Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena (Marathi: शिव सेना Śiv Senā, meaning Army of Shiv, referring to Shivaji), is a far-right political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray. The party originally emerged out of a movement in Mumbai, (then called Bombay), broadly favouring increased influence of Marathis in Maharashtra. It built a strong base amongst the Marathi community in the sixties based on its ideology that Maharashtra belonged to the Marathi community and that they be given preference over migrants from other Indian states. Although the party's primary base is still in Maharashtra, it has tried to expand to a pan-Indian base. Gradually the party moved from solely advocating a pro-Marathi ideology, to one supporting a broader Hindu nationalist agenda as it aligned itself with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party has taken part in numerous Maharashtra state governments at several times and was a coalition partner in the National Democratic Alliance cabinet that ruled India between 1998-2004. Members of Shiv Sena are referred to as Shiv Sainiks.
HistoryOrigins
A poster from Shiv Sena's campaign against Valentine's DayKolkata
After the Independence of India in 1947, regional administrative divisions from the colonial era were gradually changed and states following linguistic borders were created. Within the Bombay Presidency a massive popular struggle was launched for the creation of a state for the Marathi-speaking people. In 1960 the presidency was divided into two linguistic states, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Moreover, Marathi-speaking areas of the erstwhile Hyderabad state were joined with Maharashtra. Mumbai, in many ways the economic capital of India, became the state capital of Maharashtra. On one hand, people belonging to the Gujarati and Marwari communities owned the majority of the industry and trade enterprises in the city.[1] On the other, there was a steady flow of South Indian migrants to the city, and who came to take over many white-collar employments. In 1960 Balasaheb Thackeray, a Mumbai-based cartoonist, began publishing the satirical cartoon weekly Marmik. Through this publication he started disseminating anti-migrant sentiments. On 19 June 1966, Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena as a political organisation. It should be noted that at the time of its foundation, the Shiv Sena was not a political party as such.[2] Early yearsThe political approach of the Shiv Sena was centred around the concept of bhumiputr (sons of the soil), the idea that Maharashtra inherently belonged to the Marathi community. The Shiv Sena was thus born out of a feeling of resentment about the relative marginilization of the native Marathi people in their own state by people whom they perceived as outsiders.[3] The Shiv Sena especially attracted a large number of disgruntled and often unemployed Marathi youth, who were attracted by Thackeray's charged anti-migrant oratory. Shiv Sena cadres became involved in various attacks against the South Indian communities, vandalising South Indian restaurants and pressuring employers to hire Marathis.[4] Another main characteristic of the early years of the Shiv Sena was the frequent struggles against communist trade unions. Prior to the formation of the Shiv Sena, the Communist Party of India played a dominant role in labour politics in Mumbai. The Shiv Sena was supported by elements inside the Indian National Congress, who hoped that the new organization would be capable of weakening the communist trade union influence. Soon Shiv Sena cadres were involved in a series of violent conflicts with the communist trade union activists. In 1970 the CPI MLA of Dadar, Krishna Desai, was assassinated. CPI charged the Shiv Sena for the murder, and held Thackeray as responsible for the act. Blood Donation:Guinness world recordOn the occasion of golden jubilee of Maharashtra’s foundation, Shiv Sena organized a jumbo blood donation camp on 25th April 2010. The camp was organized at NSE ground in Goregaon in Northwest Mumbai. This camp got huge response. Total 25062 blood bags were collected out of camp. Collecting 25062 bags of blood in single day in single camp created world record. The previous record was of around 17000 bags of blood collection in single day and in single camp. The new record established by Shiv Sena registered in Guinness book of world record. This camp was organized for marking the memories of martyrs of Sanyukta Maharashtra movement of 1950s which resulted in formation of Maharashtra on 1st May 1960. The day-long camp was inaugurated by party executive president Uddhav Thackeray early morning by donating his blood. Uddhav Thackeray declared to donate his blood for the farmers of Vidarbha who are suffering through bad time. 1995 electionThe Shiv Sena-BJP combine won the 1995 Maharasthra state elections. After assuming state government power, Shiv Sena began to redress its organisation. A 'Shivsena Rajyapramukh Parishad' convention was held in Mumbai six months after the election. At the meeting a large number of local party leaders and representatives of various wings of the party participated. The meeting filled the function of reorienting the party organisation to adapt to the new tasks of being a party in government.It renamed Bombay as Mumbai.