'Tipu Sultan would have enjoyed Shivaji's status if he was a Hindu'

BengaluruJnanpith awardee Girish Karnadon Tuesday said 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan would haveenjoyed the same status as of Maratha king ChhatrapathiShivaji if he was a Hindu and not a MuslimIn another remark that stoked a controversy Karnad saidit would have been apt had the Bengaluru InternationalAirport at Devanahalli near here been named after Tipu Sultanrather than Kempegowda a feudatory ruler under the erstwhileVijayanagara Empire which founded Bengaluru in 1537Noted Kannada playwright and actor Girish Karnad File PicAFPThe remarks by the noted Kannada playwright and actorcame at a state government organised function to mark thebirth anniversary of Tipu Sultan held amid tight security atthe state Secretariat in the presence of Chief MinisterSiddaramaiahThe statewide celebrations are being boycotted by BJP andprotested by several outfits who see the ruler of theerstwhile Mysore kindgom as a religious bigot andantiKannadiga The protests led to violence at Madikeri inKodagu district claiming one lifeI feel that if Tipu Sultan was a Hindu and not Muslim hewould have attained the position in Karnataka that ShivajiMaharaj enjoys in Maharashtra Karnad saidMaintaining that Tipu is deprived of such a status owingto his religious persuasion he said Because what hashappened is today our scholars and politicians look at onesreligion and caste firstInjustice has happened to Tipu Sultan because of thistype of evaluation he addedTaking potshots at those calling Tipu Sultan antiKannada and antiHindu Karnad said Today when we arecelebrating this day as Deepawali and Tipu Sultan day we canalso celebrate it as Bihar dayHis Bihar day remark was an apparent jibe at BJP whichwas routed in the Assembly polls Karnad has always made knownhis ideological opposition to BJPExpressing similar opinion to that of Karnad whilerecounting the contributions of Tipu Sultan to the people ofhis kingdom Siddaramaiah said if he was born as Hindu hewould have got similar respect in Karnataka and the entirecountry that Shivaji enjoysSiddaramaiah said We should not look at a personthrough his religion or caste perspective but keeping in mindthe good work done by him to the people That is what we havedone today by celebrating Tipu JayantiKarnad also said it would have been apt to nameBengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli after TipuSultan instead of Kempegowda as the latter was not a freedomfighterHe noted that naming airport after Tipu Sultan would bemore appropriate as Devanahalli was his birth placeIm aware what Im saying now will be debatedas weknow Kolkata airport is named after Netaji Subhas ChandraBose Mumbai airport is named after Shivaji Maharaj but inKarnataka we have named it after Kempegowda Karnad saidIt is true that Kempegowda was great he foundedBangaluru but he was not a freedom fighter so namingBengaluru airport after Tipu Sultan would have been aptKarnads remarks on Kempegowda international airport camein for attack from the BJP which said he had insulted thefounder of Bengaluru on an issue which was a closed chapterKarnad is reopening a closed chapter and creating a newcontroversyHe has made name through controversies Hisremarks are unfortunate and condemnable states senior BJPleader R Ashoka told reporters here He also questioned thesilence of the Chief Minister when Karnad made the remarkTipu was a ruler of the erstwhile kingdom of Mysorewho was considered an implacable enemy of the British EastIndia Company He was killed in May 1799 while defending hisfort of Srirangapatna against the British forcesSpeaking at the event Siddaramaiah also said there is nopolitical interest behind organising Tipu JayantiCalling those opposing the event as fanatics andcommunal forces he said Until these communal forces existsuch oppositions and controversies are commonSiddaramaiah said politicising an event organised to payrespect to Tipu Sultan is not correctWhichever religion or caste that he may belong to hehas fought for the nation and has laid down his life for thepeople so it is our duty to show respect he addedSeveral literary personalities and historians likeBaraguru Ramachandrappa Ko Channabasappa Prof Shaik Ali N VNarasimaiah who spoke at the event took exception to Tipubeing labelled as antiHindu and antiKannadaRecounting his contributions to promote communal andlinguistic tolerance in his kingdom they called him trulysecular