Bengaluru, Oct 25: President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday said the erstwhile Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan died a “historic death” fighting the British and called him a “pioneer” in the development of Mysore rockets in warfare.
“Tipu Sultan died a historic death fighting the British. He was also a pioneer in the development of Mysore rockets,” Kovind said addressing the legislators in the Karnataka assembly at a joint session to mark the diamond jubilee celebrations of Vidhan Soudha, the state legislative building.
Recalling the contributions of former Mysore and Karnataka rulers, soldier, politicians and scientists in the growth of the state and the country on the whole, the President spoke of Tipu, leading to a majority of the legislators breaking into loud applause.
The President’s words on Tipu Sultan come just few days after Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, had called Tipu a “brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist”, ahead of the state’s Tipu Jayanti celebrations to mark the erstwhile ruler’s birth anniversary on November 10.
The ruling Congress in the state began celebrating Tipu’s birth anniversary since 2015, which led to violent protests by the right-wing organisations in the Mysore region and other parts of the state. The BJP in the state has been opposing the celebrations calling Tipu “anti-Hindu and anti-Kannada”.
Known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’, Tipu Sultan ruled the Mysore kingdom from 1782-1799 succeeding his father Haider Ali. (IANS)
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Inputs from IndiaTomorrow.net:
While lauding the rocket technology of Tipu Sultan, President of India said: “This technology was later adopted by the Europeans.”
More recently, two of our finest army chiefs – Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa and General K.S. Thimayya – were sons of Karnataka, he said.
Going back into the history, he said: “Karnataka is a land of formidable soldiers. Krishnadeva Raya was the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, and remains an inspiration for all Indians. Kempe Gowda was the founder of Bengaluru. Rani Chennamma of Kittur and Rani Abbakka led among the earliest battles against colonial powers.”
The VidhanSoudha, the seat of the legislature in Karnataka, was inaugurated in October 1956 by first President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad.
In his speech, the President lauded the role of legislature in democracy.
“It is not just the 60th birthday of this building that we are marking. This is also the diamond jubilee of the debates and discussions in the two Houses, of legislations that have been passed and policies that have been shaped for the betterment of the lives of the people of Karnataka.”
“We are aware of the three D’s of the legislature, that it is a place to debate, dissent and finally decide. And if we add the fourth D, decency, only then does the fifth D, namely democracy, become a reality. The legislature is an embodiment of the will, aspirations and hopes of the people of Karnataka, irrespective of political belief, caste and religion, gender or language. It needs the collective wisdom of both Houses of the Legislature to fulfil the dreams of our people,” said the President.
He also lauded the history of composite culture of Karnataka.
“This is a land with ancient Jain and Buddhist traditions. Adi Shankaracharya founded the math in Sringeri in this very state. Gulbarga is a centre of Sufi culture. The reformist Lingayat movement under spiritual leaders such as Basavacharyawas also located in Karnataka. In their own way, each of these currents has contributed to nation building,” he said.
