Tipu would have enjoyed status of Shivaji if he was a Hindu: Karnad
November 10, 2015 18:36
Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad today said 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan would have enjoyed the same status as of Maratha king Chhatrapathi Shivaji, if he was a Hindu and not a Muslim.
In another remark that stoked a controversy, Karnad said it would have been "apt" had the Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli near here been named after Tipu Sultan rather than Kempegowda, a feudatory ruler under the erstwhile Vijayanagara Empire which founded Bengaluru in 1537.
The remarks by the noted Kannada playwright and actor came at a state government organised function to mark the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan held amid tight security at the state Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.