Reacting to the controversy, Girish Karnad, said: “If there is a university in Srirangapatna, it has to be named after Tipu Sultan. There is no question about it. He was our great fighter and Srirangapatna is a place associated with him.” He said that the controversy around Tipu Sultan was raked up before and is being raked up yet again. “One cannot go on reacting to prejudiced, full-time activists like Chidanandamurthy.”
One of Karnad’s famous plays, “The Dreams of Tipu Sultan”, explores the inner life of the warrior and the political visionary who fought the British and died in war with the Colonial army in 1799.
Vasu M.V, Associate Professor, Department of History, Bangalore University said: “Tipu Sultan in my opinion represents the leader who brought modernity that entered India. He had good affiliation with the members of the French Revolution and was deeply inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution. He perceived the concept of nationalism among Indians. He also fought against the colonial rulers and can be called as the first freedom fighter of India. He is the only one in the world who surrendered his children for the cause of the nation during the 3rd Anglo Mysore war. The recent protests by various groups against naming the university after him are meaningless. I believe that the university should be named after him so that the university is honoured by keeping his name.”
