The Blood Bath Of Kodavas
Tall, well built, brave, beautiful and courageous are just few words commonly used to describe Kodava race. Kodava tribe has come a long way to earn the title warrior popularly known in Indian army as Kodava Warriors. The history of Kodavas is definitely one of the most fascinating and the bloodiest among any other civilization in India. My article is based on facts that are documented by historians and based on books which have highlighted the bloodbath of Kodava warriors. The article concentrates on Tipu Sultan and his cold blooded killings.
If Kodava today is one of the second least populated race in this world, it’s because of a barbaric character from the history known to people as Tipu Sultan. There were repeated attempts to capture Kodagu by Tipu and his father Hyder Ali before him. Tipu’s barbarism reached its peak from 1760 to 1790 and this period is considered as one of the most gruesome era in the history of Kodavas. Tipu’s closest commander Mir Kirmani in his book reveals the incident pertaining to Tipu’s brutality and religious conversion. During the year 1760 – 1780, Tipu destroyed more than 600 temples across Kodagu. His cruelty and self-obsession had reached its peak when his closest left him in the final war with British where Tipu died in stampede. He was not shot by Brits.
When Tipu first invaded Kodagu with his well-equipped 15000 army men carrying French Cannon with an intention of conquering Kodagu overnight, Kandanda Doddaiah and Appachira Mandanna with their troop of 5000, Kodavas retaliated against Tipu’s army near Suntikoppa, only to defeat Tipu’s army and chase them out of Kodagu .
Hope the people of India will realize what they are losing by promoting pseudo secularism.It will not take too long when “OTHERS” have the least 35% of population holding their religious beliefs and the country will become the flag bearer of that religion.
Tall, well built, brave, beautiful and courageous are just few words commonly used to describe Kodava race. Kodava tribe has come a long way to earn the title warrior popularly known in Indian army as Kodava Warriors. The history of Kodavas is definitely one of the most fascinating and the bloodiest among any other civilization in India. My article is based on facts that are documented by historians and based on books which have highlighted the bloodbath of Kodava warriors. The article concentrates on Tipu Sultan and his cold blooded killings.
If Kodava today is one of the second least populated race in this world, it’s because of a barbaric character from the history known to people as Tipu Sultan. There were repeated attempts to capture Kodagu by Tipu and his father Hyder Ali before him. Tipu’s barbarism reached its peak from 1760 to 1790 and this period is considered as one of the most gruesome era in the history of Kodavas. Tipu’s closest commander Mir Kirmani in his book reveals the incident pertaining to Tipu’s brutality and religious conversion. During the year 1760 – 1780, Tipu destroyed more than 600 temples across Kodagu. His cruelty and self-obsession had reached its peak when his closest left him in the final war with British where Tipu died in stampede. He was not shot by Brits.
When Tipu first invaded Kodagu with his well-equipped 15000 army men carrying French Cannon with an intention of conquering Kodagu overnight, Kandanda Doddaiah and Appachira Mandanna with their troop of 5000, Kodavas retaliated against Tipu’s army near Suntikoppa, only to defeat Tipu’s army and chase them out of Kodagu .
This war with Tipu is documented in Hunsoor literature which states “Kari Kupasu totha Kodavaru Kari Dumbhi anthe tippuvinatha nugi, hodedhodisidharu” Historians say this was a war of bravery versus strength and by the time Tipu realized the courage of Kodavas, he was defeated. Tipu popularly known and projected today as Tiger of Mysore and pride of Karnataka was defeated by Kodava 31 times during 25 years of war and this humiliation forced Tipu to seek revenge on Kodava. Kodavas were the master of the guerrilla warfare hence they succeeded every time in ambushing Tippu.
In the year 1771, Tipu with a large army attacked Madikeri fort post, where he captured Bhagamandala and converted the entire Bhagandeshwara temple and its premises into a fort. He had also chopped the elephants belonging to the temple, documents for the same is available in the temple even today.
