By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Bangalore (Karnataka): The Directorate of Archeology and Museums organized an exhibition of coins used during Tipu Sultan’s time, as part of the 150th anniversary of the First War of Independence and in commemoration of Tipu Sultan in Bangalore on Tuesday.
It was inaugurated by R. Roshan Baig, an MLA.
On this occasion the participants recalled Tipu Sultan’s contributions to India, prominently among them his secular outlook and policies, his contribution to the modern Indian administration, the idea of welfare state which he successfully developed, reforms in administration and most important of all his resistance to the expansion of the British empire.
He was the embodiment of religious tolerance and secular outlook, said Sohanlal Sisodiya, an 81-year-old numismatist speaking on the occasion.
He informed that Tipu’s coins had inscriptions in Devanagari and Kannada. Some of his coins even had images of Udupi Krishna and Sringeri Sharada. Coins minted by his father, Hyder Ali, had the images of Shiva and Parvathi.
Mr. Sisodiya further said that Tipu Sultan is even credited with having started a new calendar system, under which the year began with Ugadi. He was also known to be well-versed in the Bhagavad Gita.
There were numerous temples under his patronage. Editor of Mysore Gazettes Srikantaiah has listed 156 temples to which Tipu regularly paid annual grants.
The most significant part of his work was his resistance to the British expansion and his ceaseless efforts to drive them out from India.
For this purpose he used all his energy, means and power, not sparing even his life.
The Indian secular tradition was enriched by Tipu Sultan during his 17-year-rule. But the state government has continuously been indifferent to the contribution of Tipu Sultan to the secular tradition and his resistance against the British Empire.
This was again evident from the absence of high level government officials and ministers at the inauguration of coin exhibition. State Home minister V.S. Acharya and another minister Ramachandra Gowda were invited to the function but didn’t turn up. Their absence only shows the concern that they have for a secular ruler such as Tipu Sultan.
TwoCircles.net talked to Prof. B. Shaikh Ali who is an eminent historian, an authority on Tipu Sultan and also former vice chancellor of Goa and Mangalore universities, to get his reaction to the conspicuous absence of the state ministers at the function organized in commemoration of Tipu Sultan.
He said: That they allowed any function on Tipu to take place, should be welcomed. It is a good sign, otherwise things were worse earlier. There were continuous and well thought out campaign by the rightists to malign the character of Tipu and misrepresent him historically.
So, if one sees the absence of the ministers in the function, it is nothing in comparison to the anti-Tipu campaign which had been given official patronage in the past.
But he also said that gradually the people have seen through the malign campaigns.They have come to know about the contribution of Tipu to the Indian secular tradition, administrative reforms, and most of all his passionate resistance to the British Empire and the sacrifice of his own life for the sake of India.