Don’t worship a false icon like Tipu

The dogged persistence of the Karnataka government to continue with the Tipu Sultan celebrations for a fourth year in a row denotes more than an attempt to confer credibility on a supposedly noted historical figure. The rather sparse attendance (both the CM and deputy CM were AWOL) at the official function on 10 November, indicates the Congress party’s own ambivalence to this issue. Nevertheless, a critical appraisal of Tipu is warranted to set the record straight.

Was Tipu Sultan, the legendary ruler of Mysore ( 1750-1799) a courageous fighter who rallied against the British in defence of indigenous national interest? Or was he a religious zealot intent on bloody and coerced proselytization? Can he be justifiably eulogised as a Kannada icon? And is he really the hapless victim of a modern-day smear campaign orchestrated by right-wing ideologues?

These are the million-dollar questions that cry out for answers in light of the Karnataka government’s decision to persist with this contentious commemoration.

First, Tipu Sultan stands condemned, not by the motivated accusations of his antagonists, but by the evidence of his own words.

Listed below are excerpts from Tipu’s own correspondence, reviewed by K.M. Panicker (a noted Kerala historian) in Basha Posini magazine in August 1923 ( Tipu Sultan: Villain or Hero, edited by Sita Ram Goel):

1. Letter dated 22 March 1788, to Abdul Kadir: “Over 12,000 Hindus were honoured with Islam. There were many Namboodri Brahmins among them. This achievement should be widely publicised among the Hindus. Then the local Hindus should be brought before you and converted to Islam. No Namboodri Brahmin should be spared.”

2. Letter dated 14 December 1788, to his army chief in Calicut: “I am sending two of my followers with Mir Hussain Ali. With their assistance, you should capture and kill all Hindus. Those below 20 may be kept in prison and 5,000 from the rest should be killed from the tree-tops. These are my orders.”

3. Letter dated 18 January 1790, to Syed Abdul Dulai: “... almost all Hindus in Calicut are converted...”

These excerpts indicate a brutality that is unpardonable; they cannot be wished away as reminiscent of the times especially when it involves the killing of such a large number of people. Moreover, the fact that these excerpts were published in 1923, when there was no raging controversy on the role of Tipu Sultan and hence no dubious motive for their publication, makes these statements all the more plausible.

Christians too were the victims of his religious xenophobia. Fra Barthoelomeo, a Portuguese traveller who happened to be in the vicinity of Tipu’s campaign in 1790 writes ( A Voyage to the East Indies): “That barbarian Tipu Sultan tied the naked Christian and Hindus to the legs of elephants and made the elephants to move around till the bodies of the helpless victims were torn to pieces.

“Temples and churches were ordered to be burned down, desecrated, and destroyed...”

Francois Fidele Ripaud de Montaudevert, a French soldier who had travelled to Mysore from Mauritius to aid Tipu Sultan against the British was totally disillusioned with him. In documents discovered in Paris in 1988 he writes: “I’m disturbed by Tipu Sultan’s treatment of these most gentle souls, the Hindus... Kozhikode was then a centre of Brahmins and had over 7,000 Brahmin families living there. Over 2,000 Brahmin families perished as a result of Tipu Sultan’s cruelties. He did not spare even women and children.” ( Outlook. The Tyrant Diaries. 15 April 2013).

Tipu Sultan was no doubt a valiant fighter who vigorously opposed the British, but that cannot mitigate the fact that he was also by all accounts a figure incompatible with modern secular times. An isolated report of support for the Sringeri Mutt cannot balance out his diabolical deeds to Hindu society and transform him into a secular icon.

Finally, Tipu Sultan’s much proclaimed status as a Kannada icon proves to be a shaky one when one scrutinises history. In reality, he spared no efforts to make Persian, the lingua franca of Karnataka at the cost of Kannada. Dr Suryanath Kamat, chairman, Karnataka Itihasa Academy quotes a book written by a historian Kirmani, Tipu’s contemporary, to indicate that Tipu passed an order in 1792 making Persian the official language in place of Kannada ( Deccan Herald, 22 September 2006). Does this make him a Kannada aficionado?

Let us credit him for his valour that he showed against the British. But when the evidence for his wrongdoing is so overwhelming, he needs to be relegated to a footnote in the broader history of India.