[5] Shift to Hindutva and alliance with the Bharatiya Janata PartyThe Sena started placing more weight on the Hindutva ideology in the 1970s as the hallmark 'sons of the soil' cause was weakening.[4] With the shift to Hindutva, Thackeray increasingly made some controversial moves against Muslims and neighboring Pakistan. The party has ruled the state in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 1995-99. The Sena is the opposition party in the state along with the BJP since 1999. The Shiv Sena-BJP combine governs the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Traditionally the main strongholds of Shiv Sena have been Mumbai and the Konkan coastal areas. However, in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the result was reversed. The Shiv Sena made inroads in the interior parts of the state, while suffering losses in Mumbai. Raj Thackeray splitIn July 2005 Narayan Rane was expelled from the party, which sparked internal conflict in the party. In December the same year Raj Thackeray, Bal Thackeray's nephew, left the party.[6] Raj Thackeray later founded a new party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). After the split, clashes have occurred between followers of the two Senas. Although the MNS is a break-away group from the Shiv Sena, the party is still based on Hindutva and Bhumiputra ideologies. When unveiling the party in an assembly at Shivaji Park he said, that everyone is anxious to see what will happen to Hindutva.[7] When unveiling, he also said, "I shall elaborate on the party's stance on issues like Hindutva, its agenda for development of Maharashtra and the significance of the party flag colours at the 19 March public meeting."[8] Raj Thackeray considers himself an Indian nationalist (not just a regionalist) and claims that the Congress is two-faced.[9] Party structure
A Shiv Sena flyer in Nedumangad, Kerala
As the Pramukh (Chief) of the party Balasaheb Thackeray takes all major decisions, and has claimed that he ran the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government of 1995 to 1999 with what he called a 'remote control.' Activists and members of the Shiv Sena call themselves Shiv Sainiks, and carry out most of the party's grassroots work. In recent times, Thackeray does not concern himself with day-to-day activities of the party, which is run by his youngest son Uddhav Thackeray. The recently refurbished Sena Bhavan located in the Dadar locality in Mumbai has served as the headquarters of the Sena since 1976.[10] The Sena's shakhas (Branches) spread throughout the state of Maharashtra as well as in selected locations in other states decide upon most of the local issues in their particular cities or towns.[4] Electoral performance
Recent electoral victoriesThe Shiv Sena achieved electoral victories in local Maharashtra elections on February 2007, together with their partner the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and are set for another five year term.[30] They have achieved this on the platform of preference to Maharashtrians, which appealed to their vote bloc. The victory was noteworthy for reasons more than one. It means that by 2012, when the next BMC elections are due, the Shiv Sena would have ruled over Mumbai for an uninterrupted spell of 20 years. It was also a relief to the Junior Thackeray who personally supervised the campaign strategy.[31] The Sena-led combine, which had suffered serious reverses in all the assembly by-elections in the past two years got 111 of the 227 seats. Out of the declared 226 seats, the Sena has won 83 seats, BJP 28, the left-wing opponents, the Indian National Congress won 71, and other opposition groups Nationalist Congress Party won 14 and MNS won 7.[30][31] WorkClaims of benefits to MaharashtraiansSupporters of the Sena have claimed that the party has benefited the Marathi Manus (Marathi man) in Mumbai,[32] especially in the public sector.[33] Dharavi emancipationThe Sena claims to have played a central role in the emancipation of 500,000 slum dwellers in the Dharavi area of Mumbai, the largest slum in Asia.[34] However, the state's policy of giving free houses to slum dwellers has been mired in controversy ever since it was introduced by the Shiv Sena-BJP government a decade ago.[35][36] Improvements in infrastructureIn addition, the Sena has been active in trying to improve infrastructure in Maharashtra, particularly in the financial capital of Mumbai. Nearly 40 flyovers in Mumbai and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway were constructed under the Shiv Sena administration, which led to a significant infrastructural boom in Mumbai. While successive State governments have been guilty of neglecting Mumbai's transport problems, the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP government drastically altered the course. As quoted by a local newspaper, " by initiating a range of road schemes, the Sena unequivocally opted for private, motorised transport in preference to public transport." The report actually says that "critics castigate" this policy, pointing out that "only nine per cent" of the city's commuters use private transport.[37] These moves have been a crucial factor in its increasing popularity within India and the promises of further improvement have boosted the Shiv Sena's campaigns. OtherShiv Sena was involved in violence in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir on 14 July 2008, as they were blocked by Central Reserve Police Force personnel from marching towards Jammu city.