BJP's Kailash Vijayvargiya seeks debate on Tipu, wants history rewritten

Demanding that India's history should be rewritten, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya today said there should be a debate on Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century ruler of Mysore.

"The history of India has not been written properly. It needs to be rewritten. Tipu Sultan's place in history should be reconsidered and there should be a debate on the issue," he told reporters here.

The statement comes at a time when the Congress and the BJP in Karnataka are headed for a showdown over Tipu Jayanti (Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary) celebrations on November 10.

Union minister Anantkumar Hegde has conveyed to the Karnataka government that he does not to want to be invited to the "shameful" event.

"Those who wrote the history of India were, in a way, slaves of the British. They have deliberately written it in such a way that we do not take pride in our great icons," Vijayvargiya said.

"Maharana Pratap and Akbar (both Indian kings) were contemporaries. But in history, Akbar is described as great, whereas Maharana Pratap, who ate rotis made of grass and lived in the forest for the sake of the country and culture, is not referred to as great," he added.

The BJP leader also alleged that great personalities had not got the places they deserved due to the sycophancy of the historians.

Vijayvargiya also expressed confidence that the saffron party would win the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls with a huge majority.