Former minister, MLA and chairman of Hazrath Tipu Sultan Saheed Wakf Estate Tanveer Sait paid tributes to the tomb of Tipu Sultan, at Gumbaz in Srirangapatna, Mandya district, to mark his 227th birth anniversary, on Sunday. The festival of Eid Meelad is also celebrated on Sunday.
It has to be mentioned that the State government, in July, cancelled the celebration of Tipu Sultan Jayanthi by the State Kannada and Culture department, on the basis of petitions and demands from various quarters, including that of MLA K G Bopiah. It has to be recalled that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government started the celebration by the Kannada and Culture department in 2015. Tipu Jayanthi is celebrated on November 10, though his birth date is mentioned as November 20 in some documents.
A section of Muslims staged protests on last Wednesday and Thursday, led by Tanveer Sait, against the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Sankar, who did not heed to their request to lend the Bannimantapa Grounds to celebrate Tipu Jayanthi. Finally, Sait moved the Karnataka High Court seeking action against (MUDA) and the DC, on Friday.
Inayath ur Rahman Rizvi, Shahi Imam, Masjid e Aqsa, Gumbaz, prayed and read some verses of the Holy Quran. Shaik Ubaid Ulla, chairman, Mandya District Wakf Advisory Committee, Irfan Pasha, secretary, Hazrath Tipu Sultan Saheed Wakf Estate, K C Shoukath Pasha, ex-corporator, Iyas Baig, entrepreneur, and social workers Mohammad Mumtaz Ahmed, Iqbal Pasha, Mohammad Irfan, Khaleel Ur Rahman Affu, and Abdul Khader Shahid were present at the Gumbaz. Sweets were distributed to the members of the community present in the tomb and also to tourists. Police had made elaborate security arrangements, around the Gumbaz.