'Why can't a Tipu Sultan statue be built?' Siddaramaiah attacks BJP

Bengaluru, Nov 13: Amid a huge row, Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah has said that there is nothing wrong with the idea of building a statue of former ruler Tipu Sultan.

Siddaramaiah's comments comes in response to Congress MLA Tanveer Sait promise to build a 100 feet Tipu statue at Srirangapatna or Mysuru.

"Why can't a Tipu Sultan statue be built? Let them build (it), doesn't he deserve one? The BJP has a habit of twisting history," the senior Congress leader was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"What did they say about Narayana Guru, Ambedkar and others in the past? Nothing but entirely false things," added Siddaramaiah.

Tanveer Sait on Saturday said there are plans to install a 100-feet statue of 18th century ruler of erstwhile Mysuru Kingdom Tipu Sultan, either here or in Srirangapatna.

"I'm not alone, I will call a meeting of community leaders and take a decision on installing the statue (of Tipu) at Mysuru or Srirangapatna. How to go about it, its look, restrictions imposed by the courts on installing statues, from where to obtain permissions, whether it should be in bronze or five-metal alloys, we need to discuss all this," Sait was quoted saying by PTI.

Sait's plan comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday had unveiled the 108-feet high statue of Bengaluru's founder Nada Prabhu Kempegowda near the Kempegowda International Airport in the capital city.
Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik opposed the Tipu statue proposal and warned that it would be demolished like Babri Masjid.

The BJP government in 2019 had scrapped the annual 'Tipu Jayanti' (birth anniversary celebrations) that was being organised by the administration across the state since 2015 (under Siddaramaiah-led Congress regime).

Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysuru and considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces.
While some in the state claim that Tipu Sultan was a freedom fighter, a large number say that he was nothing but a religious bigot and deserves no place in history.

History records that the Kodavas and Tipu Sultan have had a bitter rivalry always. Tipu wanted to capture Kodagu as he felt he could use it as a gateway to Mangalore which has a port.

Tipu once managed to capture Kodagu on one occasion and is said to have uttered the words, "if you ambush my men, I will honour you all with Islam." The Kodavas did not take this lying down and beat Tipu and drove him back to Mysore.
Tipu by now realized that his war was going nowhere and beating the Kodavas was not easy.

He decided to offer his hand of friendship. The Kodavas made a grave error in trusting Tipu. The Kodavas were in fact happy to offer their hand of friendship as the battle against him was being won, but at a huge cost and the warriors were tired.

The Kodavas are said to have welcomed Tipu.

However, they were caught completely off guard when Tipu's men launched an attack against the Kodavas who were unarmed. He took many as prisoners.

Several thousand Kodavas were captured and taken to Srirangapatana where it is believed they were forcibly converted.

Stories of conversion and torture have been narrated by the Kodavas who were in captivity of Tipu.

Various historians have given different figures about the number of Kodavas who were converted. Figures range between 60,000 to 85,000.

In the year 1784 it was Tipu who had destroyed the Milagres Church in Mangalore. The Church, which was built in the year 1680, is a landmark in Mangalore.

Tipu had imprisoned over 50,000 Catholics on the suspicion that they were spies of the British. Many contend that there is widespread hatred for Tipu Sultan across the state which includes a large number of Catholics as well.

Several Catholics have also raised the point that Tipu was responsible for the death of nearly 4,000 Catholics. Tipu had captured the Catholics and made them walk to Mysore from Mangalore which resulted in the death of many. The Catholics till date observe one day of mourning for those who died as a result of Tipu Sultan's actions.