BJP govt in Karnataka cancels Tipu Jayanti celebrations after assuming power

Taking its first decision after assuming power in the state of Karnataka, the BJP government under BS Yeddyuruppa has cancelled the Tipu Jayanti celebrated on the occasion of birthday of Tipu Sultan on November 10 every year. Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa led Karnataka government's Kannada & Culture Department have taken the decision in the cabinet meeting held on Monday to not celebrate Tipu Jayanti.

The Tipu Jayanti celebrations has been a bone of contention between the Congres and the BJP, with the JD(S) initially oppositing the celebration when it was in opposition. However, last year amid protests from the  BJP and right-wing organizations, HD Kumaraswamy who was then the CM skipped Tipu jayanti even as JD(S) alliance partner in the state - the Congress celebrated it. Marking the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th century Mysore kingdom ruler Tipu Sultan, former Congress CM Siddaramaih started a grand celebrations in the state. 

Speaking on the decision on Tuesday, former CM Siddaramaih said: "I only started Tipu Jayanti celebrations. According to me, he was the first freedom fighter in the country. BJP people are not secular."

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LAST YEAR'S TIPU JAYANTI

The current Karnataka CM Yeddyuruppa opposing the celebration last year had asked the state government to cancel celebrations planned for November 10. In a tweet, the former chief minister said “nobody” would appreciate the celebrations. “We are opposing Tipu Jayanti celebration. Nobody will appreciate this celebration. In the interest of the state, state govt must stop it. Government's intention behind Tipu Jayanti celebration is just to satisfy Muslim community,” Yeddyurappa had said.

The state BJP unit had urged the state government to drop its decision to celebrate the Jayanthi and also called him a 'religious bigot'. In Kodagu district, where celebrations in 2015 were marred by widespread protests and violence, Tipu Jayanthi Virodhi Horata Samithi called for a bandh. VHP worker Kuttappa had died in Kodagu district during a clash that erupted during the Tipu Jayanthi that year. BJP workers along with MLA M P Appacchu Ranjan were detained by police at Madikeri in Kodagu district for protesting against the event after he allegedly had an argument with the police for not letting those without invitations to attend the event.

Another BJP MLA and former assembly speaker K G Bopaiah was detained in Virajpet during the protest, police said. In Mangaluru, some protesters tried to barge into the zilla panchayat office with black flags where the event was being organised. The protestors were later detained by police. In Yellapura of Uttara Kannada district too, there were reports of detaining protesters. Similar protests were reported from Chikkamagaluru, Ballari, Karwar and various parts of the state. Prohibitory orders were issued in most of the districts in the state as a precautionary measure.

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WHO WAS TIPU SULTAN, WHY IS HE A CONTROVERSIAL FIGURE?

Tipu Sultan was considered an enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna against the British forces. The ruler, however, is a controversial figure in Kodagu district as Kodavas (Coorgis), a martial race, believe that thousands of their men and women were seized and held captive during his occupation and subjected to torture, death and forcible conversion to Islam. He is also accused of execution of Mandayam Iyengars at the temple town of Melkote in Mandya district on the day of Deepavali festival, as they supported the then Maharaja of Mysuru. Tipu Sultan is seen in a negative light in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district too, where the Christians believe he unleashed atrocities on their community. However, the scale of such suppression is disputed by several historians, who see Tipu as a secular and modern ruler who took on the might of the British.\

(inputs from PTI)

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