BJP spokesman questions govt celebrating Tipu's birth anniversary

"It is an irony that Karnataka celebrates the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan who was himself an anti-Kannadiga and anti-Hindu king," said Sambit Patra, national BJP spokesperson at a seminar titled 'Understanding the Mindset of Tipu and his Worshippers', on Saturday.

He questioned why the Siddaramaiah government has remembered Tipu after 300 years and stated that this has been done to segregate vote banks. Patra also added that the very official language of Mysore state - Kannada - was replaced by Persian during Tipu's reign, yet the chief minister wants to celebrate the life of such a "tyrant".

Patra said Tipu destroyed 8,000 temples. Tipu Sultan had renamed Mangalore as Jalalabad, Mysore as Nazarbad and Kozhikode in Kerala as Islamabad. After his death, the original names were restored.

Robert Rosario, a socio-political activist, who also spoke at the seminar, said Tipu had tortured and killed Canara Christians, now called Mangalore Christians.

Rosario said his ancestors faced the wrath of Tipu's "tyranny" and added that Tipu built mosques using stones of churches destroyed by him.

Sandeep Balakrishna, who has penned a book titled 'Tipu Sultan - The Tyrant of Mysore' and G B Harish, writer and columnist, also participated.