'Rename Tipu Express': Activists want name of Bengaluru-Mysuru train changed

After Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa cancelled the controversial state-sponsored celebration of Tipu Jayanti, activists of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti want him to rename the Tipu Express. The issue became a topic of interest on Twitter with #RenameTippuExpress trending on the platform on Wednesday. Hindu Janajagriti Samiti is affiliated with Sanatan Sanstha, the organisation linked with the murders of rationalists-intellectuals Gauri Lankesh, Narendra Dhabolkar, and MM Kalburgi. The activists led by Mohan Gowda, the state convenor of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, had even met the CM regarding this on August 14. They want the train running between Bengaluru and Mysuru be renamed after erstwhile emperor Krishnaraja Wodeyar or iconic engineer Sir M Visvesvaraya instead.

Controversy surrounding Tipu

Former CM Siddaramiah was the first CM to make the tradition of commemorating Tipu Jayanti a formal state celebration, under the Department of Kannada and Culture.

Since then it had faced opposition from members of BJP and other allied organisations, who say Tipu Sultan was an anti-Hindu despot who broke temples. However, there are groups in Karnataka that remember him as the one who fought the British and as a first freedom

Every year, in the days leading up to Tipu Jayanti, the BJP, RSS and other groups ran campaigns alleging that Tipu Sultan had persecuted Kodavas and Christians in Mangalore (now Mangaluru). However, the Congress government led by then CM Siddaramaiah had refused to cancel the the celebration.

Source: The News Minute