Making a Secular Hero, Out of Communal Tipu Sultan

[luckyyy]

A three day International Conference on Life and Achievements of Tipu Sultan concluded here in Mysore on Monday, 18th January. It was organized by Directorate of Archaeology And Museums, Mysore. Dr.B.Sheikh Ali, former Vice Chancellor of Mangalore and Goa Universities, speaking at the valedictory function said "Tipu Sultan practiced religious tolerance and was a revolutionary of his time. Several people had wrong notion that Tipu as not tolerant to other religions". K.B.Ganapathy, Editor-in-Chief of Star of Mysore, a local newspaper while delivering his presidential address stated "There are misconceptions about Tipu Sultan among masses that are under the impression that Sultan had initiated forcible religious conversion". He added "If Tipu had initiated forcible conversions, he could have had the entire Kodagu populace converted to Islam during his rule over the region" Before on January 16th, while inaugurating the conference Mr B R Jayaramaraje Urs, Secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture had described Tipu as a secular-minded ruler.

However, these remarks are far from truth.The new generation of scholars point to the correspondence between Sringeri Shankaracharya Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya and Tipu Sultan during 1791-92 and 1798, and argue that Tipu was upholder of secularism and respected Hindu religious heads and places of worship. However if one goes through the letters and edicts issued by Tipu Sultan to his principal military commanders, the governors of forts and provinces, their argument falls apart.

b]The letter of January 19, 1790, sent to Budruz Zuman Khan by Tipu himself says: "Don"t you know I have achieved a great victory recently in Malabar and over four lakh Hindus were converted to Islam? I am determined to march against that cursed "Raman Nair" very soon (reference is to Rama Varma Raja of Travancore). Since I am overjoyed at the prospect of converting him and his subjects to Islam, I have happily abandoned the idea of going back to Srirangapatanam now". Previously, in the letter dated March 22, 1788, to Abdul Kadir: "Over 12,000 Hindus were "honoured" with Islam. There were many Namboodiris (Brahmins) among them. This achievement should be widely publicised among the Hindus. There the local Hindus should be brought before you and then converted to Islam. No Namboodiri (Brahmin) should be spared." In the letter dated January 18, 1790, to Syed Abdul Dulai: "With the grace of Prophet Muhammed and Allah, almost all Hindus in Calicut are converted to Islam. Only a few are still not converted on the borders of Cochin State. I am determined to convert them also very soon. I consider this as Jehad to achieve that object."[/b]

The above clearly, shows the "secularism" of Tipu Sultan. Further, these historians try to portray Tipu as a nationalist as he fought against British. But the renowned historian, Dr. I.M. Muthanna, says in his Tipu Sultan X-Rayed that Tipu was a traitor as he invited the French to invade India. The letter, dated April 21, 1797, written by Tipu and classified as No. 4 in the Persian File of Records, reads: ""Since I manifested my friendship in writing to you, my messengers have arrived with the following intelligence which will not be displeasing to you....I inform these events in order to prove to you that it is now the moment for you to invade India. With little trouble we shall drive the British out of India. Rely on my friendship." This shows the expansionist agenda of Tipu Sultan.

According to the official report of Col. Fullarton of the British forces stationed in Mangalore, "(During the siege 1783) Tipu"s soldiers daily exposed the heads of many innocent Brahmins within sight from the fort for Zamorin and his Hindu followers to see. It is asserted that the Zamorin rather than witness such enormities and to avoid further killing of innocent Brahmins, chose to abandon the Palghat Fort" Further he states- ""It was not only against the Brahmins who were thus put in a state of terror of forcible circumcision and conversion; but against all sections of Hindus. In August, 1788, a Raja of the Kshatriya family of Parappanad and also Trichera Thiruppad, a chieftain of Nilamboor, and many other Hindu nobles who had been carried away earlier to Coimbatore by Tipu Sultan, were forcibly circumcised and forced to cat beef."

The world-famous Protuguese traveller, Fr. Barthoelomeo, writes in his book Voyage to East Indies : "Tipu was riding on an elephant behind which another army of 30,000 soldiers followed. Most of the men and women were hanged in Calicut, first mothers were hanged with their children tied to necks of mothers. That barbarian Tipu Sultan tied the naked Christians 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. Christian and Hindu women were forced to marry Mohammadans and similarly their men (after converting Hindu men into Islam) were forced to marry Mohammadan women. Those Christians, who refused to be honoured with Islam, were ordered to be killed by hanging immediately."

