Govt holiday sought on Tipu's birth anniversary

The members of Karnataka State Tipu Secular Sena took out a bike rally on the occasion of Tipu’s Martyr Day in the town on Monday and submitted a memorandum to the government demanding the declaration of holiday on November 20, the birth anniversary of the ‘Tiger of Mysore’.

The rally which started from Idgah Maidan of Sangondanahalli passed through Amarpet, New Bus Stand, Clock Tower, M G Road, Mekke Circle and reached the Deputy Commissioner’s Office.

The Sena’s State president Syed Asif Ulla said Tipu Sultan was an able administrator of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom and had the title ‘Tiger of Mysore’.
“His contributions to the State are immense. It has been 216 years since he became a martyr. But all governments in the State have forgotten his contributions,” Asif regretted.

He urged the government to observe Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary as a government programme and all offices should have his portrait. The scholarship, being given to students belonging to minority communities, should be named after Tipu Sultan and a university should be established in his name at Srirangapatna. His biography should be included in school syllabus and residential schools should be opened in his name, the demonstrators said.

They also demanded the development of Boodikote in the district where Tipu Sultan’s father Hyder Ali was born.

They submitted a memorandum to the district administration officials in this regard. They said the will lay siege to Vidhana Soudha after taking out a protest march from
Kolar and Chikkaballapur to Bengaluru in the month of June.

The district unit president of the Sena Mohammed Umar, secretary S Chandrashekhar and legal counselor Mufiz took part in the rally.

Meanwhile, the workers of the Sena’s taluk unit staged a demonstration in front of the Taluk Office demanding that the government should celebrate Tipu Sultan’s birth
anniversary in a grand manner and declare a holiday on that day.

The unit president Afsar Baig said the Siddaramaiah-led government is reluctant to immortalise Tipu Sultan’s name. He urged the government to take step to name residential schools and scholarships after the ‘Tiger of Mysore’

The demonstrators submitted a memorandum to Deputy Tahsildar T Thimmarayappa and threatened to intensify their protest, if their demands are not met.