A debate on Tipu Sultan has once again erupted in Maharashtra over a photograph displayed in the office of Islam Party leader and Mayor Nasreen Shaikh in Malegaon, Maharashtra. In the office of Mayor Nasreen Shaikh, there is a picture of Tipu Sultan right behind her chair. As soon as this picture came out, people started raising questions as to why they gave place to Tipu Sultan but did not put pictures of leaders like Chhatrapati Shivaji, Mahatma Gandhi, Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh.
Opposition parties of Islam Party and AIMIM say that this is the attitude of Islamic State. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have called this unacceptable. From Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala have expressed their anger over this picture. He said how wrong it is to consider only Islamic heroes as heroes.
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Aftab Poonawala, National Spokesperson, BJP:-
It is unfortunate that some people run the shop of Sharia in their mind instead of the Constitution on tongue. Like the Deputy Mayor of Malegaon, who comes from the Islam Party and is affected by the Islamic State mentality, has installed the picture of Tipu Sultan in the government office, but not of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Ambedkar ji, Sardar Patel, Mahatma Gandhi or President Draupadi Murmu. This shows that his ideals are Ghazni, Ghori, Tipu and the people who committed genocide against Hindus. For them Sharia comes first, not the Constitution. That’s why no photo of Ambedkar, the creator of the Constitution, was put up.
What is the real reason for the uproar?
On the statement of Maharashtra President Harsh Vardhan Sapkal, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote, ‘This comparison is condemnable. Maharashtra will not tolerate this. Sapkal should apologize for comparing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Tipu Sultan. Congress should pay attention to this matter and its allies should clear their stand on Sapkal’s statement.
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Harshvardhan Sapkal, Maharashtra Congress President:-
The bravery of Tripathi Shivaji Maharaj is unmatched, while Tipu Sultan was a lover of independence. He fought against the British considering Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as his ideal. When Tipu Sultan was fighting foreign rulers, people following the ideology of Sangh-BJP were slaves and spies of the British. Devendra Fadnavis should not pretend to teach us history. The people of Maharashtra have not forgotten what BJP-RSS, Bhagat Singh Koshyari and others said and insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
What has happened so far in the Tipu Sultan violence case?
Controversy over Tipu Sultan’s picture erupted when Tipu Sultan’s picture was also installed in the office of Deputy Mayor Nihal Ahmed. Maharashtra Congress Party President Harsh Vardhan Sapkal jumped into the controversy. He compared Tipu Sultan with Chhatrapati Shivaji. Violent clashes took place after his statement. Pune Police registered 2 separate cases against the Pune unit president and workers of BJP and Congress. On Sunday, factions of BJP and Congress clashed. 2 policemen, 2 journalists and 9 civilians were injured. Pune Police has filed a case against BJP’s Pune unit president Dheeraj Ghate, Congress youth cell president Dushyant Abhishek and 60 other workers.
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Why do BJP leaders have problems with Tipu Sultan?
A large section of Karnataka considers Tipu Sultan as a hero. Tipu Sultan was the Mysore ruler who had troubled the British. He is counted in history as a brave ruler, who took on the British to protect his empire. Tipu Sultan used weapons like rockets and missiles against the British. No Indian ruler before him had used such weapons. Tipu Sultan has been accused of massacre of Hindu settlements in Kodagu. Tipu Sultan has been portrayed as a revolutionary even in school books, but BJP considers him not a revolutionary but a ruler who oppressed Hindus. He also attempted an alliance with Napoleon Bonoparte to fight the British.
Referring to the alleged historical letters of Tipu Sultan, BJP claims that he had converted more than 4 lakh Hindus. When he imprisoned Hindus in the Malabar region of Kerala, he forced them to convert to Islam. There were battles over jurisdiction between the Marathas and Tipu Sultan. The Mysore-Maratha war also took place during 1785-1787. A section of historians say that Tipu Sultan saved the Sringeri Math from the attack of the Marathas and saved the Ranganatha Swamy temple. BJP leaders say that he was involved in religious conversion, used to convert Hindus.
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Why is Tipu Sultan a villain in the eyes of Hindu organizations?
Tipu Sultan is called the ‘Lion of Mysore’ in Karnataka. Examples of his bravery are given. Some historical references mention that he converted a large number of people in Malabar, Kodagu and Coorg areas. There are allegations that during the Malabar conquest, Tipu forcibly converted thousands of Nair Hindus and Christians. Tipu had effected conversion to crush the Coorg rebellion. Thousands of people were included in the Ahmadi army. Tipu Sultan had converted the Catholic Christians of Mangalore into Muslims on the basis of suspicion. Tipu Sultan had written some letters to his generals and officers. Wrote a letter to Syed Abdul Ghaffar, in which it was said that lakhs of infidels had been converted to Islam.
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Such letters have also been received regarding Malabar, Kodagu and Coorg. British officer Mark Wills had mentioned Tipu Sultan’s cruelty and conversion stance in his ‘Historical Sketch of the South of India’. Its historicity is doubtful because he fought with the British throughout his life, hence, the British had spread such propaganda to create an atmosphere against him. In Sitaram Goyal’s book ‘Tipu Sultan Villain or Hero’, he has also been described as the destroyer of temples and the one who carried out religious conversions. Historian Irfan Habib writes in ‘State and Diplomacy under Tipu Sultan’ that he used to prepare war strategies.
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What was Tipu Sultan in the eyes of Irfan Habib?
Historian Irfan Habib, in his book ‘State and Diplomacy under Tipu Sultan’, explains the position of Tipu Sultan by quoting many historians. He has written, ‘Professor Nikhilesh Guha analyzed the state and business policies of Tipu Sultan. They say that Tipu took the help of Islam so that people would show more enthusiasm in the fight against the British. Edward Moore, a British officer, had written in the year 1794 that Tipu Sultan must have thought that people would respect his orders more in the name of religion.
Irfan Habib wrote, ‘Tipu Sultan continued the old traditions of Mysore. Donated to temples and gave jobs to Hindu officials. In 1797, another British officer described him as a capable ruler who obeys the people, not oppresses them. Dr. Brittlebank considered later beliefs about Tipu Sultan. Historians may have different views, but as long as Indians remember those who fought against British colonialism, Tipu Sultan will always be remembered.
Now what next?
Many political parties in Maharashtra are now saying that this issue is being given unnecessary priority. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said on this controversy, ‘His picture was posted on the wall of Malegaon Deputy Mayor’s office, which has been removed. Now this issue should end. BJP has no business. If there is no issue of public or national interest then Hindus and Muslims do this by raising any issue. If you want to know the truth about Tipu Sultan, then listen to the speech given by President Kovind, whom you yourself made, in the Karnataka Assembly. BJP corporators in Mumbai Municipal Corporation had also proposed to name the road after Tipu Sultan.
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