The cruelties which Tipu Sultan committed in Coorg, has no parallel in history. On one occasion, he forcibly converted over ten thousand Hindus to Muhammadanism. On another occasion, he captured and converted to Islam more than one thousand Hindu Coorgis before imprisoning them in the Sreerangapatanam fortress. The atrocities committed by Tipu Sultan in Bidnur in North Karnataka during and after its capture by him, were most barbarous and beyond description. After the capture of Mangalore, thousands of Christians were also forcibly sent to Sreerangapatanam where all of them were circumcised and converted to Islam. Then he marched upto Kumbla on the northern borders of Kerala, forcibly converting to Islam every Hindu on the way.

In Malabar, the main targets of Tipu Sultan"s atrocities were Hindus and Hindu temples. According to Lewis B. Boury , the atrocities committed by Tipu Sultan against Hindus in Malabar were worse and more barbarous than those committed against the Hindus in Hindustan by the notorious Mahmud of Ghazni, Alauddin Khalji, and Nadir Shah. According to the Malabar Manual of William Logan who was the District Collector for some time, Thrichambaram and Thalipparampu temples in Chirackal Taluqa, Thiruvangatu Temple (Brass Pagoda) in Tellicherry, and Ponmeri Temple near Badakara were all destroyed by Tipu Sultan. The Malabar Manual mentions that the Maniyoor mosque was once a Hindu temple. Vatakkankoor Raja Raja Varma(8) writes- "There was no limit as to the loss the Hindu temples suffered due to the military operations of Tipu Sultan(in Kerala). Burning down the temples, destruction of the idols installed therein and also cutting the heads of cattle over the temple deities were the cruel entertainments of Tipu Sultan and his equally cruel army. It was heartrending even to imagine the destruction caused by Tipu Sultan in the famous ancient temples of Thalipparampu and Thrichambaram. The devastation caused by this new Ravana"s barbarous activities has not yet been fully rectified."

About the atrocities in Kozhikode, L.B. Boury writes: "To show his ardent devotion and steadfast faith in Muhammaddan religion, Tipu Sultan found Kozhikode to be the most suitable place. Kozhikode was then a centre of Brahmins and had over 7000 Brahmin families living there. Over 2000 Brahmin families perished as a result of Tipu Sultan"s Islamic cruelties. He did not spare even women and children. Most of the men escaped to forests and foreign lands." The propaganda that Tipu Sultan was tolerant and fair-minded towards the Hindus in Mysore is also without any foundation, as explained in "History of Mysore" written by Lewis Rice as well as M.M. Gopal Rao. According to Lewis Rice, during the rule of Tipu Sultan, only two Hindu temples inside the Sreerangapatanam Fort were having daily pujas while the assets of all other temples were confiscated. Gopal Rao says- "Muslims were exempted from all taxes. Even those who were converted to Islamic faith were also allowed the same concessions,"

The Mysore Gazetteer says that the ravaging army of Tipu Sultan had destroyed more than 8000 temples in South India. The temples of Malabar and Cochin principalities had to bear the brunt of plunder and destruction. According to the Malabar Gazetteer, the important temples in the towns of Tali, Srivaliyanatukavu, Tiruvannur, Varakkal, Puthur, Govindapuram, and Talikunnu were destroyed by Tipu"s ravaging armies.

Inspite of enormous evidences present as mentioned above which clearly show that, Tipu Sultan was no "secular" and "tolerant", still this myth is being portrayed in academic circles. It is high time that, truth be laid down in public. It is high time to voice objection against whitewashing of history by vested interests. We, people of India should gather courage to call a spade a spade.
Making a Secular Hero, Out of Communal Tipu Sultan

 

[SQ8]

Interesting that articles in India have propped up in the Past decade with increasing focus on discrediting and "analyzing" Muslim rule with an almost zealous fervor.

 

[indiatester]

Interesting that articles in India have propped up in the Past decade with increasing focus on discrediting and "analyzing" Muslim rule with an almost zealous fervor.

It's only visible more now. These arguments have existed earlier too. Thanks to www and over-action teams in media, we hear a lot more extreme voices from both sides now-a-days.

 

[Kinetic]

Interesting that articles in India have propped up in the Past decade with increasing focus on discrediting and "analyzing" Muslim rule with an almost zealous fervor.

There is nothing called Muslim rule as they they simple princely states not much bothered about religion. Both rulers Hindu or Muslim or Sikh of that time had Hindu, Muslim, Sikh soldiers in their armies and fought with other Hindu/Muslim/Sikh armies. So it is not about religion but about individual rules and their good/bad.

