10/7/2014

The legacy of Bal Thackeray

The legacy of Bal Thackeray

People | Written by Sreenivasan Jain | Updated: November 17, 2012 18:15 IST
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MUMBAI: Controversial.
Communal. Demagogue. And
the only man who could bring
Mumbai to a halt. At the same
time: a talented cartoonist, a
master orator, a shrewd
politician and a hero who
fought for the rights of

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Marathis.
Depending on which side of the divide one is, these are the many
perceptions of Shiv Sena President Bal Thackeray, a figure who will go
down in Indian history as one of the most divisive and controversial
personalities.
Born in 1926 to Keshav Thackeray - popularly known as Prabhodhankar
after his magazine Prabhodhan - ironically, Bal Thackeray came from a
legacy of tolerance. His father was a social reformer who worked to
eradicate the evils of the caste system. In the 1950s, he was one of the
leading voices of the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement that was launched
to create a state for Maharashtrians on linguistic grounds. But the young
Thackeray would take from that movement, not too much of its progressive
and forward-thinking aspects, but its violent nature.
Along with RK Laxman, Mr Thackeray started his career in Bombay - as it
was then known - as a cartoonist for the prestigious Free Press Journal.
The talented Mr Thackeray was acclaimed for his clean strokes, his flair
for wit and his keen observation. In 1960, he started his own journal
Marmik - meaning poignant - which turned into a launch pad for his entry
into the political arena. It was then that the 'insider-outsider' debate
sparked off in Mumbai as he began targeting Gujaratis and South Indians,
accusing them of snatching jobs he claimed were meant for local Marathispeaking Maharashtrians. Marmik, in fact, even published names of
people from these two communities. Each list would end with a
provocative call: read and stay silent.
It was with this objective that in 1966, on Dussehra, Mr Thackeray
launched his party, the Shiv Sena at a mammoth rally held at the Shivaji
Park in Dadar in central Mumbai. As the rally broke up, the crowds spread
out to attack the "outsiders" and the city got its first brush of Sena's politics
of violence. Though there was widespread condemnation, the Sena
justified it calling this their fight for the sons-of the-soil. In 1970, the Sena
launched a campaign against them and Mr Thackeray's workers were
accused of murdering Krishna Desai, a stalwart communist leader. The
Left also accused the Congress of supporting the Sena so as to end its
hold on the city's working class and trade unions.
Mr Thackeray had by now been able to successfully build a massive
personality cult. Unlike other khaki-clad leaders, he openly smoked pipes,
wore sun-glasses and even drank beer - an image that was in stark
contrast to the growing hooliganism of his workers. Even his fiercest
critics won't deny that Mr Thackeray was perhaps the most charismatic
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The legacy of Bal Thackeray

mass leader Maharashtra has ever seen. A master orator, Mr Thackeray's

followers grew in numbers as he would continue to rouse the crowds with
his fiery and often vitriolic speeches which would invariably always be
punctuated with pot-shots and under-the-belt remarks taking on his
political rivals. His supporters loved him and would wait for the Sena's
annual Dussehra rally to hear their 'Balasaheb' speak. This mass hysteria
gave him a larger-than-life appeal, all without once holding any public
office.
In 1984, the new credo of Hindutva got the Shiv Sena and the BJP to join
hands in Mumbai and Maharashtra. To propagate his cult-hood, Mr
Thackeray too went for a makeover. Dressed in white or saffron robes,
with a blazing tika on his forehead, Mr Thackeray would sit on a massive
silver throne. Two to three necklaces made of rudraaksh beads would add
to the image of his new avatar - that of a Godman.
The most serious allegation Mr Thackeray faced was of being communal
and anti-minorities. From South Indians and Gujaratis, the Sena had a
new target: Muslims. The fallout of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement had
caused tension across the country. Thackeray used his party newspaper
and mouth piece, Saamna, in which, just on the eve of the Babri Masjid
demolition, he wrote an incendiary editorial, "Towards Ayodhya". He is
quoted as saying, "Now, no one can stop the construction of the Ram
temple at Ayodhya. An ocean of millions of Ram devotees is surging to
Lord Ram's Ayodhya. Our brave Shiv Sainiks are also joining in."
It is still contested if Shiv Sainiks actually took part in the demolition. But
Thackeray is believed to have said that if that was true, then he was proud
of them. The CBI, however, named him as one of the accused in the Babri
demolition and accused him of conspiracy.
The 'anti-Muslim' tag, earned greater currency post the demolition as the
terrible communal riots in 1993 tore Mumbai apart - some say forever.
Over 1,000 Muslims were killed and once again, the Sena was accused of
playing an active role. Perhaps, the strongest evidence to support Mr
Thackeray's alleged hatred for Muslims is found in the report compiled by
the Justice BN Srikrishna Commission which looked into the riots and
indicted Thackeray and Sena leaders.
In a searing comment, Justice Srikrishna said, "There is no doubt that the
Shiv Sena and Shiv Sainiks took the lead in organising attacks on
Muslims and their properties under the guidance of several leaders of the
Shiv Sena from the level of Shakha Pramukh to the Shiv Sena pramukh,
Bal Thackeray who, like a veteran General, commanded his loyal Shiv
Sainiks to retaliate by organised attacks against Muslims."
Mr Thackeray was tried and acquitted in several cases but only for hate
speech and never for conspiracy and the mass killings. His party too
denied the accusation claiming had it not been for the Shiv Sena, Mumbai
would have burnt even longer. Much later, Mr Thackeray had issued a call
to form Hindu suicide squads to counter Islamic fundamentalism and terror
in India. But he would also soften his stance stating he was not against all
Muslims but only those who acted against the country's interests.
The riots led to a deep polarization and the Sena-BJP alliance swept to
power in 1995. Though Maharashtra was officially governed from its
Secretariat - Mantralaya - in South Mumbai, Matoshree, the Thackeray
residence in Bandra became the new power centre. Respected by a few,
but feared by all, politicians, industrialists and actors would be at the
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The legacy of Bal Thackeray

