Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday questioned the state government on the logic behind celebrating Tipu Jayanti.

While hearing a PIL filed challenging the observance of Tipu Jayanti by the state government, a division bench, headed by Chief Justice S K Mukherjee, said Tipu was not a “freedom fighter”.

Chief Justice Mukherjee said that as per his knowledge, Tipu Sultan was a king and he, like other kings, fought against the British only to safeguard his kingdom. He said that Tipu Jayanti’s observance will only bring a headache to the government.

The petitioner, Manjunath K P, a resident of Kodagu district, has approached the High Court seeking directions to the government not to observe the proposed Tipu Jayanti in the district and also not to organise any function in the name of the erstwhile ruler of Mysuru kingdom.

The petitioner has said that history, which is filled with inhumanness, violence and genocide, is being rewritten by politically motivated people to project a man like Tipu Sultan who is guilty of mass murder as a hero.

It is not only hurting the sentiments of Kodavas, but is also sending out a wrong message about the history to the future generations. Tipu Sultan was an invader, a dictator, a coward and a murderer of human race and glorifying such a inhuman person is an absolute shame and disgrace to humanity, the petition claimed.

It is an irony that government wants to observe Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary across Karnataka.

The historic evidence not only indicates that he was not a conqueror, but a religious fanatic and a dictator who believed in the ethnic cleansing of Kodavas and other communities in South India. He was also instrumental in mass conversion of Kodavas to Islam, the petition contended. The division bench adjourned the hearing of the PIL to Thursday.