BENGALURU: Even as the public uproar against the state government’s move to celebrate former Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan is gaining momentum, a public interest petition was filed against it before the High Court. The PIL has been posted for hearing to Thursday.
Earlier, the division bench headed by Chief Justice S.K. Mukherjee questioned the state government as to what Tipu’s Jayanti was being celebrated. While the public counsel M.R. Naik defended that Tipu was a great warrior who fought the British rule, Mr Mukherjee orally observed, “As far as my knowledge of history goes, he (Tipu) was not a freedom fighter, but a ruler of a princely state. What is the use of celebrating this? Even if Nizam of Hyderabad had come, he would have countered him in the same way.”
The PIL was filed by on Manjunath K P, (40), a resident of Hysodloor village in Kodagu District. He had sought directions to the authorities not to celebrate the proposed Tipu Jayanti in his home district. The PIL also stated that it was important to know the history of Kodagu and the impact of the reign of Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, on the Kodava community.
The PIL also sought directions not to organise functions in the name of historic rulers, which will hurt religious sentiments of a particular section and endanger peace, tranquility and communal harmony.
The petitioner submits that it’s an irony that government wants to celebrate Tipu’s birthday across Karnataka. “The historic evidence not only indicates that he was not a conqueror, but a religious fanatic and a dictator who believed in the ethnic cleansing of Kodavas and other communities in south India and was instrumental in mass conversion of Kodavas to Muslim community. The evidence for the bloodiest history of Kodagu and Kodava exist even today and is documented by historians,” the PIL stated. Justice R.B. Budhihal was the other member of the bench.
Chewing tobacco banned
The state government in an affidavit before the High Court on Wednesday informed that it has banned chewing tobacco across Karnataka from October 26. The Cancer Patients Aid Association has approached the court seeking to prohibit the manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of all forms of chewing tobacco.
Bhaskar Rao plea
The High Court reserved its verdict on the petition filed by former Lokayukta Y Bhaskar Rao, seeking to quash the case against him with regard to the extortion scandal in the Lokayukta institution.