In the year 1771, Tipu with a large army attacked Madikeri fort post, where he captured Bhagamandala and converted the entire Bhagandeshwara temple and its premises into a fort. He had also chopped the elephants belonging to the temple, documents for the same is available in the temple even today.
After capturing Bhagamandala as a tribute to himself, Tippu placed a stone titled “Salam Kallu”which can be seen on the way to Talakaveri, A evidence which even today tells the stories of brutality and bloodbath. After 15 years of war and retaliation with Kodavas, Tipu had understood he would not be able to capture the entire Kodagu which would provide him easy access to Mangalore port, hence he wanted to try something different. Something, which resulted in one of the biggest genocide of human race.
Tipu sent a message to naal naad Kodavas inviting them for a negotiation stating Marathas and British as his main enemies, hence he would want to end the war with Kodava and head back to Srirangapatana.
Tipu sent a message to naal naad Kodavas inviting them for a negotiation stating Marathas and British as his main enemies, hence he would want to end the war with Kodava and head back to Srirangapatana.
Learning about the invite, Kodavas from naal naad gathered with their family on 13th of December 1785 at Devatiparambu located on banks of the river Kaveri to negotiate and bid bye to the decade long war.
As the sun set behind the mountains of Kodagu, Kodavas came to Devatiparambu unarmed, in the mean while, half of Tippu’s army was deployed inside the forest waiting for Kodavas to gather as a part of his cowardly plan, once Tipu was sure he had unarmed men trapped, he ordered his army to massacre all Kodava present at Devatiparambu, troops hiding behind the bushes pounded on unarmed men, women and kids slaughtering more than 70,000 and capturing about 90,000 Kodavas and were deported to Seringapatam.
The captured women and children were subjected to immense physical and mental torture, the young men were all forcibly circumcised and incorporated into the Ahmedy Corps (name of Tipu’s army). The captured were subjected to forcible conversions to Islam, death, and torture. It’s said scale of massacre was so huge that the water in the Kaveri river turned red due to blood oozing out of the dead bodies and continued to flow red in color for 12 consecutive days. Many who were captured were converted to Islam and sent back to Kodagu and called themselves as Kodava Mapilas.
There are about 60 Kodava Mapilas family residing in Kodagu. They share same family names as that of Kodavas. In Devanageri village, Puliyanda Kodava mapilas resides and in the regions surrounding Virajpet, there are Muslim family names like Kuvalera, Italtanda, Mitaltanda, Kuppodanda, Kappanjeera. Similarly, in the Madikeri taluk, there are Kalera, Chekkera, Charmakaranda, Maniyanda, Balasojikaranda, and Mandeyanda in the Hoddur village in Madikeri taluk.
Kodava mapilas also used Kodava Ornaments, Mandamada Kodava mapilas and still use tookbolcha in their home, at the temples in Bshettigeri and Hudikeri, Karthura and Mandamada Kodava mapilas are priests. At yemmemadu dargah festival even to this date Kodava mapilas start the festival proceedings by offering prayers and flinging rice, Chekkera and Kalera Kodava mapilas are takkanga at yemmemadu.
The existence of these Kodava Mapilas are another living evidence reflecting the barbarism of Tipu on Kodavas. Tipu believed in destroying temples in Kodagu, during his course of destruction, he happened to destroy a bhagavadhi temple near Kotakeri and burnt Biddatanda ainmane where he captured 48 innocent people and took them along to Seringapatam.
The captured women and children were subjected to immense physical and mental torture, the young men were all forcibly circumcised and incorporated into the Ahmedy Corps (name of Tipu’s army). The captured were subjected to forcible conversions to Islam, death, and torture. It’s said scale of massacre was so huge that the water in the Kaveri river turned red due to blood oozing out of the dead bodies and continued to flow red in color for 12 consecutive days. Many who were captured were converted to Islam and sent back to Kodagu and called themselves as Kodava Mapilas.
