Mumbai: After Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the specter of Tipu Sultan, who dominated Mysuru within the 18th century, now haunts politics in Maharashtra. The most recent flashpoint got here after Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal’s remarks equated Chhatrapati Shivaji’s braveness with that of Tipu Sultan.
Chatting with the media on Saturday, Sapkal stated, “The braveness that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had and the idea of ‘swaraja’ that he launched…a lot later, in that very custom and impressed by his beliefs, Tipu Sultan went to struggle with the British. In that sense, Tipu Sultan… The Sultan was a terrific warrior who displayed immense braveness and was a real son of India. He by no means allowed himself to be swayed by any toxic or communal ideology.” As a logo of braveness, we must always have a look at Tipu Sultan on a par with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. ”
Though Sapkar later clarified that Tipu Sultan meant to comply with Chhatrapati Shivaji’s Swarajya beliefs within the combat in opposition to the British, the Bharatiya Janata Get together protested exterior Pune’s Bhawan Meeting on Sunday. The protests escalated into stone-throwing incidents that left 9 folks injured.
This has led to an enormous controversy, with Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT accusing the BJP of allegedly double requirements in the direction of Tipu Sultan. Opposition events declare that the Bharatiya Janata Get together had proposed naming a street within the metropolis after Tipu Sultan a decade in the past. Nevertheless, the Bharatiya Janata Get together denies this.
“In 2013, a proposal was floated by the Bharatiya Janata Get together company to call Shivajinagar Highway 4, which begins from Bajprabhu Deshpande Marg in Mumbai Center East district and extends to Rafi Nagar Nullah, as Shaheed Tipu Sultan Marg,” the Congress wrote on X’s official social media web page.
The proposal was submitted by the then BMC standing committee, of which present mayor Ritu Tawde was a member, and was prompt by BJP Mumbai president Ameet Satam, the Congress stated.
Are you ashamed of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis?
2013, Shivajinagar Highway No. It begins from Bajprabhu Deshpande Highway within the East District of Mumbai and continues to Rafinagar Drainage Channel. 4 The proposal by the Bharatiya Janata Get together to call it “Shaheed Tipu Sultan Marg”… pic.twitter.com/HjdUvlHOcM
— Maharashtra State Meeting (@INCMaharashtra) February 15, 2026
Shiv Sena UBT Mouthpiece Samna “Within the BMC, everybody can see paperwork suggesting the BJP’s ‘love’ for Tipu. The BJP has used Tipu Sultan for political acquire many instances previously and is now digging his grave. However sadly, they themselves have fallen into that grave.”
Nevertheless, Bharatiya Janata Get together minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha denied this. “Now we have by no means proposed Tipu Sultan’s title wherever. In actual fact, we now have at all times opposed naming gardens and roads after him. So I’m unaware of all this,” Lodha instructed reporters on Monday.
Additionally learn: How the BJP introduced Tipu Sultan to Wayanad and sparked a row over a city named after his cannon
Ghost of Tipu Sultan
Opinions are divided about Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysuru. His supporters see him as an anti-colonial hero who led the combat in opposition to Britain. His critics, typically the VHP’s Hindutva Brigade and the Bajrang Dal, describe him as a bigot and a non secular persecutor.
In 2021, Samjwadi company Rukhsana Siddique wrote a letter to BMC’s backyard and market committee requesting that the gardens in Govandi be named after Tipu Sultan. This met with fierce opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Get together.
In 2022 in the course of the MVA rule, Aslam Shaikh, then Mumbai Guardian Minister and Congress chief from Malvani, accomplished the backyard and named it after Tipu. The transfer sparked protests by the BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal.
A yr after the Mahayuti authorities got here to energy in late 2022, the then guardian minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha eliminated Tipu Sultan’s title from the backyard.
In 2023, clashes broke out between Hindutva teams and native Muslim residents in Kolhapur after objectionable posts and audio messages had been shared on social media, ThePrint reported. Police arrested seven folks.
What sparked the present controversy?
The present controversy started on Saturday when a portrait of Tipu Sultan was hung within the workplace of Malegaon Deputy Mayor Shan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed.
“This portrait was gifted to me by the administration of my firm. I’ve no objection to it. Tipu Sultan was a freedom fighter who fought in opposition to the British. Even the federal government talked about this in an affidavit after some folks approached the court docket in search of a ban on celebrating Tipu Sultan’s birthday,” the deputy mayor stated.
Nevertheless, the portrait was eliminated after the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde of the ruling Mahayuti faction of Maharashtra, objected to the portrait.
Nevertheless, Malegaon Deputy Mayor Nihal Ahmed instructed the media that the portrait shall be eliminated and reinstalled because the workplace undergoes renovation work.
“The primary image ought to have been of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the framer of the Structure. Why ought to there be an argument about Tipu Sultan? Did not he die in a combat in opposition to the British?” she requested.
Nevertheless, Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal’s statements additional intensified the controversy. On Monday, he accused the Bharatiya Janata Get together of utilizing the Tipu Sultan situation to distract folks from the dearth of primary services and the contents of the Epstein recordsdata.
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant additionally slammed the Bharatiya Janata Get together, accusing it of pursuing a polarizing agenda with “double requirements”.
This Surya and this Jayadratha
Identical goes for Tipu Sultan and Bawankul… https://t.co/O2HrpKjzw4 pic.twitter.com/4M2E4cCWzF— Sachin Sawant Sachin Sawant (@sachin_inc) February 15, 2026
He cited a number of situations through which he claimed that Bharatiya Janata Get together leaders had beforehand supported or authorised references to Tipu Sultan in public and official boards. He additionally referred to the resolutions of civic our bodies in Akola and Mumbai, in addition to previous situations through which BJP leaders praised or allegedly had associations with historic figures.
AIMIM additionally weighed in on the controversy, with occasion chief Waris Pathan Sunday saying, “What’s incorrect with him? His photograph is within the structure in 1950. Neither you nor I had been born then.”
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut additionally criticized the Bharatiya Janata Get together and stated that President Ramnath Kovind had praised Tipu Sultan whereas addressing the Karnataka Meeting previously (2017).
“When Ramnath Kovind was president, he used to go to Karnataka and heap praises on Tipu Sultan. Why did not the Bharatiya Janata Get together cease him then?” Raut requested.
(Edited by Vinny Mishra)
Additionally learn: Tipu Sultan had flaws as nicely, however Marxist historians do not inform us that.
