EXPOSING THE BLOOD THIRSTY TIPU SULTAN:
Someone should tell Javed Akhtar that Tipu Sultan was not the secular hero that he and Rajdeep Sardesai are making him out. Mr Akhtar was speaking as if he was sitting alongside Tipu Sultan when he was ruling from Srirangapatna. I have visited many homes in Tirur and Parapanangadi where families have sown me main doors of their ancestral homes which were smashed with swords of Tipu's army.
Tipu was a murderer of hundreds of Hindus in northern Malabar when they refused to convert and his men raped thousands of women. He ordered the destruction of hundreds of temples all through northern Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and changed the culture of the places he conquered.
Hindus, particularly the Nair and Kodava communities were persecuted by Tipu Sultan and they were subjected to forcible conversions to Islam, death, and torture. The Nairs were treated with extreme brutality for their Hindu faith and martial tradition. It is estimated that out of the 30,000 Nairs put to captivity including women and children, most perished.
According to the Malabar Manual of William Logan who was the District Collector for some time, Thrichambaram and Thalipparampu temples in Chirackal Taluqa, Thiruvangatu Temple (Brass Pagoda) in Tellicherry, and Ponmeri Temple near Badakara were all destroyed by Tipu Sultan. The Malabar Manual mention that the Maniyoor mosque was once a Hindu temple. The local belief is that it was converted to a mosque during the days of Tipu Sultan.
The German missionary Guntest has recorded: 'Accompanied by an army of 60,000, Tipu Sultan came to Kozhikode in 1788 and razed it to the ground. It is not possible even to describe the brutalities committed by that Islamic barbarian from Mysore." C.A. Parkhurst also noted that 'Almost the entire Kozhikode was razed to the ground."
It was not just Hindus, but even Christians of Mangalore who had to face the blood thirsty Tipu who ordered the destruction of 27 Catholic churches, and all were razed to the ground, with the exception of The Church of Holy Cross at Hospet, a demolition that was resisted by Jain Chauta Raja of Moodbidri. According to Thomas Munro, around 60,000 people or 92 percent of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community, were captured by Tipu Sultan's army; only 7,000 escaped.
Thali, Thiruvannur, Varackal, Puthur, Govindapuram, Thalikkunnu and other important temples in the town of Kozhikode as well as those nearby were completely destroyed as a result of Tipu's military operations. Some of them were reconstructed by the Zamorin after he returned following the defeat of Tipu Sultan in Sreerangapatanam and the Treaty of 1792.
The devastation caused by Tipu Sultan to the ancient and holy temples of Keraladheeswaram, Thrikkandiyoor and Thriprangatu in Vettum region was terrible. The Zamorin renovated these temples to some extent. The famous and ancient Thirunavaya Temple, known throughout the country as an ancient teaching-centre of the Vedas, revered by the devotees of Vishnu from Tamil Nadu, and existing before the advent of Christ, was also plundered and destroyed by Tipu's army (as per Malabar Gazetteer). After dismantling and destroying the idol, Tipu converted the Thrikkavu Temple into an ammunition depot in Ponnani (Malabar Manual). It was the Zamorin who repaired the temple later.
Kotikkunnu, Thrithala, Panniyoor and other family temples of the Zamorin were plundered and destroyed. The famous Sukapuram Temple was also desecrated. Damage done to the Perumparampu Temple and Maranelira Temple of Azhvancherry Thamprakkal (titular head of all Namboodiri Brahmins) in Edappadu, can be seen even today. Vengari Temple and Thrikkulam Temple in Eranadu, Azhinjillam Temple in Ramanattukara, Indyannur Temple, Mannur Temple and many other temples were defiled and damaged extensively during the military regime.
Tipu Sultan reached Guruvayoor Temple only after destroying Mammiyoor Temple and Palayur Christian Church. If the destruction caused by Tipu's army is not visible today in the Guruvayoor Temple, it is mainly because of the intervention of Hydrose Kutty who had been converted to Islam by Hyder Ali Khan. He secured the safety of the temple and the continuation of land-tax exemption allowed by Hyder Ali earlier, besides the renovation and repairs done by the devotees later. According to available evidences, fearing the wrath of Tipu Sultan, the sacred idol of the Guruvayoor Temple was removed to the Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna Temple in Travancore State. It was only after the end of Tipu's military regime, that the idol was ceremoniously reinstated in the Guruvayoor Temple itself. Even today, daily pujas are conducted in Ambalapuzha Sri Krishna Temple where the idol of Guruvayoor Temple was temporarily installed and worshipped.
Damages caused to the nearby temples at Parampathali, Panmayanadu and Vengidangu are visible even today. The deplorable state of the architecture of the sanctum sanctorum of Parampathali Temple destroyed during the military operations of Tipu Sultan is really heart-rending. The atrocities committed in Kozhikode during the nightmarish days of the military occupation are vividly described in the works of Fra Bartolomaeo who had travelled through Kerala at that time.
Which is why we are requesting Rajni sir not act as the murderer, let Javed Akhtar act as Tipu Sultan or get his sons to play the lead role and let Rajdeep Sardesai direct the movie.
(Suresh Kochattil with Raja Nambiar With inputs from historical records and writings of Samarth Chengappa. The picture along with this article is Narayanaperumal Kshetram, Talakolatur, Calicut that was destroyed by Tipu Sultan)
Dayanand Gopalakurup Tipu was a tyrant and religious fanatic , similiar to the present day ISIS. Some historians, left leaning, are trying to white wash his past. In the process, they even tried to portray Pazhassi Raja in a different view. All the details given are true. So many people have evaded his torture by migrating to Travancore,especially from Kannur and the present Malapuram districts. From Palghat also we heard similiar stories. The final torture camp was in Alwaye , from where he withdrew. Javeed Akthar know little about him.Let him travel to south Karnataka and North Kerala . Rajdeep is a rumour monger. The was a TV serial of Sanjay Khan showing him as a good person. Now why another one to disturb the communal harmony?.
Dayanand Gopalakurup Tipu was a tyrant and religious fanatic , similiar to the present day ISIS. Some historians, left leaning, are trying to white wash his past. In the process, they even tried to portray Pazhassi Raja in a different view. All the details given are true. So many people have evaded his torture by migrating to Travancore,especially from Kannur and the present Malapuram districts. From Palghat also we heard similiar stories. The final torture camp was in Alwaye , from where he withdrew. Javeed Akthar know little about him.Let him travel to south Karnataka and North Kerala . Rajdeep is a rumour monger. The was a TV serial of Sanjay Khan showing him as a good person. Now why another one to disturb the communal harmony?.