There are about 60 Kodava Mapilas family residing in Kodagu. They share same family names as that of Kodavas. In Devanageri village, Puliyanda Kodava mapilas resides and in the regions surrounding Virajpet, there are Muslim family names like Kuvalera, Italtanda, Mitaltanda, Kuppodanda, Kappanjeera. Similarly, in the Madikeri taluk, there are Kalera, Chekkera, Charmakaranda, Maniyanda, Balasojikaranda, and Mandeyanda in the Hoddur village in Madikeri taluk.
Kodava mapilas also used Kodava Ornaments, Mandamada Kodava mapilas and still use tookbolcha in their home, at the temples in Bshettigeri and Hudikeri, Karthura and Mandamada Kodava mapilas are priests. At yemmemadu dargah festival even to this date Kodava mapilas start the festival proceedings by offering prayers and flinging rice, Chekkera and Kalera Kodava mapilas are takkanga at yemmemadu.
The existence of these Kodava Mapilas are another living evidence reflecting the barbarism of Tipu on Kodavas. Tipu believed in destroying temples in Kodagu, during his course of destruction, he happened to destroy a bhagavadhi temple near Kotakeri and burnt Biddatanda ainmane where he captured 48 innocent people and took them along to Seringapatam.
Among these 40 people, Appanna managed to escape and returned to his village in Kodagu, however Appanna was out casted since villagers thought he was converted to Islam. Appanna lived alone till death near a pond which is called Appannajjanda Kere. The pond can be found even today. The remains of the Biddatanda Ain-Mane which was burnt with people inside shouting for help tells the horrific mindset of Tipu and his brigade.
Tipu after capturing Madikeri fort set his eyes on removing Kalasa from the Omkareshwara temple and replaced it with the dome which is another architectural evidence for destruction Tipu carried out during his rule.
Tipu after capturing Madikeri fort set his eyes on removing Kalasa from the Omkareshwara temple and replaced it with the dome which is another architectural evidence for destruction Tipu carried out during his rule.
Tipu also wanted to abolish Kannada completely and hence he introduced Persian language into his administration . The persian words like “Dhapan, Barcas and Jammabandi ”still used in our land documents at Kodagu shows Tipu a wannabe to had eliminated Kannada from Karnataka.
Its irony that government wants to celebrate Tipu’s birthday across Karnataka. The evidence not only indicates that he was not a conqueror but a religious fanatic and a dictator who believed in ethical cleansing of Kodavas and other community in south India.
The evidence for the bloodiest history of Kodagu and Kodava exists even today and is documented. A history which is filled with in-humanness, violence and genocide, a history which is today rewritten by politicians to lionize a mass murderer and efforts to project him as a hero is not only hurting the sentiments of Kodava, but it’s also sending out a wrong message about our history to the future generation of this country. A man who lost the battle 31 times and killed the brave Kodava warriors by infidelity can never be a Hero. Tipu was an invader, a dictator a coward and a murderer of human race and glorifying such inhuman personality is absolute shame and disgrace to humanity. The real history needs to be told to the next generation for them to know who the real warriors of the Kodava Land were.
Mukkatira Mac Thimmaiah.”
The above explains in volumes what Tipu Sultan stood for. Congress is celebrating that man who is just the opposite of Secularism.
The evidence for the bloodiest history of Kodagu and Kodava exists even today and is documented. A history which is filled with in-humanness, violence and genocide, a history which is today rewritten by politicians to lionize a mass murderer and efforts to project him as a hero is not only hurting the sentiments of Kodava, but it’s also sending out a wrong message about our history to the future generation of this country. A man who lost the battle 31 times and killed the brave Kodava warriors by infidelity can never be a Hero. Tipu was an invader, a dictator a coward and a murderer of human race and glorifying such inhuman personality is absolute shame and disgrace to humanity. The real history needs to be told to the next generation for them to know who the real warriors of the Kodava Land were.
Mukkatira Mac Thimmaiah.”
The above explains in volumes what Tipu Sultan stood for. Congress is celebrating that man who is just the opposite of Secularism.
On the same vein you could also see Congress has been in partnership with Indian Union MUSLIM LEAGUE for decades to cling on to power in Kerala. And they use the religious card to win elections in every state.