 

[Major Shaitan Singh]

First let me tell you this article is totaly crap and bullshit.
Its another funda to down Potray Indian Muslim.

If you say about Tipu Sultan a traitor what about Subash Chandra Bose.
If you say about Tipu Sultan a Communal what about Shivaji
If Tipu Sultan wanted he could have taken all golds from Tirupati and Padmanabhaswamy temple.

This atricle shows how some fustrated people want to get recognised by Indian Media.

 

[SQ8]

There is nothing called Muslim rule as they they simple princely states not much bothered about religion. Both rulers Hindu or Muslim or Sikh of that time had Hindu, Muslim, Sikh soldiers in their armies and fought with other Hindu/Muslim/Sikh armies. So it is not about religion but about individual rules and their good/bad.

The article indicates otherwise..
or perhaps I should say.. the idea that the excesses committed under Muslim Rulers.. eventually that is what the article is stressing.
Muslim atrocities on non-Muslims.

I do agree that most of them weren't much interested in using the Muslim tagline for an identity.. however.. those who did like Tipu.. and Aurengzeb.. have been the target of much character assassinations.

 

[takeiteasy]

The common men in Malabar Still Sees Tipu Sultan as a Barbaric Invader who slaughtered thousands. just the other side of the western ghats, in the state of mysore, tipu sultan is revered. contradictory. isn't it?

 

[SQ8]

Suddenly that overused term "one man's whatever is another's whatever" comes to mind.

In this case please treat whatever's as serious political terms..
and avoid the next thought I had of "wife" and "girlfriend".

 

[harpoon]

First let me tell you this article is totaly crap and bullshit.
Its another funda to down Potray Indian Muslim.

If you say about Tipu Sultan a traitor what about Subash Chandra Bose.
If you say about Tipu Sultan a Communal what about Shivaji
If Tipu Sultan wanted he could have taken all golds from Tirupati and Padmanabhaswamy temple.

This atricle shows how some fustrated people want to get recognised by Indian Media.

Actually he tried. Even though not officially stated, many historians are of the opinion that many of the gold found in Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple actually belongs to Malabar temples (North Kerala) which was transferred to the temple for safe keeping during the military campaigns (Padayottam) of Tipu Sultan. His forces ransacked every temple that they came across in Kerala and plundered its wealth. In the end he and his forces were defeated by Travancore Army at a place called Aluva. Many of the stories of treasure in Kerala starts with "During Tippu's Padayottam......".

 

[Ryuu]

Suddenly that overused term "one man's whatever is another's whatever" comes to mind.

In this case please treat whatever's as serious political terms..
and avoid the next thought I had of "wife" and "girlfriend".

trust me as growing up kid i was a huge fan of tipu sultan,many in india still see him as hero(mostly due to sanjay khan's sword of tipu sultan serial)
that is until i met my mallu friend,he himself belong to royal family,who's family had to escape during tipu's invasion
some of deeds tipu did in kerala were horrific

 

[luckyyy]

unfortunatly the post independent history books are fabricated by congress party to give a balance between community and in a proccess it totally whitewashed the real truth..

 

[harpoon]

trust me as growing up kid i was a huge fan of tipu sultan,many in india still see him as hero(mostly due to sanjay khan's sword of tipu sultan serial)
that is until i met my mallu friend,he himself belong to royal family,who's family had to escape during tipu's invasion
some of deeds tipu did in kerala were horrific

In the end eventhough Tipu was defeated by British much of the forces that took part in the campaign came from Marathas & Nizam of Hyd. Even Travancore(South-Central Kerala) and TN forces pitched in as everyone was fed up of his ambitions and expansionism. As luckyyy said many things was white washed in India which also includes the reign of Tipu Sultan. Only because he fought against British made the post independence history writers to declare him a hero without looking into the other aspects of his rule.

Even me was a fan of Tipu Sultan due to Sanjay Khans serial, until the 'internet age'. So thank God (& Americans) for internet as it helped us to free our mind from Govt brainwashing.

 

[third eye]

Interesting that articles in India have propped up in the Past decade with increasing focus on discrediting and "analyzing" Muslim rule with an almost zealous fervor.

Its worth discussing how much of what is being said is true.

 

[RazPaK]

Tipu was a hero, because he gave more rights to minorities than the British. No Indian was equivalent to dogs, nor had their basic rights renounced during his rein.

 

[gubbi]

Interesting that articles in India have propped up in the Past decade with increasing focus on discrediting and "analyzing" Muslim rule with an almost zealous fervor.

Much ado about nothing! Its a blog! Who cares?!