Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has sparked a row after he praised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan for paying tribute to Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan.

Khan on May 4 took to Twitter to praise the valour of the 18th-century ruler of Mysore on his death anniversary.

“Today 4th May is the death anniversary of Tipu Sultan - a man I admire because he preferred freedom and died fighting for it rather than live a life of enslavement,” the Pakistan PM had said.

Tharoor lauded Khan for remembering Tipu Sultan but expressed disappointment that “it took a Pakistani leader to remember a great Indian hero” on his death anniversary.

“One thing I personally know about @imranKhanPTI is that his interest in the shared history of the Indian subcontinent is genuine & far-reaching. He reads; he cares. It is disappointing, though, that it took a Pakistani leader to remember a great Indian hero on his punyathithi,” Tharoor said, responding to Khan’s tweet.

Tipu Sultan, also known as Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu or Tiger of Mysore was famous in history for introducing administrative innovations during his rule, including his coinage and a new land revenue system which initiated the growth of the Mysore silk industry.

He was considered a pioneer in the use of rocket artillery and had deployed the Mysorean rockets against Britishers during the Anglo-Mysore Wars.

He died defending his capital Srirangapatna on May 4, 1799, when the British broke through a city. The French military advisers asked Tipu Sultan to escape through secret passages, but he replied, "Better to live one day as a tiger than a thousand years as a sheep.”

Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu or Tipu Sultan has been a highly controversial character in Indian history. Though many laud him for fighting the British till his last breath, a section of scholars and society also allege that he was a cruel and radicalised leader.

An article in the Economic Times states that: Various versions of history portray Tipu as a tyrant or as a far-sighted ruler... Underlining his party's stand, BJP's DH Shankaramurthy said: In an archived letter from Tipu to the Nizam of Hyderabad suggested: "Let us make this portion of India Hindu-Mukth (Red of Hindus)."

The same report also cites the same BJP leader and state Legislative Council chairman saying: "People of Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi still hate Tipu for the forced conversions and the rape of their women during his rule. The Moppalars of Malabar are all forced converts during his time."

As per a report in the Daily Pioneer, Tipu Sultan is said to have destroyed 8,000 Hindu temples and built mosques in their place in several parts of south India. In the Malabar region, Hindus were forced to hide the murtis of Triprayar temple when Tipu’s attack was certain.

"In the coastal belt of Mangaluru, Tipu destroyed 25 of 27 churches. The Bavutagudde masjid and several other masjids in Mangaluru were built on the remnants of the churches he destroyed. A town in Bantwal, where thousands of Christians were murdered by Tipu is called ‘Nettara Kere’, which means ‘lake of Blood’," states the report in the Pioneer.

The same report quotes Padmanabha Menon, a historian as having noted in 1934 that Tipu offered two options to the people he attacked: convert to Islam or die.