Of course you cannot forget the fact that the name of “Gandhi” which they use as suffix to the family that leads Congress itself is something FABRICATED!!!
Also note that the Congress of today has really nothing to do with the original Congress as most of the people who sacrificed for the country with the party has departed from it to form other parties and or retired in agony. Still the party claims the legacy of some great people who were long forgotten by them except one family.
Hope the people of India will realize what they are losing by promoting pseudo secularism.It will not take too long when “OTHERS” have the least 35% of population holding their religious beliefs and the country will become the flag bearer of that religion.
Conquerors were honored and facilitated, now we are facilitating them to take supremacy on our own raise and potential retaining of those belief systems as we care the less about our ancestry and the heroes who gave their precious lives for the cause of this thinking ‘LOKA SAMASTHA SUKHINO BHAVANTHU’.
Mukkatira Mac Thimmaiah
Contact : m2thimmaiah@gmail.com
http://macthimmaiah.blogspot.in/2015/11/the-blood-bath-of-kodavas.html
The Karnataka government's decision to celebrate 10 November as Tipu Jayanti flies in the face of history and has deeply offended the people of Coorg, Mangalore, and parts of Kerala who regard Tipu Sultan as a tyrant who destroyed temples, killed non-Muslims, and forcibly converted tens of thousands of conquered people. Various parties and organisations have already taken out protest processions and 10 November, is being observed across Coorg district as a black day.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has dismissed the protests as a conspiracy by communal forces. The BJP and Hindu organisations, though not leading the protests, have seen an opportunity here.
But, the fact is that most Coorgs are hurt and offended by the Karnataka government's decision to celebrate Tipu Jayanthi. “He was a treacherous tyrant,” says CP Belliappa, Coorg-based writer of historical books such as Victoria Gowramma, the story of a Coorg princess adopted by Queen Victoria.
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah. PTI
Coorg was a direct recipient of Tipu's tyranny. His occupation of the district, those days ruled by the Haleri dynasty, was marked with destruction of temples, killing of what Tipu called infidels, and mass conversions. According to Belliappa, Tipu, then at war with the Coorgs, said he would cease hostilities and suggested that the Coorgs come to a place near Bagamandala, near the birthplace of the River Cauvery, to discuss terms of peace. That was a trap. The Coorgs, when they arrived, were ambushed, rounded up, and taken away to Srirangapatna. There, they were circumcised and forced to eat beef.
Evidence of Tipu's deeds in Coorg comes from within his own court. Tipu's biographer and courtier Mir Hussein Kirmani wrote about Tipu's exploits in Coorg in his The History of Tipu Sultan, "The conquering Sultan dispatched his Amirs and Khans with large bodies of troops to punish those idolaters and reduce the whole country (Coorg) to subjection. They attacked and destroyed many towns. Eight thousand men, women, and children were taken as prisoners. They were collected in an immense crowd like a flock of sheep or herd of bullocks."
In a letter to the Nawab of Kurnool, Tipu claims he took 40,000 Coorgs as prisoners and forcibly converted them to Islam and incorporated them into his Ahmadi corps. Many of the descendants of Tipu's converted Coorgs still retain their original Coorg family names.
Tipu also went about destroying temples in Coorg. To protect the Omkareshwara temple in Mercara, residents of the town knocked down its towers and replaced them with domes. The temple retains the domes even today, striking testimony that has survived over the ages. According to the Mysore Gazetteer of the time, when Tipu was finally vanquished, only two temples in his kingdom performed daily pujas. The Gazetteer estimates that Tipu destroyed around eight thousand temples in South India.
Tipu did on occasion display a benign attitude to his Hindu subjects. For instance, a temple at Sringeri was a beneficiary of his largesse. This cannot be disputed. He also fought a couple of wars with the British, for which politicians, more than historians, place him in the league of freedom fighters. A rather fanciful novel by Bhagavan Gidwani and a dramatic play by Girish Karnad, based on Gidwani's book, help add to the narrative.
