In Karnataka poll season, Tipu Sultan’s death remains a talking point as BJP sticks to ‘Vokkaliga chieftains’ narrative

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State (MoS) Shobha Karandlaje said on Saturday that Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda were real and “there were historical references about them”. She added, “They fought Tipu to safeguard the family of Mysuru maharajas and to protect the state … Why are Congress and JD(S) worried about this?”

Tipu Sultan has been a polarising figure in Karnataka’s political discourse. While the Congress speaks of Tipu as a brave ruler who stood up to the British, the BJP and Hindu right-wing outfits claim he was a “mass murderer” of Hindus who demolished temples. The celebration of Tipu Jayanti has been a contested affair in the state.

A recent remark by state higher education minister C Ashwath Narayan to “finish off” Congress leader Siddaramaiah the way “Vokkaliga chieftains Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda finished off Tipu Sultan” received widespread criticism. Historians have also spoken about the circumstances of Tipu’s death, pointing out that the British killed him during the Anglo-Mysore war of 1799 and that there was no evidence of the Gowdas killing him. They also say that the theory was given credence in Kannada writer Addanda Cariappa’s book Tipu Nijakanasugalu (Real Dreams of Tipu), which was published in October 2022.’

N S Rangaraju, a retired professor of ancient history and archaeology at Mysore University, earlier told The Indian Express, “Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda were soldiers of Hyder Ali who actually saved and protected Tipu and his mother from the clutches of the Marathas in one of the wars. However, during the fourth Anglo-Mysore War — during which Tipu died — it was a treaty between one Lakshmamanni, the British, Marathas, and the Nizams that led to the meticulous planning of the attack against Tipu, including the time, place and other strategies. Tipu’s army was powerful and impenetrable … no two individuals could have killed him effortlessly.”

The BJP’s strategy of focusing on Tipu’s death can be traced back to August last year. At its core committee meeting, the party decided to focus on the old Mysuru region that has long been a JD(S) and Congress stronghold. The party then went on to say that a Hanuman temple was demolished to build the Jamia Masjid in Mysuru’s Srirangapatna. Subsequently, BJP leaders, in their rallies and public appearances, started speaking of the Vokkaliga chieftains killing Tipu. The Congress and JD(S) say the two are “fictional”.

The BJP also erected an arch hailing Uri and Nanje Gowda at Mandya ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on March 12 to inaugurate the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway. The arch was later replaced with that of Vokkaliga seer Sri Balagangadharanatha Swami.