The coalition government in Karnataka has erred in continuing the Tipu Jayanti celebrations. It is an extravaganza that is misplaced, erroneous and insensitive to Hindus and Christians in particular and Kannadigas as a whole; one that Karnataka could have done without in the interest of communal harmony, historical objectivity and state expenditure. Ruling out a pre- poll alliance with the Congress ahead of the 2019 Parliamentary elections, the Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) has sounded the electoral bugle that it would be contesting all the seats in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, besides some other areas in the vicinity of the national capital. The announcement was aimed at sending a clear message to the voters that the party was completely self-sufficient in doing well in these states and did not need to have any kind of understanding with the Congress, whom it has all along aimed at replacing.

The political interpretation of the AAP’s intent is that Arvind Kejriwal and his colleagues are fully aware that it was vital at this stage to rake in the numbers, since the arithmetic would eventually help when a post-poll coalition is stitched up against the Bharatiya Janata Party, and its partners, in the aftermath of the 2019 showdown. The calculation is that if any kind of Mahagathbandan takes place, it would be following the declaration of results. Prior to this, it just could be some sort of electoral adjustment that would pave way, in a few states, for friendly feuds.

So far as Delhi is concerned, the AAP and its leadership are determined not to give even an inch, putting an end to the speculation that at least two Lok Sabha seats of the city may go to the Congress during a proposed arrangement of Opposition parties. In AAP’s assessment, any concession to the Grand Old Party, whose traditional vote base has already been usurped by Kejriwal and his supporters, could prove counter-productive. Their premise is that under no circumstances can the Congress be allowed to retrieve its foothold in the city after it has suffered a string of losses, with its senior leaders forfeiting their deposits in successive elections.

Even in Punjab, where the AAP had won four out of 13 seats, the party is absolutely confident that it would not allow factionalism in its ranks and a resurgent Congress to come in its way. At the national level, in order to do business of any kind, the AAP would need to have at least ten Lok Sabha members. The hurry in announcing the party’s game-plan was necessitated by ground compulsions, especially in Delhi, where Muslims in particular, were in the process of making up their mind regarding whom to vote for in the Parliamentary polls. The Congress had been attempting to convince the Muslims and other minorities in Delhi that AAP’s footprint was extremely localised and it had no voice beyond the city, and to a small degree in Punjab. Therefore, it would not be in any position to take on the BJP nationally and it was the Congress alone which could provide a viable alternative to the saffron brigade.

Being an astute politician, Kejriwal has shrewdly preempted the overtures made by the Congress to some of the AAP supporters while making it abundantly clear that AAP had borne the brunt of the BJP government at the Centre, which has repeatedly attempted to lay hurdles in its working. This has been happening since 2015 when it secured the most magnificent electoral victory in the history of Independent India by winning 67 out of 70 seats it contested.

By taking on both the Congress and the BJP in the states adjacent to Delhi, the AAP is not only trying to assert itself, but is simultaneously sending signals to its opponents that it would continue to carve out its own political niche. In Kejriwal’s overall estimation, his party would be picking up all the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, while eroding the Congress by securing some seats in Punjab and also preventing the BJP from regaining its hold over Haryana.

Ironically, the vote-base of the AAP in Punjab and Haryana bears similarities with that of the BJP, while in Delhi it has managed to win over the core support groups of the Congress. In Haryana, for instance, the AAP’s appeal is aimed at the non-Jat groups, and whenever the polls take place, it would wean away the BJP vote, rather than that of the Congress. In Punjab, it would undermine the Congress, BJP and the Akalis, given its attraction to the younger voters and in the progressive state, those who are disgruntled with the established parties.

Kejriwal’s strategy is meticulously thought through. He has learnt from his previous mistakes and therefore is not pushing nominees simply for the sake of fielding them. He is wiser after the bitter experience of 2014 and now comprehends the value of consolidating his existing strongholds before expanding his sphere of influence. In 2013, when the AAP decided for the first time to enter the electoral arena, the perception was that Kejriwal’s presence in a triangular fight would work to the advantage of the Congress as it would split the anti-Congress vote. Before this view gained momentum, Kejriwal announced his plan to contest against sitting Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, thus despatching a strong message of his serious intent. He trounced Dikshit by over 26,500 votes and in nearly half of Delhi the AAP displaced the Congress. In 2015, it created a new record by its overwhelming electoral performance.

As a politician, Kejriwal can never be underestimated; even at the national level, he has the potential of emerging as a premier leader. He is fully aware that this would be possible only if he takes one step at a time. Between us.