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He was one of the original architects of Regionalism in Indian Politics...

He was the militant deviant who used identity as a tool... He was a cartoonist who turned Maharashtra politics on its head and carved a fiefdom for himself... He was the alchemist whose mix of religion and regionalism projected his shadow to darken the corridors of power in Delhi... He created the Shiv Sena and made it nationally relevant... His was the roar that earned for Bal Thackeray the sobriquet of THE TIGER of Maratha politics. Bal Keshav Thackeray ... a thin built frail looking man whose strength lay hidden in the power of his pen. As a journalist his articles significantly influenced thought in contemporary society. But the real Thackeray was brought alive through his cartoons. Balasaheb Keshav Sitaram Thackeray's father was one of the principal leaders of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. Art lover Keshav Thackeray moved away from Brahmanism and fought for the rights of all sections of society. He was a non traditionalist and even in the field of education he shunned traditional methods. The result was that Bal Thackeray never got to go to any traditional school or college. Balasaheb's father worked for a cinema company and that was where Balasaheb, saw the works of the famous English cartoonist David Low. Seeing those cartoons Balasaheb decided to become a cartoonist himself. The young Bal Thackeray first worked with Navyug and then with the Free Press Journal. In those years he would often fight with the owners of the Newspapers and quit his job in a huff and then be coaxed to join back. Finally he and some others got together a newspaper by the name of Nude Day. But Bal Thackeray never got along well with his South Indian counterparts. Finally on Aug 13, 1960, riding the wave of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, he and his brother Shrikant Thackeray began a magazine named Marmik...

That was the era when the demand for a separate state for Marathi speakers was gaining momentum...and unknown to all the foetus of Shiv Sena began incubating within the pages of the journal - Marmik...

Marmik rode the sentiments of the times and began projecting itself as not only the mouthpiece but as the arbitrator of Marathi sentiment... The formation of the Marathi-speaking state of Maharashtra did not help much. The capital then still called Bombay was a colourful city where Marathi expectations came up hard against the wall of its cosmopolitan identity. Discontent began to rise as people from all over the country continued to flock to the commercial capital of India and jobs went to the deserving irrespective of regional identity. Marmik used this condition to its advantage and began to dominate the conscience of the Marathi speaking majority. Bal Thackeray and his acerbic cartoons began targeting the perceived villains in the piece. Many a socialist and communist leader became subjects of Bal Thackeray cartoons. Bal Thackeray hit upon a great way to connect with the Marathi Manus particularly the unemployed youth amongst them. Bal Thackeray began printing the names of nonMarathi people employed in Mumbai's big banks and companies in the city. Underneath the list would be printed READ THIS AND KEEP YOUR CALM. Gradually Marmik began to gain in popularity and people began to listen to what Balasaheb had to say. Everywhere he went people began to seek his opinion... Keshav Thackeray possibly realised the hidden potential in his son and so advised Bal Thackeray to form a political organisation. In Marmik an advertisement came out Inviting Marathi speakers to become members of a new organisation...

On 19th of June 1966 Bal Thackerays organisation came into being with 20 thousand founding members. Bal Thackerays father christened the newly formed entity as the SHIV SENA... A few months later on the day of Dussehra ,at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, Shiv Sena held its first public rally. On the stage was present Adik Rao who would later go on to become one of the big leaders of Maharashtra politics. Bal Thackeray projected the Shiv Sena as the organisation that would fight for the rights and interests of the Marathi people...And as the first target of his campaign against nonMarathis Bal Thackeray chose the South Indian residents of Mumbai. Bal Thackeray had initially thought that he would stay away from politics and involve his organisation only in social service. But he realised that for the Shiv Sena to be able to be vehicle of change it had to fight and win elections. In the 1968 Mumbai Municipal Elections Shiv Sena entered the electoral fray. Bal Thackeray was still not confident of going it alone and so formed an alliance with the socialists. The same socialists who had once been the butt of his cartoons now became partners in politics. Thackeray aligned the Shiv Sena with the Praja Samajwadi Party and its leader Madhu Dandwate. But the election results were an eye opener...the Shiv Sena won 42 seats and Praja Samajwadi Party got just 11 The alliance between the socialists and Shiv Sena had always been doomed to failure and within a short time the partnership fell apart. But this was beginning of the domination of Bal Thackeray and his politics of confrontation and contradictions in Mumbai. Many a time would History repeat itself. Over successive years and with multiple partners the Shiv Sena would form short lived alliances only to break it off when they were at an advantage. Not only did the right wing Sena form alliances with mainstream

