Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SHP)
Bengaluru, Oct 29: State Education minister Suresh Kumar on Monday, October 29, wrote to managing director of Karnataka Textbook Society over submission of a report in three days regarding the proposal by BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan on the removal of references to Tipu Sultan from history textbooks.
Reportedly, Ranjan had written a letter to Kumar stating that the history books were glorifying Tipu Sultan as a freedom fighter and manipulating facts. Keeping this in mind, Kumar decided to hold a meeting with the History Textbook Drafting Committee and BJP MLA Ranjan. In the meeting, the MLA could discuss the necessity to keep lessons on Tipu Sultan or remove it.
Suresh Kumar (left) and Appachu Ranjan
Ranjan claimed that Tipu Sultan had no respect towards Kannada language and only believed in the conversion of people to strengthen his rule. "He changed names of places - Madikeri to Jafarabad and Mangaluru to Jalalabad. He looted temples and churches. In Kodagu he converted 30,000 Kodavas," Ranjan said.
However, responding to the attacks, a descendant of Tipu Sultan, Mohammad Shahid Alam believed that the MLA was tainting the ruler's name for vote bank politics.