By describing 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan as “the son of this soil”, BJP MLC and former Minister A.H Vishwanath seems to have put the BJP government, which cancelled Tipu Jayanti celebrations in the State dubbing him “anti-Hindu”, in an embarrassing spot.
Speaking to mediapersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Vishwanth said: “Tipu Sultan does not belong to any party, caste or religion. He is the son of this soil. We should not reduce him to any one caste or religion.” He was reacting to a question on whether or not schoolchildren should study about the ruler in textbooks.
“Children should study Tipu Sultan, Mahatma Gandhi and the like... This will instil a sense of pride for the country,” said Mr. Vishwanath, who quit the JD(S) and joined BJP last year.
The BJP leaders have consistently derided the Mysuru king and besides cancelling his annual birth anniversary celebrations, the government also proposed to omit lessons on Tipu Sultan from school textbooks. Though an expert committee recommended against dropping the lessons, the demand has not died down. The previous Congress government led by Siddaramaiah started observing Tipu Jayanti, arguing that he was a freedom fighter who died fighting against the British.
Reacting to Mr. Vishwanth’s statement, KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre said the BJP MLC had spoken the truth and exposed his party’s agenda of rewriting history.
