By Imran Inamdar, TwoCircles.net
Solpaur (Maharashtra): In an attempt to bring out the role and contributions of the great Mysore king Tipu Sultan, Sarfaraz Shaikh’s Marathi book Saltanat-E- Khudadad was unveiled on Saturday by eminent historian Ram Punyani.
The launch was also attended by Maratha scholar Shrimant Kokate, Shaikh Subhan Ali, Advocate Shyam Kadam, Ram Gaikwad and Professor M.R Kamble, Sheikh Latif, Mujib Qazi and Sheikh Nizamuddin. The ceremony was organized at Rang bhavan, Solapur.
At the launch, Sheikh said that he had worked for nearly six years to write this 236 page-book. The 32-year-old referred to the works of Irfan Habib, Shiv Gajrani, Ishtiyaq Husain, Eijaz Husain, Jadunath Sarkar, P. Subramaniyam Shetty and others written in English, Marathi, urdu and Hindi. He also collected 450 letters written by Tipu Sultan and kept across different libraries of India. He said that politicians and other vested interests have tried to defame Tipu by saying he had demolished 8,000 temples, which is totally wrong.
He instead says that it is shown in historical records that Tipu had in fact donated land and money to nearly 156 temples. “I openly challenge anyone who can prove that he had destroyed temples; I am ready to burn my book,” he added.
During the conversation about Tipu’s contributions to the motherland, Shaikh added that Tipu was not only a great king but also a great scientist who invented missiles (Tagrak, rocket,launchers), he was also an agriculturist, scholar, industrialist, economist, biologist etc. In his regime he invented steam technology, founded bio research lab,started Plant nurseries by importing various plants from different countries, started interest-free loan schemes for farmers, started construction of a dam near Srirangapattnam in 1797 along with agro-based industries, Arms factories and trade companies. “I have penned this book as a student of history my aim is to highlight the real contribution of the true patriot. I did not do this project as a Muslim. We should stop accepting any thing blindly and should go for research and study. Past of Indian Muslim rulers and other scholar is really commendable and praiseworthy, they too contributed their best on all fronts to their motherland and natives,” the author said.
The book has been published by Advocate Gaziuddin Research Center, Solpaur.
In his keynote address, Ram Punyani addressed the gathering and said that there were several Indian rulers who fought against Britishers to free India, but Tipu sultan was the only king who was martyred at battlefield and sacrificed his life for his motherland. He further added that as far as history is concerned, demonization of Muslim rulers has happened on large scale. Some hypocrites have tried to tarnish the image of muslim rulers for their political purpose and Tipu is one such victim, he added.
Shaikh subhan ali, president of the Mahrashtra tipu sultan Brigade applauded this literary work and commented, “Muslim are part of the Bahujan samaj of the this country and their contribution is equal to every other Indian. This book is a right attempt in this regard.”
Firebrand Maratha scholar and president of the function shrimant Kokate said, “I went through this book very keenly and found it really fruitful and based on historical evidences. I must congratulate Sarfaraz for his efforts. It should be translated in other languages to spread the real history of the great Tipu sultan all over India,” he added.
The function received overwhelming response from Maratha, Dalit and Muslim activists of different NGOs. It was attended by nearly one thousand people. Advocate Mahboob Kotimbre, Sayed Sayem ,sayed wayez, Khalid Mansur and Faruq Shaikh were also present.