The legacy of Tipu Sultan: Here is why Mandyam Iyengars of Karnataka observe Diwali as a day of mourning

[Gollum]

On “Naraka Chaturdasi”, the day when Deepavali is celebrated by several south Indian communities, the army of Tipu Sultan rounded up the Mandyam Iyengar community living in Melkote. More than 800 people were slaughtered and Melkote was laid waste.

 

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The “festival of lights” brings with it good vibes, good food and a sense of well-being. Diwali/Deepavali stands for the victory of good over evil and reminds us of how light dispels darkness. But for one community in Karnataka, Deepavali is a dark and unwelcome reminder of their tryst with a tyrant, Tipu Sultan. The Mandyam Iyengar community (a Brahmin sub sect) observe “Naraka Chaturdasi” as a day of mourning. It was on this day more than 2 centuries ago when the “Tiger of Mysore”, massacred close to 800 Mandyam Iyengar men, women and children in cold blood in the town of Melkote. Although the exact year of the massacre is not known, members of the community state that it occurred between 1783-1795.

 

Melkote is a small hill town located in Mandya district, Karnataka. Also known as Thirunarayanapuram, it is home to 2 famous temples – the Cheluvanarayana Temple and the Yoga Narasimha Temple. The Mandyam Iyengars are a sub-sect of the Iyengar community. Amongst the earliest followers of Sri Ramanujacharya, they settled in Melkote in the 12th century after being granted patronage by the Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana. Sri Ramanujacharya is said to have worshipped at the Cheluvanarayana Temple and subsequently renovated it. The Hoysalas eventually declined but the fortunes of the Mandyam Iyengar community saw an upward curve under the Vijayanagar Empire. The Vijayanagar kings were great patrons of the Cheluvanarayana Temple and made several generous grants both to the temple and the Iyengars of Melkote.

 

By 1565, the Vijayanagar Empire had almost disintegrated. The Wodeyars, who ruled over Mysore, were the vassals of the Vijayanagar Empire and declared independence. Under Raja Wodeyar I, the Mysore kingdom gradually expanded its influence. Over the next 150 years, the community prospered under the Wodeyars and occupied key administrative and religious posts. The Cheluvanarayana temple was also handed over to the Mandyam Iyengars.

 

However, by 1760, the Wodeyar family had ceded much of their influence and power to the Dalwai or the commanders-in-chief. While the throne was occupied by a Wodeyar, his presence was merely nominal. When Krishnaraja Wodeyar II passed away in 1763, the most influential amongst his commanders-in-chief Hyder Ali established himself as the undisputed ruler of the Mysore kingdom. This shift in power also thrust the Mandyam Iyengars into greater prominence. The community owed much of its prosperity and influence to the largesse of the Wodeyars.

 

This was repaid by a show of fierce loyalty. The dowager queen Lakshmammani’s efforts to place a Wodeyar back on the throne were ably assisted by the Mandyam Iyengars. At the forefront was the Pradhan of Mysore, Thirumalai Iyengar and his brother Narayan Iyengar. Talks were initiated to forge an alliance with the East India Company in order to dethrone Hyder Ali. The plot was uncovered by Hyder Ali and he imprisoned both the brothers and their extended family. Fearing persecution, several members of the community emigrated to the Madras Presidency. Interestingly, Hyder Ali retained other Mandyam Iyengars who were in important administrative posts.

 

When Hyder Ali died in 1783, he was succeeded by his son Tipu Sultan. Unlike his father, Tipu was quite wary of the relationship between the Iyengars and the Dowager Queen. After Hyder Ali’s death, Rani Lakshmammani intensified her efforts to sign a military alliance with the British. Shamaiah Iyengar, a minister in Tipu’s court secretly reached out to Lord George Harris, a high ranking Major General in the Madras Army. This correspondence was viewed as treason by Tipu Sultan and his response was to wipe out the entire Mandyam Iyengar community in Melkote.

 

On “Naraka Chaturdasi”, the day when Deepavali is celebrated by several south Indian communities, the army of Tipu Sultan rounded up the Mandyam Iyengar community living in Melkote. More than 800 people were slaughtered and Melkote was laid waste. The rest of the inhabitants abandoned the town. Melkote turned into a ghost town overnight. It is also instructive to note that Lord George Harris was subsequently appointed Commander of the Madras Army which participated in the 4th Anglo Mysore War with 2 other British armies and defeated Tipu Sultan.

