Did Karnataka's Republic Day Parade Tableau Show Tipu Sultan? No, Pic is Old!

Karnataka's tableau for 2025 featured artistic temples of the historic city of Lakkundi.

Fact-Check: This image is from 2014 and not recent as claimed. 

(Source: The Quint) 

An image featuring a tableau bearing the likeness of the 18th-century King of Mysore, Tipu Sultan, has gone viral on social media.

Users have claimed that the image shows Karnataka's state tableau during the recent 76th Republic Day parade.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false as the image is not recent.

• This photo shows Karnataka's parade tableau from 2014.

What we found: We ran a Google reverse image search on the photo and came across multiple media reports featuring this image.

• India Today's report from 26 January 2016 noted that Karnataka's tableau showcased the life of Tipu Sultan.

• The internet was divided and remarked that Karnataka appeared to have only Tipu, whom they claimed "killed thousands," while supporters of the Mysore king argued that he was among the few Indian leaders who opposed the British.

Here is the preview of the report.

(Source: India Today)

• NDTV also reported on the division in the sentiment of the people over the Tipu Sultan tableau in 2014.

• We, then, checked Karnataka's tableau for this year's parade and found that it showcased artistic temples of the historic city of Lakkundi.

The Hindustan Times story featured Karnataka state's tableau.

(Source: HT) 

• The front section of the tableau featured the Brahma statue from the Brahma Jinalaya temple, the oldest Jain temple in Lakkundi dedicated to Lord Mahavira.

• It was succeeded by the open-columned mantapa of the Brahma Jinalaya temple.

• The central part of the tableau showcased the magnificent and elaborate Kashi Vishweshwara temple along with the Nanneshwara temple, both honouring Lord Shiva.

• You can see a video of it as shared on Sansad TV's YouTube channel.

Conclusion: A misleading claim has gone viral that Karnataka's tableau at the 76th Republic Day featured Tipu Sultan.

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