Why is Tipu relevant now? Should we bother about historic personalities who are long dead and gone?
That is almost like asking whether history is relevant at all as the discipline deals with characters long dead and gone! In the case of people like Tipu Sultan they become relevant because they are made into a political football by the acrimonious politics of our times. Ever since the Congress Government started the Tipu Jayanthi in 2014 to commemorate his birth anniversary, it caused great angst to several communities in Karnataka, whose ancestors had suffered his brutalities. The BJP did its share of ridiculous myth-making as a counter, talking about Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda as his killers—all with an eye to target the Vokkaliga vote bank. In all of this, I felt that it was truly a historian's responsibility to set the record straight, bring the facts on the table and present the unvarnished truth of Tipu Sultan, as he was, with warts and all.
While growing up in Kerala, there was a dichotomy in the narrative we heard about Tipu Sultan. The textbooks, the Doordarshan series and the academic narrative of that time portrayed him as a great hero who fought against the East India Company and a secular icon, while the collective memory talked about a different picture. Which is the truth?
Bu hikaye The New Indian Express Kozhikode dergisinin December 15, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The New Indian Express Kozhikode dergisinin December 15, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Chelsea's Mudryk fails drugs test: Club
CHELSEA forward Mykhailo Mudryk has failed a doping test, the Premier League club said on Tuesday, as reports stated the Ukraine international has been provisionally suspended.
UDF leadership decides to formulate plans to resolve people's issues
CONTRARY to current tactics of highlighting the ruling front's failures on different issues, the UDF will adopt a different line now: Convincing the voters how it proposes to resolve their issues if voted to power.
SC seeks data on population of Orthodox, Jacobite groups
HEARING the dispute between the Malankara Orthodox Church and the Jacobite Church, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that status quo be maintained regarding the management and administration of the churches till the next date of hearing, which is on January 29 and 30, 2025.
2 held for dragging tribal man along road
POLICE have arrested two youngsters in connection with the incident in which a tribal man, Mathan, was dragged alongside a car for around 400m near Mananthavady in Wayanad.
RAHUL AND JADEJA BRING ORDER AS INDIA TAIL WAGS
Poor form and captaincy issues could be two unrelated things as Rohit falls for another low score on day four in Brisbane on Tuesday
HEART THE CENTRE OF CONSCIOUSNESS
A HEALTHY HEART FOR A HEALTHY BODY
RAHUL AND JADEJA BRING ORDER AS INDIA TAIL WAGS
SOMEWHERE in the middle of the first innings, Virat Kohli rushed out of the Gabba dressing room, called up Abhimanyu Easwaran, told him something in earnestness and sent him off to the ground.
Two World Champions, 31 GMs, Tamil Nadu is the best: Anand
OPEN rooftop car. Scores of people. Cavalcade of cars. It was another maddening but memorable day in the newly-crowned world champ, D Gukesh's, life.
Rana wouldn't have got into our playing XI: Gujarat coach Klinger
GUJARAT GIANTS, after finishing last in the back-to-back Women's Premier League points table, went into the mini-auction looking to make a few important changes.
Bid in satellite spectrum not feasible: Scindia
A day after Congress leader Jairam Ramesh raised concerns over the government's decision to administratively allocate satellite spectrum in the country, communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday defended the move, saying that satellite spectrum is neither suitable nor practical for auction.