 

To this day, the Mandyam Iyengar community does not celebrate Naraka Chaturdasi and observe it as a day of mourning, due to the actions of Tipu Sultan. The memories of the massacre have been seared into the collective consciousness of the community. In 2014, a paper about the massacre was presented by two research scholars belonging to the community – Dr.M.A.Jayashree and Prof.M.A.Narasimhan. Unfortunately, no other accounts of the massacre exist outside the Mandyam Iyengar community. The event has also been ignored by mainstream historians in India.

 

The question of whether Tipu Sultan was a religious bigot or not deserves a debate of its own. Any attempt to highlight massacres such as these will likely lead to accusations of “revisionism”. This is also in line with the current mood prevalent in certain academic circles. It is important that the trauma inflicted upon a small community is at least acknowledged. Deepavali is supposed to symbolize the victory of light over darkness but for the Mandyam Iyengars, it will forever remain a day when darkness descended upon them.

 

LINK

 

Mandyam community still feels Tipu’s sword

 

Thanks to Tipu Sultan, the village in Karnataka that doesn’t celebrate Diwali

 

Exclusive: Why does Melkote go dark every Diwali?

 

 

Most Indians will be unaware of this. @coffee_rules @diga you guys knew about this? 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Gollum

[diga]

 

Old thread..

 

The Tragedy Which Befell Mandyam Iyengars

As the region became a prominent centre of Srivaishnavism as well as learning, large numbers of Iyengar Brahmins from Tamil Nadu (the birthplace of Ramanujacharya) migrated and settled in the region, forming the Mandyam Iyengar community.

On Naraka Chaturdashi In 1790, Tipu Sultan massacred more than 700 Mandyam Iyengar families in Melukote, including women and children. They had congregated at Narashimhaswamy temple on the banks of Cauvery at Srirangaptna town to celebrate Diwali when Sultan’s army massacred them.

This mass butchering by Tipu's army forced Mandyam Iyengars to move to Nagamangala and later settle down in Melukute from Baburayana Koppalu, Mandya Koppal and Mandya.

The town, to this day, doesn’t celebrate Diwali, and mourns the death and destruction that Tipu Sultan wrecked over the holy town over two centuries ago.

Melukote provides a sombre example of people’s history - while the historians and intellectuals may forget- the people of the town maintain the remembrance of the horror of Naraka Chaturdashi in 1790.

 

 

On coorg:

In a letter to the Nawab of Kurnool, Tipu himself confirms this. He wrote that he took 40,000 Coorgs prisoners, forcibly converted them to Islam and incorporated them into his Ahmadi corps. Many of the descendants of Coorgs converted by Tipu still retain their original Coorg family names. Tipu also destroyed temples in Coorg. To protect the Omkareshwara temple in Madikeri, the citizens demolished its towers and replaced them with domes. The temple retains the domes even today. 

 

 

 

 

[diga]

Siddu the previous cm of Karnataka started this glorification of tippu and the controversy continues

 

And the serial- sword of tipu sultan , telecast in DD,  effectively whitewashed lot of tippu's sins. The govt of the day , Congress in 90s was filled with pseudo historians & fake intellectuals 

Edited November 14, 2020 by diga

[Gollum]

I think Tipu has shades of gray in his character, not an outright evil, bigot like Aurangzeb, Sikandar Butshikhan or the Delhi Sultans. He had his political reasons and was extremely cunning, in some cases also helped Hindus in Mysore, protected Sringeri Math, had Iyengar ministers. History isn't black and white, even Marathis caused untold damage to Hindus in Surat, Mysore, Bengal....their devastation in Bengal finds no mention in our history books. 

 

But sad that the psychological scars of that massacre continue till this date, while India lights up for Diwali there is a town in Karnataka which goes completely dark in remembrance of its fallen ancestors. History books should cover all details, Tipu is portrayed as a selfless freedom fighter who did no wrong, not true. This was a classic case of genocide, part of history and we can't change that, historians in influential circles should acknowledge these crimes instead of spouting distorted version of history. 

[Gollum]

37 minutes ago, diga said:

And the serial- sword of tipu sultan , telecast in DD,  effectively whitewashed lot of tippu's sins.

Yeah, the one by Sanjay Khan whose family had strong links with the underworld at that time. 

