A man was stabbed in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district allegedly as two groups clashed over a banner featuring the photo of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, whom the BJP considers one of its biggest icons. Reports said one group had put up the poster and another removed it and tried to replace it with a poster featuring Tipu Sultan, the 18th Century ruler who had fought against the British and was killed in fourth Anglo-Mysore war.
Soon after, the police came and confiscated the poster. They also had to use batons to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control. Officials installed the national flag at the spot where the poster was placed.
Prohibitory orders banning large gatherings have been imposed in the area and additional forces have been called in.
“We have imposed Section 144. Tension flared and so we resorted to lathicharge. We have tried to dismiss the crowd. We are verifying if he was stabbed over the same issue,” said Laxmi Prasad, a senior police officer of the area.
The man stabbed in the clash is undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital. The police said he is stable.
Celebrating Tipu Sultan has become controversial in the state, with the BJP and its ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh dubbing him a brutal king who persecuted Hindus and Christians, especially those who refused to convert to Islam.
