Tipu Sultan water supply remark sparks political row

Bengaluru: Minister for Social Welfare H.C. Mahadevappa has sparked a controversy with his recent remarks crediting Tipu Sultan with an early vision for agricultural water supply infrastructure in the state. The minister, speaking at an event in Srirangapatna, claimed that the 18th-century ruler had planned to supply water for agricultural use and had even laid the foundation stone for the Kannambadi dam, now submerged under the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir.

“The stone still stands at the KRS gate with a Persian inscription dated 1794, found during the dam’s construction in 1911,” Mahadevappa said, suggesting that Tipu Sultan may have envisaged an irrigation project more than a century before the KRS dam was built under Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV.

His remarks have drawn sharp criticism from right-wing groups, particularly the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. State spokesperson Mohan Gowda called the minister’s claims “laughable,” saying they amounted to historical distortion. “It is shameful for a responsible minister to mislead the public. He must apologise immediately,” Gowda said in a statement.

The group also challenged Mahadevappa’s comments portraying Tipu Sultan as a religiously tolerant ruler. Citing alleged historical incidents—including the destruction of temples in Kodagu and Srirangapatna, forced conversions, and language imposition—the Samiti accused Tipu of being a religious bigot.

The controversy has revived longstanding debates in Karnataka over the legacy of Tipu Sultan, a historical figure viewed by some as a valiant freedom fighter and by others as a despotic ruler. While political parties in the state have often been divided over his portrayal in textbooks and commemorations, Mahadevappa’s latest remarks have once again brought the issue to the forefront of public discourse. The minister is yet to respond to demands for an apology.