The Shiv Sena is very much in the news these days Bal Thackaray is dreaming of becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashta..
The Shiv sena, right from its birth in the late sixties has enjoyed the support of the ruling Congress. It’s very birth, it is alleged was patronized by S.K.Patil the then Congress boss from Bombay along with a noted non Maharashtnian industrialist to fight the communist menace and to break the back of the trade unions run by them. In the mid-sixties India was facing acute industrial recession.
This resulted in a sharp rise of militancy in the working class movement. It was thought by the Congress boss and his industrialist friends to organize a section of the Bombay underworld under the hegemony of Bal Thackaray who would exploit the regional feelings of discrimination .Due to industrial recession a large number of Marathi youth was finding it very difficult to get employment. Naturally therefore the Sena Chiefs tirade against loongiwalas (a typical South Indian male apparel) developed great appeal for the Marathi youth.
Though, the Sena began as a regional chauvinistic organization, it had right from its inception , a strong Hindu communal character as well. However, in its first phase communalism seemed to have been subsumed under regional chauvinism . However, it tended to merge as a communal body at the slightest opportunity.
“Though, the Sena began as a regional chauvinistic organization, it had right from its inception, a strong Hindu communal character as well. However, in its first phase communalism seemed to have been subsumed under regional chauvinism. However, it tended to merge as a communal body at the slightest opportunity.”
The Sena showed its communal fangs in the Kausa riots in 1970 (Kusa is a town some 40 miles from Bombay which has a substantial Muslim population). Also it participated quite actively in the Bhiwandi riots of 1971.
Soon the Sena developed electoral ambitions and began to draw the middle class cadres as well. Funds were never a serious problem for the Sena. It got money not only from the underworld and industrialists but also through bullying and extortions. Thus in 1973 Bombay Municipal Corporation elections it fully exploited the Vande Mataram controversy (the Muslims objected to the singing of Vande Mataram in municipal schools) to capture a sizeable number of seats. It even succeeded; in collusion with the Muslim League councilors to get a Sena mayor elected (this was repeated again in April, 1988 when the four Muslim League councilors voted for the Sena candidate for mayoralty.
Thus the Sena assumed what can be called middle class respectability.
‘During and after the emergency the Sena was feeling isolated. Some papers wrote that it is a spent force. Even the ruling congress was no longer wooing it. Thackaray was feeling completely alienated. But two developments once again gave him the necessary boost. First the emergence of Hindu fundamentalism and militancy in the postMinakshipuram phase. Secondly, the ruling congress under the leadership of Vasantdada Patil, an astute politician, again needed the help of the Sena in his fight against the dissidents.
The extensive BombayBhiwandi riots on May 1984. Were engineered by the Shiv Sena. In fact the Sena commandeered all its antisocial elements to participate in these riots which soon spread to the entire BombayBhiwandi region which is the most industrialized one. They proved a turning point for the Sena and were engineered with an eye on the coming municipal elections in Bombay. The Sena was allowed to freely indulge in communal violence by the Maharashtra Government Vasantdada Patil, the then Chief Minister, was facing dissidents in his own party and needed Bal Thackaray’s belp in getting his candidate elected for the Rajya Sabha elections which were due then, It was at that time that the deal was struck and the Sena engineered communal riots to increase its Hindu appeal. This was not in vain subsequently; it did capture the Bombay Municipal Corporation.
Dada still needed Bal Thackaray’s support to teach the Congress dissidents a lesson. He did not want them to win in the Bombay Municipal Corporation elections. Instead he wanted the Sena (which was by now his informal political ally)to emerge on the scene. To enable the Sena to win, Chief Minister Patil made a statement on the floor of the assembly dropping a hint that the Central Government is likely to take over Bombay which he subsequently denied having said.
The Sena’s propaganda machinery immediately started working full steam. Thackaray roared that he would never allow to happen. No Maharashtrian would tolerate it. The Marathi papers in particular carried this propaganda full blast. Needless to say it paid rich dividends to the Sena.
“Thus regional chauvinism was replaced by communal chauvinism to gain political toehold in those areas. The Hindu card really proved to be the ‘trump card’ for the Sena.”
Thereafter Bal Thackaray’s ambitions began to soar. He wanted to penetrate into other parts of Maharashtra. The Corporation also becomes a rich source of income and the party could easily afford to finance its activities outside the city of Bombay. Also, with acquisition of power the Sena began to attract a large number of educated people which had earlier shunned it because of its antisocial character. But still one problem remained to establish a political base outside Bombay where other parties were quite well entrenched? Also, outside Bombay there was no feeling of “outside threat” as there were none “Madrasis” (South Indian) threatening the job prospects of the Maharashtrian in the interior of Maharashtra.