But these are fiction, according to Sandeep Balakrishnan, author of the definitive work titled Tipu Sultan, The Tyrant of Mysore. Balakrishnan says in a recent article that the gifts to Sringeri Mutt were meant to placate Hindus, who he feared would rise against him. It came at a time when Tipu had been drubbed during the Third Anglo-Mysore war of 1791. With the Marathas gaining in strength, the last thing he needed was to upset the Hindu majority among his subjects. Similarly, while he fought the British, he aligned himself with the French, whose Indian aspirations matched the British in greed and ruthlessness.
If Tipu's actions in Coorg were questionable, his actions in Malabar were said to be worse. Portuguese missionary Father Bartholomew wrote in his book, Voyage to East Indies, “Women and children were hanged in Calicut, first mothers were hanged and their children tied to necks of mothers. That barbarian Tipu Sultan tied naked Christians and Hindus to the legs of elephants and made the elephants to move around till the bodies of the helpless victims were torn to pieces.” After the pillage of Calicut, Tipu wrote to his generals: “Almost all Hindus in Calicut are converted to Islam. Only on the borders of Cochin State a few are still not converted. I am determined to convert them also very soon. I consider this as Jihad to achieve that object.”
Back in his capital Srirangapatna, a few kilometres east of Mysore, Tipu made far-reaching changes to how his kingdom functioned. For instance, he changed the official language from Kannada to Farsi; he renamed cities and towns that had Hindu names; he changed weights and distance measurement to an Arabic system; he changed the calendar, reducing the year to 364 days, and even gave new names for the shorter months, Hindu courtiers, with one notable exception, were replaced. He also exempted Muslims from paying taxes. He reversed a decision by his father Hyder Ali not to levy taxes on temples.
The Coorgs helped end Tipu's rule. According to Belliappa, the Coorgs wanted revenge and were ready to fight against Tipu. The British did not accept their services. While the Coorgs were ferocious on the battlefield, they lacked the discipline and training that the British needed in their armies. But the Coorg king and his subjects allowed the small kingdom to be used as a path for the English frontlines to be supplied. They protected the road and drove the bullock carts themselves.
Around 2,000 letters were discovered after Tipu's death in 1799, written in his own handwriting. In them, Tipu frequently calls Hindus kaffirs and infidels. He also refers to Christians, mainly the British, who need to be cleansed or converted if Islam is to be established in India. So, when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah makes the astonishing claim that Tipu Sultan was a secular ruler and a model king, he ignores the huge array of historical evidence that says the opposite. But then, Tipu Jayanthi was never really about celebrating history. Says BJP, state media-in-charge Prakash Sesharagavachar, “The need to celebrate Tipu Jayanthi is political motivated. It is not supported by historical fact, which clearly paints Tipu as a tyrannical ruler.”
It's always about politics.
Sickening sicularists expressing their pathetic and disgusting views without knowing their own real history.
Bengaluru: Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad on Tuesday said 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan would have enjoyed the same status as of Maratha king Chhatrapathi Shivaji, if he was a Hindu and not a Muslim.
In another remark that stoked a controversy, Karnad said it would have been "apt" had the Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli near here been named after Tipu Sultan rather than Kempegowda, a feudatory ruler under the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire which founded Bengaluru in 1537.
]
Girish Karnad in a file photo. The remarks by the noted Kannada playwright and actor came at a state government organised function to mark the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan held amid tight security at the state Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The statewide celebrations are being boycotted by BJP and protested by several outfits who see the ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kindgom as a "religious bigot" and "anti-Kannadiga." The protests led to violence at Madikeri in Kodagu district claiming one life.
"I feel that if Tipu Sultan was a Hindu and not Muslim he would have attained the position in Karnataka that Shivaji Maharaj enjoys in Maharashtra," Karnad said.
Maintaining that Tipu is deprived of such a status owing to his religious persuasion, he said, "Because what has happened is today our scholars and politicians look at one's religion and caste first...."
"Injustice has happened to Tipu Sultan because of this type of evaluation..." he added.
