Klaus Klostimer in his recent book "A survey of Hinduism " has gone overboard and charged Madhva with acting with violence and intolerance towards people belonging to other denominations.In fact the charge of intolerance against Madhva is a very old one.His virulent opposition to advaita philosophy and the fact that he went hammer and tongs in condemning it has shocked many people who have been brought up in the notion of a tolerant hindu ethos.Madhva's actions seem untypical of the mild hindu who accepts all religions are true and each to his own.
One must remember that Madhva did not conceive a system to please people.He at the outset says that not all will accept his philosophy.His works are the result of his conviction of what the truth really is and the result of his aparoksha jnana.He advises his followers to accept his philosophy after subjecting it to the test of reason and worldly experience and only if it agrees with their convictions.He asks us to first study all the 21 opposing philosophies and his own at the end to see for themselves the correctness of his philosophy.In fact he is totally against all types of impositions , as if a religion is practicised without conviction no merit will result from it.
His theory of classification of souls as sattvic , rajasic and tamasic , possessing inherent natures that predispose them favourably , neutrally , and hatred towards Vishnu precludes all attempts to forcibly convert anybody.
Infact he encourages a system of debate and discussion where one may sit and debate the pros and cons of each philosophy ,and ultimately choose one which satisfies ones inherent nature speaks of his democratic spirit.In fact he was such a great debater that he would only have to pose a few questions to the opposition , before they would get up and go away.The more diplomatic ones would promise to answer the questions next morning , but would make good their escape in the cover of darkness.
Infact , it is the advaitins who have indulged in violence in great degree towards the buddhists and jains and also vaishnavites.
In the southern state of Tamil Nadu, the advaitins organised a massacre of 9000 jain monks and even today it is celebrated as a festival.Shankara used to extract the promise from Jains and Buddhists that they would burn themselves alive if they were defeated , and having ensured his victory would enjoy the agnipravesa of the buddhists and jains.Advaitin texts have recorded these famous victories.