Did The Karnataka HC Declare Tipu Sultan A ‘Jihadi’? Here’s The Truth Behind Viral Claim

Several social media users are circulating a graphic, claiming that the Karnataka high court recently declared Tipu Sultan, the 18th century Indian ruler of the then Kingdom of Mysore, a “jihadi”.

“Tipu Sultan massacred and raped thousands of Hindus, forcibly converted them to Islam. He destroyed temples. Tipu fought Britishers for Islam, not for independence of India. Tipu was a tyrant jihadi, not a freedom fighter,” allegedly observed Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, chief justice, Karnataka high court, as per the viral graphic.

The archived version of the post can be seen here, which has clocked 226.6K views so far.

Fact Check

Newschecker first learnt that the current chief justice of the Karnataka high court is Justice V. Kameswar Rao, senior judge of the High Court of Karnataka, who was recently appointed as the acting Chief Justice with effect from the date Chief Justice NV Anjaria relinquished charge of his office following his elevation as a judge of the Supreme Court. Moreover, we learnt that Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee retired in 2017 after serving in various capacities for about two-and-a-half years in the high court, indicating that the viral graphic is dated.

We then ran a keyword search for “Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee Tipu Sultan”, which led us to this Indian Express report, dated November 2, 2016, stating that the Karnataka HC questioned the state government’s logic behind celebrating the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, observing he wasn’t a freedom fighter but a monarch who fought to safeguard his interests. “What is the logic behind celebrating Tipu Jayanti? Tipu was not a freedom fighter, but a monarch who fought the opponents to safeguard his interests,” Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, presiding over the division bench, reportedly observed during a hearing on a public interest litigation that had been filed by South Kodagu-based K P Manjunatha, challenging the government’s move to celebrate Tipu Jayanti. A similar Deccan Herald report, dated November 3, 2016, can be seen here.

However, none of those reports quoted Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee as saying, “Tipu Sultan massacred and raped thousands of Hindus, forcibly converted them to Islam. He destroyed temples… Tipu was a tyrant jihadi, not a freedom fighter,” as written in the viral graphic.

A further search led us to the court order, dated November 3, 2016, disposing of the petition, while noting that the decision to celebrate Tipu Jayanti was a policy matter for the government and directing the petitioner to make a representation to the state chief secretary to consider the objections raised by him against Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Kodagu. At no point in the order did the court state that Tipu Sultan was a “jihadi” who massacred, raped, and converted Hindus to Islam, further proving that the viral graphic was a gross misrepresentation of Justice Mukherjee’s observation.

“The order by a two-member division bench headed by Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee came a day after it questioned the government on the logic behind celebrating ‘Tipu Jayanti’ observing that he wasn’t a freedom fighter, but a monarch who fought to safeguard his interests,” read an Indian Express report, dated November 3, 2016, adding that Justice Mukherjee had questioned the logic behind celebrating Tipu Jayanti on November 10 amid fears of communal tension escalating in Kodagu district and other parts of the state, noting that the 2015 event had resulted in a law and order situation after protesters resorted to violence.

The Tipu Jayanti Controversy

Tipu Jayanti celebrations had been mired in controversy since 2015, when the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government commissioned the celebrations to commemorate the Mysuru ruler’s 266th birth anniversary for the first time. The observance of Tipu Jayanti was then made an annual affair, amid violent protests, even as Tipu Sultan became a polarising figure in Karnataka with the Congress referring to him as a freedom fighter who died battling British rule, while the BJP called him an anti-Hindu tyrant. In July 2019, when the BJP came to power, Tipu Jayanti was scrapped.

Also Read: Viral Photo Claiming To Show Colonel Sofiya Qureshi with Vaibhav Suryavanshi Is Edited

Conclusion

Viral graphic claiming that the Karnataka high court has declared Tipu Sultan a “jihadi” was found to be fabricated, distorting an observation by the court in 2016.

Sources
Indian Express report, November 3, 2016
Deccan Herald report, November 3, 2016
Karnataka HC order, November 3, 2016