Tippu Sultan – India's brave king against the mighty British empire

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I am honored to be a part of the History of the state of Karnataka,
and a recipient of one of the two brass busts of Tippu Sultan made on
the 200th commemoration. I am glad to be a part of the history, but I am not history yet.

Tippu Sultan’s vision of India was Swaraj (self rule) not British Raj.
He was killed in the 4th war of Mysore against the British on this day,
May 4th 1799. History records that his confidant and assistant leaked
the information to the British about Tippu’s whereabouts and that’s how
the native kingdom fell to the colonists.

On the
bi-centennial commemoration of his death in 1999, two brass busts were
made. One is with former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, then Chief Minister
Deve Gowda, and other one was presented to me by Dr. Range Gowda, an
expert on Tippu Sultan and author of many books.

 

Indeed, when
my father was running for the City council, it was festivity at our
home, the public address systems (we called it loud speakers then)
were set and Lavani (folk singing in Kannada Language) were sung, how
Mir Sadiq, Tippu’s deputy betrayed him. I am trying to recall that in
Kannada with failures. My father was also elected Mayor of the city back
in 1952, and he was elected on the day I was born or vice-Versa.

Tippu was a secular King in the times when it was not a common thing.
Dr. Gowda’s research is an eye opener. Unfortunately, a few right
wingers in India have maligned him for the excesses’ done by his fanatic
deputies in Kerala and Mangalore, where they forced Hindus and
Christians to convert to Islam. On the contrary, Tippu granted lands to
build temples, and he defended the Sringeri Matt (Hindu Sanctuary) from
attacks from Marathas, and has protected the Ranganatha Temple in
Srirangapatna. Indeed, the first Christian church in the state was
built in Mysore City with a land grant from Tippu Sultan that was before
the British invaded. His deputy Poornayya was a Hindu.

In a
free society, falsities come with the facts, and we have to live with
it. I have been to all his places. Indeed his Toop Khana – the artillery
depot sat next to my house in Yelahanka, the wall of our house joined
the wall of Tippu’s depot known as Chattra now – where they conduct
weddings, and my sister’s wedding was conducted in it and my best friend
Jaichand Sugalchand Sajjanraj Jain’s wedding was also conducted there.

When I was a kid, I messed with everything my Dad did, in front of our
house, while digging for a wall, I jumped into the trench to dig
foundation with axe, boom, one hit, and there was a massive hole. I
screamed and came out of the trench, later it took truck loads of dirt
to fill it in. and they said it was Tippu’s tunnel. No one verified or
reported that to anyone. Unfortunately that is not a custom in India. We
don’t value the old stuff unlike here in America, which would have
become a heritage.

The house we lived was the house where Kempe
Gowda, founder of Bangalore lived. I have asked my nephew to save the
500 year old rosewood columns and the arches, and I hope to do something
with it. It is historical.

Tippu goes on the record as the
only 2nd head of the state in human history that was on the front line
of battle field defending his state. He also has a record among all the
British colonies to be the only one who captured and imprisoned the
British soldiers.

The Kingdom of Mysore was also among three
nations in the world that recognized American Independence and
apparently July 4th was celebrated in Sri Rangapatna, the State Capital
of Mysore in 1776.

Don’t forget he is the father of Rockets and
inventor of Torpedo, known as Bangalore Torpedo. The British and
American scientists have given him due recognition. Indeed, India’s
first satellite was made in Bangalore as well.

Thank you.

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916/ text

……. Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism,
politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work
place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers
pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com.
He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his
life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio
and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV,
and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to
the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington
post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site
www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.

— with Vanja B Krupa and 27 others.


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