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The govt of the day , Congress in 90s was filled with pseudo historians & fake intellectuals 

Why Girish Karnad wants Bengaluru airport named after Tipu Sultan

Tipu greatest Kannadiga in 500 years, says Girish Karnad

Edited November 14, 2020 by Gollum

[diga]

I would also suggest people to read Tipu's invasion of Kerala .. Probably thousands of Hindus (Nairs/Namboodari Brahmins) were killed and a lot of them were converted. 

 

PS: Most kings of 17th & 18th century were similar.. kill or convert their enemies. We cant really judge Tipus actions from 20th century laws. But by no means one should absolve him of those crimes. 

[coffee_rules]

Yes, a very well known fact that is not taught in history books, ignored by all those that matter because the victims happen to be those that are now bashed everyday as the perpetuators of tyranny of patriarchy. It has become anecdotal and lost because of the stature given to Tipu by Marxist historians and socialists like Nehru through Discovery of India. Tipu wanted to build an Islamic kingdom with allegiance to Turkish caliphate. He is called the first freedom fighter of India. As per his ownproud admission engraved on his sword

 

On the handle of the Tipu Sultan's steel sword was the following inscription (translated into English). "My victorious sabre is lightning for the destruction of the unbelievers. Haidar, the Lord of the Faith, is victorious to my advantage. And moreover, he destroyed the wicked race who were unbelievers. Praise be to him, who is the Lord of the Worlds! Thou art our Lord, support us against the people who are unbelievers. He to whom the Lord giveth victory prevails over all (mankind). Oh Lord, make him victorious, who promoteth the faith of Muhammad. Confound him, who refuseth the faith of Muhammad; and withhold us from those who are so inclined. The Lord is predominant over his own works. Victory and conquest are from the Almighty. Bring happy tidings, Oh Muhammad, to the faithful; for God is the kind protector and is the most merciful of the merciful. If God assists thee, thou wilt prosper. May the Lord God assist thee, Oh Muhammad, with a mighty victory."

 

These words were no different from  when uttered by the likes of a Timur or Aurangzeb, but we have plays and dramas eulogizing his bravery and white-washes his crimes as to something that was happening all across the world in those times.

Edited November 14, 2020 by coffee_rules

[BacktoCricaddict]

4 hours ago, diga said:

Siddu the previous cm of Karnataka started this glorification of tippu and the controversy continues

 

And the serial- sword of tipu sultan , telecast in DD,  effectively whitewashed lot of tippu's sins. The govt of the day , Congress in 90s was filled with pseudo historians & fake intellectuals 

They used to glorify him even when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s.  Yeah sure, he fought against the British, but it was not some glorious freedom fighter - he was doing it nefariously for self-preservation.  

 

Having said all that, isn't it also true that Tipu's father Hyder Ali's rise to power can be attributed to the Wodeyars' cowardice?  Some of Ali's conquests were carried out on behalf of the Wodeyars. 

 

 

[coffee_rules]

18 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

They used to glorify him even when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s.  Yeah sure, he fought against the British, but it was not some glorious freedom fighter - he was doing it nefariously for self-preservation.  

 

Having said all that, isn't it also true that Tipu's father Hyder Ali's rise to power can be attributed to the Wodeyars' cowardice?  Some of Ali's conquests were carried out on behalf of the Wodeyars. 

 

 

You have to know more about the dynasties or kingdoms of the Deccan area before throwing something stereotypical about Wodeyars. After the Hoysalas ruling the area, Deccan was occupied by Muslim rulers like Bahmanis and Vijayanagar empire ruled most of the Mysore areas. They had many kings like Wodeyars who had to pay allegiance to them.  Kempegowda who is the founder of Bengaluru was a paaLegaara of Vijayanagar empire. 
 

After Vijayanagar,  Wodeyars rose to prominence as the only other prominent rulers  other Marathas/ Peshwas . In that time, Hyder Ali was  a  dalvaayi (local commander) who rose to prominence beating Marathas. But he got  too powerful with his Muslim armies and got ambitious, rebelled against the Wodeyars. Wodeyars were never a powerful army based kingdom, but were pacifists in ruling small parts of Mysore area. After Hyder Ali made his conquests, they had a treaty with him so he never annexed Mysore and they would not interfere with his rule. 
 

Wodeyars are more known for after the era of Tipu and in the era of collaboration with British. Mysore was one of the princely states and not like Madras or Bombay presidencies of the British Raj. It was autonomously ruled with taxes paid to British. You can read about Wodeyars helping to mortgage their wealth to build institutions like IISc or even KRS Dam with inspiration from Sir M Vishweshwariyya.

