By Shafeeq Hudawi, TwoCircles.net
After the Karnataka Government celebrated the Tipu Jayanti last week, Kerala is set to join in the celebrations, with Youth Congress, youth outfit of IUML, Youth League holding a series of programmes in order to commemorate the south
Indian ruler.
The first part of the event will see a talk on ‘Why Tipu Sultan is being Opposed’ at the University of Calicut on November 18. The talk will discuss the contributions by Tipu to the social reforms of Kerala. The programme is organised by Youth League Vallikkunnu assembly constituency committee.
“It’s high time we exposed the politics behind portraying Tipu as an Hindu invader. Kerala owes much to the ruler as he took up efforts to socially uplift the people belonging to lower strata of
life,” Youth League constituency committee general secretary A K Nisar told Twocircles.net.
On November 12, Youth Congress organized Tipu Sultan commemoration in Kannur citing he was the great nationalist and martyr, who fought against British. According to Nisar, both Youth League and Youth Congress took cue from Karnataka government, which dared to celebrate Tipu Jayanti despite Sangh Parivar unleashed widespread violence across the state and observed hartal in two districts.
“The programme is also aimed at extending stiff opposition against the Hindutva groups, which are carrying negative campaigns against Tipu on clear
political motives,” Nisar said.
Meanwhile, K S Madhvan, associate professor, Department of History, University of Calicut, said that Tipu was an headache for British as he tried to resist them with the support of an empire. “His campaigns were meant to amass power against British, not to annihilate any community,” he said.