Security forces were deployed in parts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru, to avoid a law and order situation over Tipu Sultan Jayanti row on Thursday. The BJP protested outside the town hall in Bengaluru on Thursday.
The BJP and RSS protested the Karnataka government's decision to celebrate the 18th century Muslim ruler's birth anniversary. A bandh was called in Kodagu District, where last year's protests led to the death of two people. The Opposition in Karnataka has threatened to cause trouble at the Tipu Jayanti event on November 10.
"Arrested while protesting against Cong govt for celebrating Tippu Jayanti, Will scrap this Jayanti within 24hrs of forming BJP govt in 2018," tweeted BJP state leader B.S. Yeddyurappa.
The Congress government prepared for all eventualities by calling in seven companies of paramilitary forces with 100 personnel in each company.
The police took 110 people into preventive custody and Section 144 was imposed in Kodagu District prior to the event.
Many people took to social media to condemn the celebration saying that he killed hundreds of Hindus in his time. He is also known to have converted many people to Islam, while some others believe that he was a secular ruler who stood up to British rule.
The celebration was opposed not just by the Hindutva groups, but also by Christian groups. Hindutva groups have called him a "butcher of Hindus" and Manglorean Christians have said that Tipu had converted their ancestors to Islam and killed many who resisted.
Communal tensions ran high in the state with the BJP and the RSS also getting Dalits to join in the protests against Tipu Sultan.
Tipu Sultan massacred 4 lakh Hindus and Destroyed temples n Congress is celebrating his birth anniversary. Shame. #BanTippuJayanthi
— Gaurav Mohnot (@mohnotgaurav18) November 6, 2016
