Debates on the 18th century King of Mysore have been a constant in Karnataka politics ever since the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government gave a stamp of approval to his birth anniversary celebrations in 2015. Debates on the 18th century King of Mysore have been a constant in Karnataka politics ever since the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government gave a stamp of approval to his birth anniversary celebrations in 2015.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa Wednesday said history lessons glorifying Tipu Sultan shall be removed from school textbooks.

“Our government is trying to remove Tipu Sultan’s history lessons from textbooks in the state. Such topics must not find a place in textbooks. 101% we are not going to allow such things to happen,” he said in Bengaluru.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was addressing a press meet organised by the Press Club of Bangalore. (Express Photo) Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was addressing a press meet organised by the Press Club of Bangalore. (Express Photo)

Soon after, BJP Karnataka tweeted: “By ending public celebrations of Tipu Jayanti, our CM has restored dignity to Kannadigas. As the next step, textbooks must be rewritten to portray the real Tipu Sultan to our Children. They should be made aware of the Tyrant’s cruelty against Hindus & his anti Kannada rule.”

Explained | How to read Tipu Sultan’s place in history

Yediyurappa’s statement comes just a week after BJP legislator from Madikeri, Appachu Ranjan, demanded the removal of a lesson on Tipu from school textbooks, saying it “contains wrong information”. Following this, earlier in the week, Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar sought a report from the Managing Director of the Karnataka Textbook Society on Ranjan’s proposal.

Reacting to the same, Leader of Opposition of the state Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah, accused the BJP government of acting like a “party fanatic.” He said, “Isn’t it a fact that Tipu fought the British for our freedom? This will be erased if history lessons on him are struck down. Our next generations should definitely be aware of his contributions to our freedom struggle.”

Debates on the 18th century King of Mysore have been a constant in Karnataka politics ever since the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government gave a stamp of approval to his birth anniversary celebrations in 2015.

The BJP has been at the forefront in opposing the move, calling Tipu a “religious bigot”.

Earlier this year, in July, the B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government decided to put an end to the four-year affair soon after it came to power.

‘Hazrat Tipu Sultan Jayanti’ has been officially celebrated on November 10 in Karnataka since 2015

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