Open Forum
New Delhi, 19 November 2015
Tipu Sultan Row
LEGACY MUSN’T BE POLITICISED
By Syed Ali Mujtaba
The birth anniversary celebrations of the 18th
century ruler of Mysore,
Tipu Sultan, by the Karnataka Government have distressingly got embroiled in an
unsavoury controversy. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is again flexing its
muscles, this time against the Government's decision calling the celebrations
as ‘glorification of a tyrant ruler’. Regrettably, the event has taken a
communal turn following several groups turning violent during the State-wide
protests calling against the celebrations.
Worse, the issue flared
up soon after noted actor-cum-playwright Girish Karnad commented that Tipu
would have enjoyed the status of Shivaji had he been a Hindu and suggested that
Bengaluru’s international airport be named after Tipu. Karnad had earlier
written a play titled ‘Dreams of Tipu
Sultan’ to celebrate the bicentenary of his death in 2000. His comments
sparked an outrage from the Hindu right wing forces. He received a death threat
that warned the he “would meet the same end” as that of the slain scholar MM
Kalburgi.
It is a pity that the
mere expression of a view on a historical figure can generate spiralling social
reactions. This is because the Hindu right wing forces like to target Tipu
Sultan’s secular image dubbing him as a Muslim bigot. This view is now getting
spilled on to the streets. There are certain forces who are stoking the fire
against him for political gains and an atmosphere of hatred is being built
against him.
A fresh narrative on Tipu
Sultan is gaining currency painting him as an Islamic ‘Jihadist’. The Sangh
Parivar, has started propagating the 18th century ruler of Mysore as "intolerant"
who persecuted Hindus and converted people to Islam. They allege that Tipu
hanged 700 Melkote Iyengars, killed or converted the people of Coorg region to
Islam and unleashed a reign of terror on the Mangalorean Catholics and
destroyed their churches. Further, they allege that Tipu tried to exterminate
the Nairs of Wyanad and Malabar and so on and so forth…
This new narrative on
Tipu is unfortunately filtering in media discourse and acquiring dangerous
propositions, poisoning young innocent minds. Sadly, the right-wing groups seem
unwilling to debate issues with civility. If this narrative is allowed to go
unchecked, soon Tipu Sultan will become another tyrant ruler like Aurangzeb,
who too is victim of prejudiced propaganda.
While there is no denying
that Tipu destroyed temples in lands that he conquered, at the same time he protected
and generously supported those within his own domain. Those who depict Tipu as a
Muslim bigot are so selective in their propaganda that they forget that he
constructed a temple inside his fort of Srirangaptam along with a mosque. It is
a living testimony of Tipu’s secular outlook where devotees throng the temple even
to this day.
However, when the British
invaded the Srirangapatam fort, they razed all structures inside, looted the priceless
artefacts and took them to England.
Many valuable items of that loot are now in private possession. Those in public
domain are showcased in the British museum that has a separate chamber for the
exploits from Srirangapatanam.
After the fall of the
Srirangapatnam, when it was ascertained that Tipu was killed, some of the
British officers went to look for his body. Benjamin Sydenham described him as:
“He was in stature about 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) and not very fair; he was rather
fat, had a short neck and high shoulders, but his wrists and ankles were small
and delicate. He had large full eyes, with small arched eyebrows and very small
whiskers. His appearance denoted him to be above the ‘Common Stamp.’ And his
countenance expressed a mixture of haughtiness and resolution.”
“He was dressed in a fine
white linen jacket, chintz drawers, a crimson cloth round his waist with a red
silk belt and pouch across his body and head. His head was devoid of any
headgear and there were no weapons of defence about him.”
Historian William
Dalrymple in an essay on Tipu Sultan pointed out that the British had an
interest in painting him as an “intolerant bigot” to drum up a case for their
conquest over him. The British tried to belittle all that Tipu stood for as
they tarred the ruler’s achievements. And thus, the image of Tipu Sultan as the
cruel Oriental despot captured the European imagination. Many of the stories
that were circulated about him were largely blatant fabrications. Reports such
as those produced by Colonel Wilks after the humiliating British defeat at the
Battle of Pollilur and the sensational personal accounts of some 200 British
captives taken to Srirangapatna after the battle helped form the impression of
a demoniac Tipu in public eye.
Such fictitious
propaganda has whetted the appetite of some readers in India. It is a
pity that the British propaganda about Tipu Sultan is today shaping people’s
opinion to think differently about him. It goes without saying that it’s improper
to judge figures of the past by canons of the present. It would be outrageous
to put pressure on today’s Muslims to pay for any such sins with the skewed
understanding of that past.
Tipu Sultan has no
relevance for any Muslim, except for the fact the ruler belonged to their
faith. It is left to the astute people who are well-versed with facts to decide
his place in history. As per history books, Tipu was “one of the most
innovative and far-sighted rulers of the pre-colonial period.” He understood
British designs on India
and, as a “modernizing technocrat” used advanced western weaponry to fight
them.
As compared to Tipu no
Hindu ruler of his time can match his vision of the scientific advances that
was made during his reign. Overall, Tipu’s reign was much more than what the
Hindu right-wing fanatics are trying to portray about him. It is sheer
communalism to paint him as a Muslim bigot. This hidden political agenda is a dangerous
trend in the country, which must be checked. Those doing so should be warned
that they could be booked under the provisions of the IPC dealing with
spreading animosity among religious communities.
The real nationalist
thing to do is to advance a truer understanding of Tipu as a historical figure,
who was a secular south Indian ruler working for Hindu-Muslim unity. An example
of this is of Purnaiah aka Mir Miran Purniya who was the member of Tipu's inner
Cabinet and the only Hindu in an all-Muslim Cabinet. Those distorting history
for political gains must be stopped. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
|