'Tiger's' beck and call, including the King of Pop, Michael Jackson who
posed with Thackeray and got clearance for his sole concert in India. It
was also an open secret that Congress leader and Bollywood actor Sunil
Dutt had to plead before Mr Thackeray, whose government had arrested
his son Sanjay, accusing him of being involved in the 1993 Bombay blasts
that followed the riots. It was this dominating influence over the city, without
officially holding any position that earned Mr Thackeray the nickname
'remote-control.'
Through fear and intimidation, Bal Thackeray ruled Mumbai.
Accused of being dictatorial and a demagogue, Mr Thackeray was quoted
by the Asia Week saying, "I am a great admirer of (Adolf) Hitler, and I am
not ashamed to say so! I do not say that I agree with all the methods he
employed, but he was a wonderful organiser and orator, and I feel that he
and I have several things in common... What India really needs is a dictator
who will rule benevolently, but with an iron hand."
But the honeymoon was short-lived. In 1999, his government was voted
out. Mr Thackeray could not even vote as the Election Commission had
banned him from voting and contesting elections for 6 years as he had
been found guilty of electoral malpractices. Out of power, the Sena
remained confined to only ruling Mumbai's civic body. The diatribe though
continued and the party turned into becoming the moral police and cultural
arbiter of the state. Mr Thackeray lampooned those who celebrated
Valentine's Day, his Sainiks vandalising shops that sold related
merchandise. His tirade against Pakistan grew fiercer and took an ugly
turn when Shiv Sainiks dug up the cricket pitch at the Ferozshah Kotla
Stadium in Delhi.
Yet, Mr Thackeray remained above the law. In 2000, he was arrested for
his inflammatory speeches by his former acolyte Chhagan Bhujbal.
Mumbai came to a standstill. But the arrest was seen only as tokenism
and Thackeray was let off.
The rhetoric of intimidation and violence was finding fewer and fewer
takers. In 2004, the alliance faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of the
Congress-NCP combine, never tasting power again. Then, two years after
the ignominy, the Thackeray family was split right in between, with his
charismatic nephew Raj Thackeray exiting the party, angry that
Thackeray's son Uddhav was being projected as the heir to his father's
throne.
Mr Thackeray faced further embarrassment, as right under his nose, Raj's
new outfit - the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena - sharply cut into the Sena's
Marathi vote-bank. To counter this loss, the Sena found a new target to
'appease' the Marathi Manoos: the city's North Indian population. To
create a fear psychosis, a few taxi and auto rickshaw drivers, vegetable
vendors, milkmen - all migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were
attacked, forcing many to leave the city. Again, in a provocative editorial,
"Ek Bihari, Sau Bimari" (One Bihar, Hundred problems), he slammed
them as an unwanted lot.
The party that had rechristened Bombay as Mumbai also targeted local
boy and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar for his statement that "Mumbai
belonged to India." Actor Shah Rukh Khan was also not spared when he
spoke in favour of Pakistanis playing in the Indian Premier League.
As his party's political fortunes declined - losing even the 2009 state
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elections - so did Mr Thackeray's health. In his last Dussehra rally speech

in 2012, the ailing leader couldn't make it in person and the Sena played
out a pre-recorded video message. Frail, his hands shaking, Mr
Thackeray knew he was sinking. Unseen ever before, with folded hands
Mr Thackeray pleaded to his followers to support his son Uddhav.
If there was any solace in his final days, it was the Sena's splendid victory
in 2012 Mumbai civic polls and also in the first glimmerings of a patch up
between his son and estranged nephew.
However, it still remains uncertain what they will make of the Thackeray
legacy. His admirers see it as asserting the rights of the Marathi manoos.
But his critics see as one of great paradox: of a man who injected a
culture of intolerance into the veins of India's most tolerant city.

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