Around 600 Catholics in Bangalore took part in a demonstration against
naming a proposed university in Srirangapatna after Emperor Tipu Sultan.
The Catholics demanded the Karnataka government to name the university after Reverend Ferdinand Kittel.
“Tipu
Sultan was responsible for forcefully converting about 70,000 Catholics
from Udupi, Mangalore and Karwar to Islam,” said T. J, Abraham, an RTI
activist.
The demonstrators displayed banners urging authors, writers and litterateurs to put pressure on the government in this regard.
“Kittel
wrote the first Kannada to English dictionary. How has Tipu contributed
to the literature, art and culture of Karnataka,” Abraham asked.
The
protestors who are planning to submit a memorandum to the prime
minister and also to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi have
threatened not to support Congress if their demands are not met.
“Over
500 Christians will travel from Karwar to Madikeri covering Udupi,
Mangalore and other coastal areas during the upcoming assembly elections
seeking Christians of the coastal area to vote against the Congress,”
said Abraham.
The protestors also added that the government can
name the university after A. P.. J. Abdul Kalam if they did not want it
to be named after the Reverend.