Taking potshots at those calling Tipu Sultan "anti-Kannada and anti-Hindu", Karnad said, "Today, when we are celebrating this day as Deepawali and Tipu Sultan day, we can also celebrate it as Bihar day."
His Bihar day remark was an apparent jibe at BJP, which was routed in the Assembly polls. Karnad has always made known his ideological opposition to BJP.
Expressing similar opinion to that of Karnad while recounting the contributions of Tipu Sultan to the people of his kingdom, Siddaramaiah said "...if he was born as Hindu he would have got similar respect in Karnataka and the entire country, that Shivaji enjoys."
Siddaramaiah said, "We should not look at a person through his religion or caste perspective, but keeping in mind the good work done by him to the people. That is what we have done today by celebrating Tipu jayanti."
Karnad also said it would have been "apt" to name Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli after Tipu Sultan instead of Kempegowda as the latter was not a freedom fighter.
He noted that naming airport after Tipu Sultan would be more appropriate as Devanahalli was his birth place.
"I'm aware what I'm saying now will be debated....as we know Kolkata airport is named after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mumbai airport is named after Shivaji Maharaj, but in Karnataka we have named it after Kempegowda," Karnad said.
"It is true that Kempegowda was great, he founded Bangaluru, but he was not a freedom fighter, so naming Bengaluru airport after Tipu Sultan would have been apt."
Karnad's remarks on Kempegowda international airport came in for attack from the BJP which said he had insulted the founder of Bengaluru on an issue which was a "closed chapter."
"Karnad is reopening a closed chapter and creating a new controversy....He has made name through controversies. His remarks are unfortunate and condemnable," state's senior BJP leader R Ashoka told reporters here. He also questioned the silence of the Chief Minister when Karnad made the remark.
Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile kingdom of Mysore, who was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort of Srirangapatna against the British forces.
Speaking at the event Siddaramaiah also said there is no "political interest" behind organising Tipu Jayanti.
Calling those opposing the event as "fanatics" and "communal forces", he said, "Until these communal forces exist such oppositions and controversies are common."
Siddaramaiah said politicising an event organised to pay respect to Tipu Sultan is "not correct".
"Whichever religion or caste that he may belong to, he has fought for the nation and has laid down his life for the people, so it is our duty to show respect," he added.
Several literary personalities and historians like Baraguru Ramachandrappa, Ko Channabasappa, Prof Shaik Ali, N V Narasimaiah who spoke at the event took exception to Tippu being labelled as anti-Hindu and anti-Kannada.
Recounting his contributions to promote communal and linguistic tolerance in his kingdom, they called him "truly secular."
PTI
http://www.firstpost.com/india/tipu-sultan-would-have-enjoyed-status-of-shivaji-if-he-was-a-hindu-girish-karnad-2502936.htmlhttp://www.firstpost.com/india/tipu-sultan-would-have-enjoyed-status-of-shivaji-if-he-was-a-hindu-girish-karnad-2502936.html
By Pappan
Mukkatira Mac Thimmaiah
Contact : m2thimmaiah@gmail.com
http://macthimmaiah.blogspot.in/2015/11/the-blood-bath-of-kodavas.html
It’s always about politics: Here’s why Karnataka is raging over govt’s plans to celebrate Tipu Sultan Jayanti
by Nov 1, 2015
The Karnataka government's decision to celebrate 10 November as Tipu Jayanti flies in the face of history and has deeply offended the people of Coorg, Mangalore, and parts of Kerala who regard Tipu Sultan as a tyrant who destroyed temples, killed non-Muslims, and forcibly converted tens of thousands of conquered people. Various parties and organisations have already taken out protest processions and 10 November, is being observed across Coorg district as a black day.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has dismissed the protests as a conspiracy by communal forces. The BJP and Hindu organisations, though not leading the protests, have seen an opportunity here.
]
Evidence of Tipu's deeds in Coorg comes from within his own court. Tipu's biographer and courtier Mir Hussein Kirmani wrote about Tipu's exploits in Coorg in his The History of Tipu Sultan, "The conquering Sultan dispatched his Amirs and Khans with large bodies of troops to punish those idolaters and reduce the whole country (Coorg) to subjection. They attacked and destroyed many towns. Eight thousand men, women, and children were taken as prisoners. They were collected in an immense crowd like a flock of sheep or herd of bullocks."