 

Yes, their legacy could be considered cowardice , but it is for those who celebrate tyranny to convert people for the sole purpose of spreading the religion by force, but they were more interested in human development. The fact that the farmers of Mandya and people of the area still revere the wodeyars is a testimony to their legacy. 

Edited November 15, 2020 by coffee_rules

[Real McCoy]

@Gollum I know how you feel about this but there is a time for celebration and time for seriousness. Yesterday was not the time to be serious. Just have some fun man. I hope you burst crackers to piss of that a-hole rat. Take a pic and tweet rat about environment and stuff

[Gollum]

54 minutes ago, Real McCoy said:

@Gollum I know how you feel about this but there is a time for celebration and time for seriousness. Yesterday was not the time to be serious. Just have some fun man. I hope you burst crackers to piss of that a-hole rat. Take a pic and tweet rat about environment and stuff

In Kolkata right now, no crackers available, HC order. 

[BacktoCricaddict]

23 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

You have to know more about the dynasties or kingdoms of the Deccan area before throwing something stereotypical about Wodeyars. After the Hoysalas ruling the area, Deccan was occupied by Muslim rulers like Bahmanis and Vijayanagar empire ruled most of the Mysore areas. They had many kings like Wodeyars who had to pay allegiance to them.  Kempegowda who is the founder of Bengaluru was a paaLegaara of Vijayanagar empire. 
 

After Vijayanagar,  Wodeyars rose to prominence as the only other prominent rulers  other Marathas/ Peshwas . In that time, Hyder Ali was  a  dalvaayi (local commander) who rose to prominence beating Marathas. But he got  too powerful with his Muslim armies and got ambitious, rebelled against the Wodeyars. Wodeyars were never a powerful army based kingdom, but were pacifists in ruling small parts of Mysore area. After Hyder Ali made his conquests, they had a treaty with him so he never annexed Mysore and they would not interfere with his rule. 
 

Wodeyars are more known for after the era of Tipu and in the era of collaboration with British. Mysore was one of the princely states and not like Madras or Bombay presidencies of the British Raj. It was autonomously ruled with taxes paid to British. You can read about Wodeyars helping to mortgage their wealth to build institutions like IISc or even KRS Dam with inspiration from Sir M Vishweshwariyya.

 

Yes, their legacy could be considered cowardice , but it is for those who celebrate tyranny to convert people for the sole purpose of spreading the religion by force, but they were more interested in human development. The fact that the farmers of Mandya and people of the area still revere the wodeyars is a testimony to their legacy. 

No one can claim that the cowardice was their only, or even main, legacy.  But in the context of this thread, it was apt to mention it. 

 

Like with every dynasty that ruled for 500+ years, you are bound to have a mixed bag of rulers - from the tyrant to the pacifist to everything in between.  If development was the legacy some of the modern Wodeyars, then cowardice was the legacy of some before them, and tyranny and expansionism was the legacy of some (e.g., Chikkadevaraja who massacred 400 Lingayat priests*). 

 

I will admit to this:  As a general rule, I detest royalty and that is the lens through which I view them all.   Often, this blinds me to the times that some of them actually did their job and committed some good deeds for their people.  Throughout global history, with a few exceptions, royalty has looked out for its own interests first - amassing untold amounts of wealth, controlling people with an iron fist, taxing people to death, killing their own citizens for no good reason, making nefarious deals to protect themselves (as a student of history, you are certainly aware of the deals among British, Wodeyars, Mughals, Marathas, Peshwas, Nizam - my head spins just trying to keep track who had a deal with whom, when and why). 

 

I agree that there are varying degrees of nefariousness and tyranny, and that my moral compass is rooted in a different era, but I find it hard-pressed to defend anyone - regardless of whether they are part of my heritage - who quelled protests violently or went to war with the mere goal of expanding their footprint.  This applies to Alex, Genghis, Ghori, Ghazni, Babar, RRC, the European dynasties ... you name it.    

 

 

 

 

[coffee_rules]

15 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

No one can claim that the cowardice was their only, or even main, legacy.  But in the context of this thread, it was apt to mention it. 

 

They had to survive and lost the upper hand, I don’t know how you classify that as cowardice. Wrong choice of words even in this context. Establishing an Islamic kingdom and in the sole purpose of expanding the religion through forceful conversion is an act of bravery according to you? 
 

