Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday, October 30, made clear that the history of the 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan will be razed from the school syllabus and textbooks.
Addressing a press conference at the Bengaluru Press Club, Yediyurappa said that the history of Tipu Sultan will be removed from textbooks and such topics must not be included the books as he is not a freedom fighter. Tipu Jayanti celebration was in force during the Congress rule and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Sangh Parivar have opposed this.
The Karnataka government headed by CM Yediyurappa had banned Tipu Jayanti celebrations in the state, which was celebrated on November 10 every year from past 5 years. Recently, BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan from Madikeri had written to the minister of primary and secondary education Suresh Kumar, asking to remove all references on Tipu Sultan from history books.
BJP offers a tweak in history
Ranjan in his letter said that history has been falsified in the textbooks as he has been portrayed as a freedom fighter. He said that Tipu had converted many Hindus and Christians and had massacred Kodava people. He also alleged that Tipu was against Kannada since the language used in his kingdom was Persian.
"We need to tell our future generations the truth. As such, please take opinions of education experts about the current syllabus and texts, and bring in concepts of 'desh bhakti', 'desh prema' (patriotism and love for the country) in the textbooks of primary and secondary schools," read his letter.
Minister Suresh Kumar in response to Appachu Ranjan's letter said that a committee comprising of experts and Ranjan would be formed to determine whether the history of Tipu Sultan must be struck off.
This move by the government has been criticised by Congress and opposition parties. Opposition leader Siddaramaiah said erasing Tipu Sultan's history from textbooks will be tweaking the history. Congress leader VS Ugrappa also slammed the chief minister saying that when Yediyurappa was in Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) he had praised Tipu Sultan.
Tipu Sultan, known as the 'Tiger of Mysore' ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782 to 1799. He waged several wars against the British over territorial power.
