect his empire until his last breath.

There is a charge that he persecuted certain communities. It is true. The reason for this persecution however was purely political not religious. About these persecutions historian Kate Brittlebank says that “This was not a religious policy but one of chastisement”. The communities targeted by him were seen as disloyal to the state. The communities he targeted did not belong only to Hindu stream. He also acted against some Muslim communities like the Mahdavis. The reason was that these communities were in support of British and were employed as horsemen in the East India Company’s armies. Another historian Susan Bayly says that his attack on Hindus and Christians outside his state is to be seen on political grounds as at the same time he had developed close relations with these communities within Mysore.

The letters supposedly in Britian’s possession wherein he has allegedly written about converting and killing the Kafirs need to be viewed rationally. It also needs to be ascertained if these letters are even genuine or not.

Moreover a person should be viewed in totality. With a Hindu Brahmin called Purnaiyya as his chief advisor and his well documented respect for Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamkotipeetham, it is highly unlikely that Tipu Sultan could have been on a murderous spree of Hindus.

The British took a deliberately hard stance on  Tipu Sultan because he was had opposed Britian’s advance and written to the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad to settle things on their own and keep the British out.

It was for this reason that the British who would vehemently demonized their opponents singled him out.

There is a need to have a balanced picture of this warrior king, who took on the might of British. He had forseen that the British were a different power, different cup of tea and had to be shunned at all costs.

In that sense he was the pioneer of Anti British resistance on this soil.

The vacillation of the communalists, who hover between praising and demonizing Tipu Sultan, is nothing but the attempts to uphold their communal ideology!

____________________________________________________________

Ram Puniyani is an eminent author, activist and former professor of IIT Mumbai

 

 

theclarionindia
theclarionindiahttps://clarionindia.net
Clarion India - News, Views and Insights about Indian Muslims, Dalits, Minorities, Women and Other Marginalised and Dispossessed Communities.

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