Mysuru: Tipu Sultan was not confined to any particular community but was a true nationalist who laid his life for the country, said District In-Charge Minister H C Mahadevappa.
Speaking after inaugurating the 267th birth anniversary celebration of Tipu Sultan organised by the District Administration and Department of Kannada and Culture at Kalamandir here on Thursday he said Tipu was the only king who died in a war fighting for his country. “Those opposing Tipu should correct their knowledge of history. How one can term Tipu as anti-Hindu when he restored Sringeri temple desecrated by the Marathas”, he expressed. During his speech he also mentioned that Mysuru gazetteer accounts that Tipu had donated wealth to more than 156 temples and his palace built amid three temples bears testimony to his secularism.
Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission former president Dr C S Dwarkanath said that Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru too had acknowledged Tipu’s struggle against the British.
BJP Stages protest
While the district administration was conducting Tipu Jayanti at Kalamandir, pro Hindu groups including BJP staged a protest against it. “If at all Congress feels that Tipu contributed a lot to India, let them celebrate Tipu Jayanti in their office”, snared former MLC Madhusudhan.