15 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

Like with every dynasty that ruled for 500+ years, you are bound to have a mixed bag of rulers - from the tyrant to the pacifist to everything in between.  If development was the legacy some of the modern Wodeyars, then cowardice was the legacy of some before them, and tyranny and expansionism was the legacy of some (e.g., Chikkadevaraja who massacred 400 Lingayat priests*). 
 

 

There is a big difference. That massacre of jungamas was not out of hatred towards their caste or religion. But to quell a rebellion who were supporting the opposition to high taxation. All kings wielded power and usurped wealth to survive a royal legacy , for selfish gains. But some kingdoms like Moghuls (Aurangzeb) , Tipu were also thinking they were doing it for Islam by a religious decree. You can’t deny the Islamic iconoclasm attached to these kingdoms and rulers and it is not the same with others. The equating of the two negates the history associated with them. 

15 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

 

I will admit to this:  As a general rule, I detest royalty and that is the lens through which I view them all.   Often, this blinds me to the times that some of them actually did their job and committed some good deeds for their people.  Throughout global history, with a few exceptions, royalty has looked out for its own interests first - amassing untold amounts of wealth, controlling people with an iron fist, taxing people to death, killing their own citizens for no good reason, making nefarious deals to protect themselves (as a student of history, you are certainly aware of the deals among British, Wodeyars, Mughals, Marathas, Peshwas, Nizam - my head spins just trying to keep track who had a deal with whom, when and why). 

 

I agree that there are varying degrees of nefariousness and tyranny, and that my moral compass is rooted in a different era, but I find it hard-pressed to defend anyone - regardless of whether they are part of my heritage - who quelled protests violently or went to war with the mere goal of expanding their footprint.  This applies to Alex, Genghis, Ghori, Ghazni, Babar, RRC, the European dynasties ... you name it.    

 

 

 

 

You are associating moral notions of morality to a time when these ideas were alien to them. Times were different and history shows some in good light even though they might not be all noble, while others to tyranny

[BacktoCricaddict]

1 hour ago, coffee_rules said:

They had to survive and lost the upper hand, I don’t know how you classify that as cowardice. Wrong choice of words even in this context. Establishing an Islamic kingdom and in the sole purpose of expanding the religion through forceful conversion is an act of bravery according to you? 
 

 

Absolutely not.  It is not a binary.  Allowing a complete despot to take over your army for your self-preservation is naivete or cowardice.  That does not automatically make being a despot and violently taking over the army bravery - it is treachery.  Hyder Ali was treacherous, plain and simple.  Not courageous, but opportunistic and violent.  As an analogy, on ICF, we ridicule Europe and America for allowing Islamic terrorists to take over their lands and turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed.  That doesn't make the terrorists clever or brave.  

 

Again and again, I have posted saying that I condemn all acts of unnecessary violence by royalty over the course of history - whether it is for conquest or religious reasons.  You disagree with that premise (and it is a reasonable disagreement).  But it is disconcerting that you still twist my condemnation of Wodeyars into praise for Hyder Ali.  That kind of binary thinking is dangerous.  

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by BacktoCricaddict

[Gollum]

 

 

Thread

 

[BacktoCricaddict]

4 hours ago, Gollum said:

 

 

Thread

 

But ... but ... but ... he fought against the British!! Automatic hero!!

[coffee_rules]

And you call him a tyrant

 

 

[BacktoCricaddict]

12 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

And you call him a tyrant

 

 

 

His PR firm is doing an amazing job of talking up his high points, while totally ignoring his flaws.  He was probably all that they claim he was - implacable enemy of British, new calendar and coinage guy etc.  But it must never be ignored or forgotten that he was also a ruthless despot.  

    

[coffee_rules]

32 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

 

His PR firm is doing an amazing job of talking up his high points, while totally ignoring his flaws.  He was probably all that they claim he was - implacable enemy of British, new calendar and coinage guy etc.  But it must never be ignored or forgotten that he was also a ruthless despot.  

    

Land revenue reforms leading to the growth of Mysore Silk Industry  . They attribute all great success stories to something the Islamic rulers  did. Moghuls brought tehzeeb , cuisine, architecture to India. They revolutionized taxation and taught how to rule. Even Alauddin Khilji has been glamorized with land revenue reforms and also kept evil mongols away from entering India. 

[Gollum]