[38] The Sena was demonstrating against a decision by the government of Kashmir to not hand over land to a Hindu shrine board, as the proposal had caused some of the largest protests in Kashmir's history, and stirred resentment and fears of "demographic dilution". Shiv Sena has raised the squadron on occasion since at least 1987, when 125 activists participated in what was termed "morale boosting" activities aimed at strengthening the Hindu community in Punjab during the 1980s insurgency there.[39] The group also vowed to send this squad to Srinagar in 2004 to hoist the Indian flag at the city's main intersection, Lal Chowk.[40] Later that year, the Shiv Sena attempted to disrupt India and Pakistan from playing cricket in Delhi.[41] Shiv Sena claims the members are willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believe is India's rightful existence as a Hindu nation.[38] ControversyBhumiputra campaignDuring its early years, the Sena occasionally resorted to violence and threats against people belonging to other Indian communities as part of its 'sons of the soil' ideology. In the early years of the Sena, the party's widely circulated Marathi language-weekly Marmik was instrumental in inflaming the anti-migrant sentiment in Mumbai's Maharashtrians.[42] Thackeray, then a cartoonist for the Free Press journal, initially targeted the growing number of South Indians by inflammatory slogans like "lungi hatao pungi bajao" (referring to the lungi, a Marathi word for the traditional men's dress in South India),[4] and "yendu gundu" (a derogatory description of the Dravidian languages spoken by the people from South India).[43] During this period, Shiv Sainiks launched a string of attacks on the South-Indian owned Udupi restaurants that were becoming popular in Mumbai.[42] In a similar manner, Thackeray later targeted Gujaratis, Marwaris, Biharis, and other Muslims from North Indian states like Uttar Pradesh ('UPites') through his speeches.[44] Moreover, Thackeray threatened a number of local industrialists and businessmen with action unless they offered preferential employment to Maharashtraian people. Party violenceThe Sena has been accused of being involved in coordinated political violence to propagate its ideologies and attack opposing ideologies. For this reason, it has sometimes been described as a militant right-wing group. In the 1970s, Shiv Sena members were accused as responsible for killing, Communist Party of India (CPI) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Parel neighbourhood in Central Mumbai. However, the attackers were not indicted for murder.[45] On 8 February 2006, Sena workers, led allegedly by Sena's student wing, attacked the office of the Zee TV channel, ransacking and damaging the office. The attack came in response to a satirical skit titled 'Kaka mala Vachva' (Marathi for 'Uncle, protect me'), staged during the awards function hosted by the channel at the Bandra-Kurla complex. The skit was reportedly a comment on the power tussle within the Thackeray family, which ultimately resulted in the exit of Thackeray's nephew Raj from the party some time ago.[46] In addition to its campaign against non-Maharashtraians in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena protests have been known to break down into violence and force in public in the name of protecting Hindutv from what it deems as corrupting western influences. The party has been involved in organized protests, pickets, market shutdowns and strikes that have been known to degenerate into violent clashes and in some instances riots. For instance, Shiv Sena activists have attacked shops in Mumbai selling gifts for Valentine's Day as part of the party's campaign against 'vulgar' western influences on youth.[47] Likewise, in 1998, Shiv Sainiks attacked movie theatres in Mumbai screening director Deepa Mehta's Fire, a highly controversial film based on a lesbian theme on the grounds that such films violated Hindu ethos and were immoral for Hindus to watch. As a result, the screening of the movie was withdrawn. Later, members of the Sena's Varanasi branch launched aggressive protests against the filming of Mehta's Water, on the grounds that such films were made with the designs of intentionally defaming Hinduism by portraying Varanasi and other holy cities in an inaccurate and negative light.[48] As a result of the protests, the location for shooting the film was shifted to the neighbouring Sri Lanka.[49] Allegations of violence against MuslimsThe Shiv Sena has also been accused of orchestrating violence against Muslims. The Sena is widely alleged to have played an active role in the riots in Mumbai following the demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992 in the north-Indian holy city of Ayodhya. On 23 January 1993, the then Congress-led Government of Maharashtra appointed Justice B.N. Srikrishna (then a sitting Judge of the Bombay High Court) to head a one-man commission with the task of investigating the riots. The Commission indicted the Sena for its direct involvement in coordinating the anti-Muslim riots, and accused Thackeray of "commanding his loyal Shiv Sainiks to retaliate by organised attacks against Muslims."