As Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered Mandya district with flower petals showered by the public on Sunday, a banner flex welcoming him with fictional characters – Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanje Gowda – was removed on Saturday after protests by locals stating the caption paints a false narrative of Mysuru’s king Tipu Sultan’s death.
The banner shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo in the middle flanked by Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanje Gowda illustrations on both sides.
It was removed overnight after locals objected to it, reported a local newspaper.
Who are Urigowda and Dodda Nanje Gowda?
Uri Gowda and Dodda Nanje Gowda are fictional characters who belong to the Vokkaliga community. According to popular tales, they were chieftains who allegedly killed Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1798-99.
However Indian Express in an interview with Sunil Baboo, a Bengaluru-based collector who has gathered maps detailing the British battle plan to corner Tipu Sultan said, “There is no mention of any Vokkaliga trying to kill Tipu. It was the allied forces comprising the British, Marathas and Nizams who killed Tipu. In fact, there are a lot of assumptions among history buffs, but none with accuracy and clarity that could actually explain the details of the events that transpired during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.”
Tipu Sultan was betrayed by one of his prime ministers named Mir Sadiq. Sadiq had reportedly helped the British army to seize the fort and trap Tipu behind locked doors.
