BANGALORE: Demanding the immediate resignation of Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy for his controversial remarks on Tipu Sultan and the constitution of a fresh committee to bring out gazetteers, 25 organisations under the banner of Souharda Karnataka observed a dharna here on Saturday.

Addressing a gathering of about 500 people, speakers alleged that Mr. Murthy's remarks on Tipu Sultan were part of a larger conspiracy. That Tipu had been acknowledged as the hero of a sparkling chapter in the history of Indian Independence in the 18th Century was something that was not palatable to communal forces, they said.

The communal forces, the speakers said, were offering documents found in the gazetteers published by the State Government as evidence for the stand against Tipu. Souharda Karnataka wanted the immediate withdrawal of the gazetteers, which it said, were published under the editorship of an active member of the Sangh Parivar for nearly a decade.

The speakers wanted a fresh committee to be set up with objective-minded historians to bring out new gazetteers. "This committee should not be satisfied with references to `prestigious' documents and so-called facts brought together by the upper class historians with vested interests. The committee should given equal credence to the oral tradition in regard to Tipu's life and achievements, the innumerable plays and ballads and the vast literature produced about him, which, we consider, are of equal importance," a statement issued by the organisers said.

They said the whole episode of maligning Tipu Sultan was only a preamble to the forthcoming Shoba Yatra and Datta Jayanti at Bababudangiri being planned by the Sangh Parivar. "The Janata Dal (Secular), which is a part of the coalition government, will have to bear the entire responsibility, for it is an obvious fact that BJP is a communal organisation. Now is the challenge for the JD(S) to spell out clearly its stand and prove its secular credentials," the statement said.

Souharda Karnataka also demanded the implementation of the Supreme Court directive that nothing by way of rites and rituals should be observed at Bababudangiri that were not in vogue before 1975.

On the Bababudangiri issue, litterateur G. Ramakrishna said the Sangh Parivar's purpose was not to worship Dattatreya but to use it as an alibi to provoke communal tension to meet political ends. "Very strong, venomous words are being used by their leaders. Such statements can easily instigate communal violence. Such a situation should not be allowed to arise," he added.

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