Karnataka horticulture minister and producer Munirathna has called off his movie project based on the lives of fictitious characters – Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda.
The decision came after the minister met the Adichunchanagiri seer Nirmalananda Swami.
Ever since the minister announced his decision to make a movie on Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, he has received major backlash from the Vokkalinga community.
BJP’s claims and aftermath
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims that Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda were chieftains who killed Tipu Sultan.
However, the saffron party’s narrative has been dismissed by many historians who said that the 18th-century Mysore ruler was assassinated by the British army. The Vokkaliga community also took offense.
The Karnataka Congress came down heavily on the BJP leaders for “creating new historical characters Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda ” and allegedly propagating that they killed erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan.
“This is a distortion of history for elections. This is an insult to the Vokkaliga community,” stated Congress state president D K Shivakumar.
Meeting with Vokkaliga seer
In the face of extreme backlash and accusations that the ruling BJP is trying to ‘distort’ history in order to gain votes in the upcoming Assembly elections, Karnataka horticulture minister and movie producer met the Adichunchanagiri seer Nirmalananda Swami (religious head of the Vokkaliga community) following which he announced the movie is shelved.
Speaking of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda ever existed, the minister said the topic is disputed.
“There is confusion surrounding Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda. As per the seer’s suggestions, I won’t go ahead with the movie,” he was quoted by The News Minute.
Alt News debunks BJP’s claims
The controversy began during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state this month. Ahead of his visit to Mandya district, a banner flex welcoming him with the fictional characters of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda was removed following protests from the locals.
The banner shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo in the middle flanked by Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda illustrations on both sides.
Soon after the incident, Munirathna announced he will make a movie based on the lives of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda.
Alt News editor and fact checker Mohammed Zubair tweeted stating the posters of his film did not feature Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda but Marudhu Pandiyars (Marudhu brothers) named Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu.
Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu were diarchal kings of the Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu who fought the East India Company in the 18th century. They were finally hanged by the British Army.
Zubair further shared a picture of BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai offering floral tributes to the portraits of the freedom fighters.
floral tributes to freedom fighter Marudhu Pandiyars
‘Stop polarizing communities’
Adichunchanagiri seer Nirmalananda Swami called out the saffron party for ‘propaganda’ and trying to ‘polarise’ different communities, all for the sake of votes.
“Whether it is C T Ravi (BJP national general secretary), C N Ashwath Narayan (BJP minister), or Gopalaiah (minister of excise) – whoever has spoken on this subject should keep quiet since we have presented the historical facts before them. We hope they will refrain from commenting on this subject and have understood the seriousness of this situation,” the seer said.
“Anything written with imagination can be termed as fiction. If we narrate what actually occurred in history, that will in fact give strength to the younger generation. Issuing polarising statements will only create confusion or misunderstandings in the minds of the society and influence the community in a wrong way,” the seer concluded.
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