parties like the Congress and the socialists but there was a time when it even had an alliance with the Muslim League. It was only much later that the Shiv Sena and the BJP had a political partnership that stood the test of time. The Shiv Sena under Bal Thackerays guidance gained in strength in the Mumbai Thane region. In fact it was the rise of the Shiv Sena that completely eradicated the once strong influence of the communists from the city of Mumbai. The assassination of Krishna Desai the communist MLA from Parel threw the entire state into a tizzy. The needle of suspicion fell on the Shiv Sena... Even Bal Thackeray was thought to have been in some way connected to the plot. But the Police found nothing that they could pin on him. Similarly, in another case of an attack on the office of the communist party no evidence could be produced against the suspected Sena members. Balasahebs influence kept growing in Mumbai. His sainiks were ever ready to carry out attacks and resort to violence when ever Bal Thackeray so ordered. Bal Thackeray was arrested in connection to a riot in Dadar and he had to spend a month in jail. But that was the first and the last time that any government in Maharashtra found the political will to put the founder of the Shiv Sena behind bars ever again. Kamlesh The only time Bal Thackeray and his Shiv Sena kept a low profile was during the Emergency years...In fact in a surprising turn around the Sena were seen to be supportive of the very same Congress that they had time and again accused of stealing the rights of the Marathi Manus. This did not go down well with the traditional supporters of the Shiv Sena. When Emergency was lifted and elections announced...the Shiv Sena got a drubbing at the hustings... Bal Thackerays Sena paid the price of having been supportive of the Congress. Even in its strong hold of Dadar the Sena were routed. This defeat shook the Sena to its core. Some Sena leaders began to doubt Bal Thackerays ability to lead and guide the organisation...doubts were cast on his

leadership and decision-making ability...but like always the sena foot soldier never deserted their general...The rank and file of the party stood firm behind Bal Thackeray. Balasaheb himself has never openly commented about supporting the Congress party. In Mumbai the Shiv Sena continued to dominate and at times have been seen to extend tacit support to the Congress. In ..... the Sena supported Congress candidate Murli Deora for the Mayorship of Mumbai. Not just this in the 1982 mill workers strike in Mumbai, the Sena opposed the strike. The Congress government at that time wanted to minimise the influence of the popular labour leader Datta Samant and Balasahebs opposition to the strike proved beneficial for the Congress. But by then Bal Thackeray had begun to understand that supporting the Congress came at the expence of his Marathi vote. And so it was time for another volte face he used this very same strike as the excuse to break relations with the Congress. During this time the other big regional satrap in Maharashtra - Sharad Pawar was also out of the Congress party. He had formed the Samjwadi Congress, and along with Bal Thackeray and the fire brand socialist leader George Fernandes, they launched their attack on the Congress party. Bal Thackeray and his Shiv Sena were now firmly branded as an anti-congress setup. Bal Thackeray had always been a master at making a mountain out of a political mole hill...In 1985 he used an innocuous statement by the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Vasantdada Patil and used it to his extreme advantage at the BMC polls. That year for the first time the Shiv Sena won majority on its own and controlled the Mumbai Municipality. Next on Bal Thackerays agenda was to spread his wings out of the Mumbai Thane region and to expand the influence of his party. He began to adapt the Hindutva agenda to suit his Marathi agenda.

And it was his one time comrade Sharad Pawar who gave Balasaheb the opportunity to increase his influence. Sharad Pawar had by this time returned to Congress fold and so the voter in Maharashtra had been left with a void when it came to being opposed to the politics of the Congress. It was Bal Thackeray and his Shiv Sena that jumped in to fill this gap. They became the alternative to the Congress in Maharashtra. By this time the issue of Hindutva was gaining ground across the country... The BJP had upped its ante in Ayodhya and the Congress were increasingly on the back foot. Bal Thackeray jumped into the fray and aligned himself with the Hindutva cause. In 1987 the Vileparle assembly seat in Mumbai was won by the Shiv Sena on the Hindutva plank. BJP leader Pramod Mahajan worked out an alliance with Bal Thackeray....an alliance that survives till today. The minority communities had often been targeted by Balasaheb. But now he became more outspoken and direct in his attacks. In the days leading up to the babri Masjid demolition the Sena's anti-minority spiel reached its peak. And then came Balasaheb statements. Kamlesh In the Sena mouthpiece Samna Bal Thackeray wrote that it would make him very proud if Shiv Saniks become the ones who bring down Babri Masjid. This statement created a huge ruckus. This was followed by the Sena's role in the Mumbai riots. The Justice Sri Krishna Commission report accused the Sena of taking an active role in the riots. In the 1987 elections the party campaigned openly for the first time in the name of Hinduism. This did not go down well with the courts. Not only were the elections cancelled, but Bal Thackerays right to vote was suspended. The court observed that Thackerays actions were leading to an increase in hostility in society But this in no way managed to dent Bal Thackerays popularity with the Marathi Manoos. Where ever he went and whenever he spoke there were huge crowds that

gathered to just greet him. And finally in 1995 in Maharashtra Shiv Sena in alliance with the BJP came to power. Even at the centre there was the BJP led NDA government and Shiv Sena got 3 Ministries in the government. Manohar Joshi was appointed speaker of the Lok Sabha. The Shiv Sena had reached the height of its dominance. By the turn of the century the Shiv sena had lost power in Maharashtra and the questions of succession with in the Sena began to crop up. Bal Thackeray was still strong but then there were others around him who were coming of age and had political aspirations...

The names in contention for the mantle of the Shiv Sena were all from within Bal Thackerays immediate family... there were his sons and Nephew...and a series of accidents and deaths left Bal Thackeray shaken. In the final analysis the epitaph of this political leader from Maharashtra would always read Regional satrap History would never leniently judge the contribution Bal Thackeray made to the National polity. Because for all his grit and fortitude Bal Thackerays legacy would always be that of a fighter who fought to stay apart.

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