By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net,
Malayalam News daily Mathrubhumi takes up saffron hate campaign against Tipu Sultan to brainwash students by distorting history and portraying the great patriot as an aggressor and anti-Hindu in their students’ column – ‘Vidya.’
Kerala: Reputed Malayalam news daily in Kerala, ‘Mathrubhumi’ appears keen on portraying the ‘Mysore Tiger’ Tipu Sultan as greedy and anti-Hindu. A recent supplementary feature on him has following sub-headings: ‘with an eye on looting wealth,’ ‘Malabar turning a conflict zone,’ and ‘putting an end to the Zamorin era.’
Tipu Sultan was born on November 20, 2012. Mathrubhumi had carried this supplementary feature in their students’ column – ‘Vidya.’
Mathrubhumi ‘Vidya’ page demonizing Tippu Sultan
Schools in Kerala tend to give assignments and projects to their students on commemorative dates and so the dailies in Kerala pays special attention at covering such historical aspects in their weekly students columns, hoping that it would add to their prospects of winning the hearts of parents and children who look forward to such articles as a relevant source of reference to their assignments and projects.
The paper appears to be carrying on the Hindutva agenda fervently.
It is very unlikely that the teachers in these schools will be able to challenge the arguments put forward by the daily in a convincing manner before their students because the daily despite these ‘hate’ articles and biased reporting is quite capable of upholding their image on secular lines and as an authentic source, thanks to the credentials of their yesteryears.
Why a few vested interests portray Tipu as an aggressor and anti-Hindu?
Without doubt most historians have underlined a fact that though many rulers fought the British, it was only after Tipu’s martyrdom the British rulers were ready to announce that they have captured India. He always had the option of compromising with the British to save his life but he preferred to die fighting for his nation.
Historians regard Tipu Sultan as a free thinking ruler who treated his non-Muslim subjects with great tolerance. He was the ruler who offered full support to the worships and customs of other religious sections as history notes that he awarded generous grants to Sringeri and Srirangapattana temples. He was the ruler who ordered the reconstruction of Srirangapattana temple,destructed by the Maratha forces. Then what is the reason behind the present day trends of distorting his history and vilifying his image as a religious fundamentalist?
Tipu was not just a freedom fighter and a great patriot; he was a social reformer, who put an end to many age old social evils practiced by the elite class Nair Hindus. Even while keeping his elite class mentality against Tipu – portraying him as anti-Nair, historian A Sridhara Menon’s remarks regarding the social reformations undertaken by Tipu are noteworthy.
He mentions regarding reformatory works by Tipu Sultan which paved way to the liberation of the majority lower class sections of the then Malabar including Thiyyas and Pulayas from the centuries long oppression of the higher caste sections like Nayar, Nambiar, Kuruppu, Varyar, Namboothiri and Kshathriya classes.
Historian MS Jayaprakash says it is the descendents of these higher caste groups, who by their pretensions as historians and scholars, demonizes and attributes sedition charges over Tipu Sultan.
Jayaprakash says, these people still have immense vengeance against Tipu and Islam because, these were the two crucial factors which liberated the low castes from slavery and oppression. He says these elite class interests disguised as historians would praise the French Revolution and at the same time carry out hate campaigns and distortion of history against the great land reforms enacted by the visionary ruler in Tipu Sultan.
Mathrubhumi ‘Vidyya’ supplement column for students on Tippu Sultan
Tipu Sultan was the ruler who put an end to the land monopoly of elite class Janmi’s in Kerala as he confiscated the land and distributed it to the landless and agricultural laborers. Compared to what Tipu did, the so called land reformations carried out by the first EMS Namboothiripad [communist] government in Kerala should be considered a sort of cheating the lower castes, said the historian.
During those times there was a custom enforced by the elite class that the lower caste women should not be covering their breasts, Tipu by law put an end to this custom and gave them the right to cover the upper parts of their body.
Another thing which provoked these elite class elements was that he abolished by law the Brahmin’s right to mate with lower caste Shudra women despite her choice of staying loyal to her husband by protecting her chastity. The period Tippu ruled Malabar; he was able to liberate lower caste women from such exploitations.
It was not just the lower caste Shudra women who got ‘liberated’ from such oppressions; the elite class Nair women of those times were forced to the polyandry system within those ancestral homes and they weren’t even able to trace to whom their kid was born as every Nair member in the family enjoyed the right to mate with her. Tipu put an end to this custom and thus liberated the Nair women as well.
Jayaprakash says that these people who were so frustrated accepting the equality and fraternity enacted under Tipu’s regime, felt like eloping from Malabar to the Travancore region. The reason was nothing other than that they were denied of those privileges they earlier enjoyed and a few present day historians, scholars and vested interests seems repeating the very same fabricated campaigns carried out by those frustrated minds of Tipu’s era. The vengeance against the reformatory works carried out by Tipu and Islam still prevails, noted the eminent historian.
Related story:
Tipu had in him Italian Renaissance, German Reformation, French Revolution: Dr. B. Shaikh Ali