Thus regional chauvinism was replaced by communal chauvinism to gain political toehold in those areas. The Hindu card really proved to be the “trump card” for the Sena. The developments in Punjab and the Shah Bano and Babari Masjid agitations etc, had produced a great deal of resentment among the average middle and upper caste Hindus. The agitation by Dalits for their rights also created a lot of hostility among these Hindus. The Sena had also displayed anti Dalit characteristics and incited riots in Marathwada in 1983.
Thus the Sena used the militant Hindu idiom to gain entry into the interior of Maharashtra. It projected itself as the sole champion of the Hindu cause. As there was already such champion like the RSS, it had to be one up and adopt an increasingly militant tone.
Wherever it wanted to enter and establish a toehold, it incited communal riots. Thus a series of riots took place in Panvel, Nasik, Aurangabad, Nanded, etc. in May 1986. Again the Sena opened its account in Amravati with a riot in November 1986. In all these places the Sena established its branches. In places like Panvel it had even to clash with the already existing Hindu communal organizations like the BJP in order to project itself as better champion of the Hindu caste. Subsequently, riots took place in other places in Maharashtra like Jalgaon etc. Wherever some Muslim presence was there.
Some other factors too helped the Sena to gain easy entry in Maharashtra beyond Bombay. There is rampant unemployment and a great deal of discontent among the youth. The other political parties are not willing to provide these youth with any action oriented opportunity.
The Sena, on the other hand attracts the youth with militant Hindu slogans and provides the youth with an opportunity not only to act but also to lead. Moreover, militant Hindu slogans have great attraction for the middle caste youth as the Marathi newspapers encourage propaganda to the effect that the minorities are getting aggressive and the “Hindus are under siege”. The whole skyline of the Marathwada villages and cities is dotted with the saffron flag of the Sena.
The Sena won Bombay Municipal Corporation election held in April 1988. It won 27 seats whereas the Congress I could win only 18 out of 60 seats in its own stronghold, this victory further boosted the Sena’s morale.
It is surprising that the Sena won the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation elections despite the fact that there is a sizeable population of Dalits and Muslims in the town. There is one obvious reason for that. The Dalits and the Minorities have lost confidence in the ruling party. Thus Muslim votes were divided between the Muslim League and the Congress, the split favoring the Sena.
The Dalits have also been alienated from the Congress Aurangabad is the educational center of the Maharas. The Mahar votes went by and large to the Republican Party headed by Parkash Ambedkar Babasaheb Ambedkar’s son. Anti-Dalit riots in Marathwada in 1983 were a traumatic experience for the Dalits.
During the recent controversy about Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Riddles of Hinduism Under pressure from the Maratha Mahasangh the Maharashtra Government agreed to delete this portion. This was greatly resented by the Dalits.
The Shiv Sena took out a morcha joined by more than a lakh of Shiv Sainiks from all over Maharashtra to protest against the Riddles. It also gave front page advertisements urging upon the “pure blooded Hindus” to join the morcha couched in the most viciously communal language and signed by the Sena Pramukh Bal Thackaray.
It is Surprising that the major national dailies so prominently carried such a blatantly communal advertisement that smacked of Nazi propaganda.
“It also gave front page advertisements urging upon the “pure blooded Hindus” to join the morcha couched in the most viciously communal language and signed by the Sena Pramukh Bal Thackaray.
The Dalits took it as a challenge and tried to outdo the Sena in planning a counterdemonstration in support of the Riddles in Hinduism. All the factions of the Dalits united under the leadership of Prakash Ambedkar and staged a huge demonstration mobilizing almost half a million Dalits. It was quite an impressive mobilization indeed. Bal Thackaray was highly embarrassed. He had no option but to accept a compromise formula.
Bal Thackaray now had to look for another cause to refurbish his image as the ‘protector of Hinduism’. He accused the Sikhs in Bombay city of financing the terrorists in Punjab and gave a call for their economic boycott in the month of March.
His call boomeranged. He was strongly criticized by one and all. The Sikh priests in Punjab did not take him seriously. Three hundred newsmen from the city also strongly condemned this move.
It did prove acutely embarrassing to him and subsequently he withdrew the call.
But what is most shocking is that the Government of Maharashtra remained a silent spectator to all this. S.B.Chavan the then Chief minister, only held out empty threats to arrest Thackaray but could not dare to do. His helplessness was quite pathetic. It was obvious that the ‘Sena supreme was calling the shots. Chavan could not go beyond filing a case against the Sena chief in the last week of March, 1988 as per his announcement on the floor of the assembly on March 29.
The Sena which swears by Hinduism did not hesitate to take the help of the Muslim League in getting its candidate elected in the mayoral election of Bombay Municipal Corporation for 1988. In fact a communalist supports another communalist without any reluctance. ‘After all, their ends meet. Both want to exploit religion and religious sentiments for political purposes.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 17, 1989
