Karnataka celebrates Tipu Jayanti amid fear of violence

[caption id=“attachment_4204043” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] Bringing the state under a thick security blanket, “Tipu Jayanti” celebrations were held amid protests across Karnataka to mark the birth anniversary of the controversial 18th-century ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom, Tipu Sultan. BJP and Sangh parivar workers staged protest in Madikeri against celebration of Tipu jayanti. M Raghuram[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4204041” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] About 4,000 policemen have been deployed across Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi districts. Adequate security measures have been taken in Bengaluru as well, said city police commissioner T Suneel Kumar. Virajpet main road wore deserted look on Friday owing to bandh. M Raghuram[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4204037” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] In response to Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Samiti’s call for bandh, shops, commercial complexes, banks, schools and colleges remained closed in Kodagu district and other places in Karnataka. Since autorickshaws, private buses and jeeps were off the road in both urban and rural pockets, life came to a standstill. Virajpet bus stand wore deserted look on Friday. M Raghuram[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_4204035” align=“alignnone” width=“940”] The BJP sees Tipu as a “religious bigot” and a “brutal killer”, while some Kannada outfits call him anti-Kannada, citing that he had promoted Persian at the cost of the local language. BJP and Sangh parivar workers staged protest in Madikeri against celebration of Tipu jayanti. M Raghuram[/caption]