In a letter to the Nawab of Kurnool, Tipu claims he took 40,000 Coorgs as prisoners and forcibly converted them to Islam and incorporated them into his Ahmadi corps. Many of the descendants of Tipu's converted Coorgs still retain their original Coorg family names.
Tipu also went about destroying temples in Coorg. To protect the Omkareshwara temple in Mercara, residents of the town knocked down its towers and replaced them with domes. The temple retains the domes even today, striking testimony that has survived over the ages. According to the Mysore Gazetteer of the time, when Tipu was finally vanquished, only two temples in his kingdom performed daily pujas. The Gazetteer estimates that Tipu destroyed around eight thousand temples in South India.
Tipu did on occasion display a benign attitude to his Hindu subjects. For instance, a temple at Sringeri was a beneficiary of his largesse. This cannot be disputed. He also fought a couple of wars with the British, for which politicians, more than historians, place him in the league of freedom fighters. A rather fanciful novel by Bhagavan Gidwani and a dramatic play by Girish Karnad, based on Gidwani's book, help add to the narrative.
But these are fiction, according to Sandeep Balakrishnan, author of the definitive work titled Tipu Sultan, The Tyrant of Mysore. Balakrishnan says in a recent article that the gifts to Sringeri Mutt were meant to placate Hindus, who he feared would rise against him. It came at a time when Tipu had been drubbed during the Third Anglo-Mysore war of 1791. With the Marathas gaining in strength, the last thing he needed was to upset the Hindu majority among his subjects. Similarly, while he fought the British, he aligned himself with the French, whose Indian aspirations matched the British in greed and ruthlessness.
If Tipu's actions in Coorg were questionable, his actions in Malabar were said to be worse. Portuguese missionary Father Bartholomew wrote in his book, Voyage to East Indies, “Women and children were hanged in Calicut, first mothers were hanged and their children tied to necks of mothers. That barbarian Tipu Sultan tied naked Christians and Hindus to the legs of elephants and made the elephants to move around till the bodies of the helpless victims were torn to pieces.” After the pillage of Calicut, Tipu wrote to his generals: “Almost all Hindus in Calicut are converted to Islam. Only on the borders of Cochin State a few are still not converted. I am determined to convert them also very soon. I consider this as Jihad to achieve that object.”
Back in his capital Srirangapatna, a few kilometres east of Mysore, Tipu made far-reaching changes to how his kingdom functioned. For instance, he changed the official language from Kannada to Farsi; he renamed cities and towns that had Hindu names; he changed weights and distance measurement to an Arabic system; he changed the calendar, reducing the year to 364 days, and even gave new names for the shorter months, Hindu courtiers, with one notable exception, were replaced. He also exempted Muslims from paying taxes. He reversed a decision by his father Hyder Ali not to levy taxes on temples.
The Coorgs helped end Tipu's rule. According to Belliappa, the Coorgs wanted revenge and were ready to fight against Tipu. The British did not accept their services. While the Coorgs were ferocious on the battlefield, they lacked the discipline and training that the British needed in their armies. But the Coorg king and his subjects allowed the small kingdom to be used as a path for the English frontlines to be supplied. They protected the road and drove the bullock carts themselves.
Around 2,000 letters were discovered after Tipu's death in 1799, written in his own handwriting. In them, Tipu frequently calls Hindus kaffirs and infidels. He also refers to Christians, mainly the British, who need to be cleansed or converted if Islam is to be established in India. So, when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah makes the astonishing claim that Tipu Sultan was a secular ruler and a model king, he ignores the huge array of historical evidence that says the opposite. But then, Tipu Jayanthi was never really about celebrating history. Says BJP, state media-in-charge Prakash Sesharagavachar, “The need to celebrate Tipu Jayanthi is political motivated. It is not supported by historical fact, which clearly paints Tipu as a tyrannical ruler.”