[50] However, Thackeray was absolved of all criminal charges in July 2000 after seven years of judicial proceedings. However, the same report cited also says this: " India's Supreme Court has also found Thackeray guilty of inciting communal hatred against Muslims."[51] Additionally, as part of their efforts to hamper any collaboration between India and the Muslim dominated Pakistan, Shiv Sainiks have resorted to damaging cricket pitches in stadiums where the Indian and Pakistani cricket team were scheduled to play. The two most prominent instances of the Sena's targeting pitches are the destruction of the pitch at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium in 1991 and the vandalizing of the Feroz Shah Kotla Grounds pitch in national capital Delhi in 1999.[52] The Sena orchestrated these activities in an atmosphere of growing tensions between the two nations. Claims of tempered stanceIn an interview in 1998, Thackeray claims to have tempered his stance on many issues that the Shiv Sena had with Muslims, particularly regarding the Babri Mosque or Ramjanmabhoomi issue, saying: "We must look after the Muslims and treat them as part of us, as long as they are loyal to the nation, to the Constitution of Hindustan."[53] In addition, some members of the Sena claim that the party does not discriminate on the basis of religion and is based on pure nationalism.[54] Meenatai desecration protestsOn 9 July 2006, after some unidentified individuals desecrated the statue of Meenatai (the late wife of Bal Thackeray), Shiv Sainiks blocked roads at Dadar in central Mumbai and damaged a police outpost,[55] and later launched statewide protests mired with isolated incidences of violence in Nagpur, Pune, Nashik and other cities in Maharashtra.[56] Shiv Sena & MNS clashesOn 10 October 2006 clashes erupted between supporters of Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) headed by Raj Thackeray. It was alleged that workers of MNS had tore the posters bearing the photographs of Shiv Sena Supremo Bal Thackrey near the SIES college in Mumbai. Later as retaliation it was alleged that Shiv Sena workers brought down the hoardings with Raj Thackeray's photo near the Sena Bhavan at Dadar. As the news spread about the incident groups gathered near the Sena Bhavan and started pelting stones at each other. In this incident a policeman was injured and many supporters of both parties were injured. To restore normalcy in the situation the police fired tear gas shells at the mob. Normalcy was eventually restored following police action and the appearance of Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray on the spot. Uddhav appealed to Sena workers to go back home.[57] He said:
The division chief of the Shiv Sena Milind Vaidya said that they had lodged a complaint with the local police against an MNS worker who was involved in the incident. MNS general secretary Pravin Darekar, however, pinned the cause down to local elections in the SIES college. He alleges that the Sena is concerned about losing their hold over the colleges and that is why they are trying to color the issue, adding that the Sena's allegations had no merit. Raj Thackeray asserts that MNS could not have vandalized the pictures, seeing as how he and his members revere Bal Thackeray.[58] Legal supportShiv Sena voiced support to the terror accused of the Malegaon bombings of 2008, Pragya Singh Thakur.[59] Shahrukh Khan ControversySince early February 2010, the party has held to ransom, the release of a much awaited Bollywood film, My Name Is Khan, directed by Karan Johar, starring Shahrukh Khan as the lead actor. Menacing dictates came from the Sena chiefs to stop the release of the film following comments by the actor in support of inclusion of Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League, 2010, as well as his comments where he had stated that he was an "Indian first" as opposed to being a person of the state first. His being a north Indian (v.s.) and belonging to the Muslim community added to his plight in the city that is "controlled" by the Sena, though not ruled by it. The matter seemed resolved for a while, but in spite of making a public statement that they would not disrupt the screening, Shiv Sena cadres have been burning posters and objecting to the release. Over 1600 people have been taken into preventive custody and over 10,000 police personnel deployed to protect movie theaters against wanton violence by the Sena. Attack on CNN-IBN officesThe offices of Hindi and Marathi TV news channels IBN-7 and IBN-Lokmat in Mumbai and Pune were attacked and vandalised by Shiv Sena activists on 20 November 2009.[60] Shiv Sena attributed the attacks to the criticisms of Balasaheb Thackeray by the news channel over his remarks on Sachin Tendulkar. Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut described the attacks as "spontaneous". Various Shiv Sena spokespersons have been justifying the attacks.[61][62]. According to Shiv Sena leaders this was not an attack on media but it was a personal attack on Mr Nikhil Wagale who is chief reporter of IBN Lokmat (a Marathi news channel). Over last few months Mr Nikhil Wagale was continuously targeting Shiv Sena for any reason. It crossed the height of tolerance of Shiv Sainiks and resulted in to attack on office. Common man of Maharashtra also supported this attack saying “Nikhil Wagale” always crosses the speech limit and misuses the media power. See also
Further readingBooks — Marathi
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