It's always about politics.
Sickening sicularists expressing their pathetic and disgusting views without knowing their own real history.
Tipu Sultan would have enjoyed status of Shivaji if he was a Hindu: Girish Karnad
by Nov 11, 2015
Bengaluru: Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad on Tuesday said 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan would have enjoyed the same status as of Maratha king Chhatrapathi Shivaji, if he was a Hindu and not a Muslim.
In another remark that stoked a controversy, Karnad said it would have been "apt" had the Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli near here been named after Tipu Sultan rather than Kempegowda, a feudatory ruler under the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire which founded Bengaluru in 1537.
]
The statewide celebrations are being boycotted by BJP and protested by several outfits who see the ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kindgom as a "religious bigot" and "anti-Kannadiga." The protests led to violence at Madikeri in Kodagu district claiming one life.
"I feel that if Tipu Sultan was a Hindu and not Muslim he would have attained the position in Karnataka that Shivaji Maharaj enjoys in Maharashtra," Karnad said.
Maintaining that Tipu is deprived of such a status owing to his religious persuasion, he said, "Because what has happened is today our scholars and politicians look at one's religion and caste first...."
"Injustice has happened to Tipu Sultan because of this type of evaluation..." he added.
Taking potshots at those calling Tipu Sultan "anti-Kannada and anti-Hindu", Karnad said, "Today, when we are celebrating this day as Deepawali and Tipu Sultan day, we can also celebrate it as Bihar day."
His Bihar day remark was an apparent jibe at BJP, which was routed in the Assembly polls. Karnad has always made known his ideological opposition to BJP.
Expressing similar opinion to that of Karnad while recounting the contributions of Tipu Sultan to the people of his kingdom, Siddaramaiah said "...if he was born as Hindu he would have got similar respect in Karnataka and the entire country, that Shivaji enjoys."
Siddaramaiah said, "We should not look at a person through his religion or caste perspective, but keeping in mind the good work done by him to the people. That is what we have done today by celebrating Tipu jayanti."
Karnad also said it would have been "apt" to name Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli after Tipu Sultan instead of Kempegowda as the latter was not a freedom fighter.
He noted that naming airport after Tipu Sultan would be more appropriate as Devanahalli was his birth place.
"I'm aware what I'm saying now will be debated....as we know Kolkata airport is named after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mumbai airport is named after Shivaji Maharaj, but in Karnataka we have named it after Kempegowda," Karnad said.
"It is true that Kempegowda was great, he founded Bangaluru, but he was not a freedom fighter, so naming Bengaluru airport after Tipu Sultan would have been apt."
Karnad's remarks on Kempegowda international airport came in for attack from the BJP which said he had insulted the founder of Bengaluru on an issue which was a "closed chapter."
"Karnad is reopening a closed chapter and creating a new controversy....He has made name through controversies. His remarks are unfortunate and condemnable," state's senior BJP leader R Ashoka told reporters here. He also questioned the silence of the Chief Minister when Karnad made the remark.
Tipu was a ruler of the erstwhile kingdom of Mysore, who was considered an implacable enemy of the British East India Company. He was killed in May 1799 while defending his fort of Srirangapatna against the British forces.
Speaking at the event Siddaramaiah also said there is no "political interest" behind organising Tipu Jayanti.
Calling those opposing the event as "fanatics" and "communal forces", he said, "Until these communal forces exist such oppositions and controversies are common."
Siddaramaiah said politicising an event organised to pay respect to Tipu Sultan is "not correct".
"Whichever religion or caste that he may belong to, he has fought for the nation and has laid down his life for the people, so it is our duty to show respect," he added.
Several literary personalities and historians like Baraguru Ramachandrappa, Ko Channabasappa, Prof Shaik Ali, N V Narasimaiah who spoke at the event took exception to Tippu being labelled as anti-Hindu and anti-Kannada.
Recounting his contributions to promote communal and linguistic tolerance in his kingdom, they called him "truly secular."
PTI
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