WHEN THE TOOTHLESS TIGER ROARS

In the last few weeks Mumbai was the centre of all the political action. It all started when ShahRukh Khan criticized the IPL for not handling the Pakistani cricketers issue in a proper fashion. This gave Shiv Sena the golden opportunity to start a series of attacks on the actor. This was followed by a bigger thriller- The Rahul Gandhi visit to Mumbai. Shiv Sena had threatened that they won’t let Rahul Gandhi step in Mumbai as he had advocated the idea of ‘India for all’ and ‘Mumbai for all’. The protagonist for all the above cotroversies was none other than Bal Thackeray.

Just to get a sense of Bal Thackeray’s brand of politics, it is important to know how it all began. Thackarey began his career as a talented cartoonist with the Free Press Journal newspaper in the 1950’s. But the ‘politician’ Bal Thackarey was born a decade later in the 60’s. Not surprisingly, it was the Congress that gave Thackarey a free hand to tighten his grip on Mumbai based industrial unions as the CPM influence was growing during the same period. This was done with the intention to safe guard the Congress bastion. Thackarey was leading an anti-migrant campiagn even then. The only difference was that it was against the South Indian & Gujaratis. Thackarey’s claim was that Bombay belonged to Marathis and jobs should be reserved for Marathis not the ‘migrants’.

Thackarey’s main problem is that his outlook & issues have never been consistant. In his four decade political career he has changed his political issues from time to time. After dropping the anti South Indian-Gujarati issue in the 70’s, he shifted his focus on the anti-muslim issue. And as that issue lost steam over the years, he got back to the anti-migrant issue but this time it was against the migrants from U.P & Bihar. Not to forget that some of the other highlights of Shiv Sena have been campaigns against western culture, especially against Valentines Day.

The only consistency that Thackarey has displayed in the four decades while spearheading these issues, are the tools for communication he has used to convey his message. And these tools are- violence, vandalism, hate speeches, vitriolic articles, threats, provocations etc. Thackarey is a staunch believer of hate politics. Many termed him as the ‘remote control’ of Bombay in the 90’s. This was the time when the Shiv Sena was not in power. The Shiv Sainiks never wasted an opportunity when it came to violence. The political class, bollywood, corporate India all shivered in front of him and no one dared to go against his wishes. The question of right and wrong never existed. Thackarey had just one message for everyone- that Mumbai, erstwhile Bombay was Thackarey’s jungle and he was the king.

But a lot has changed over the years. It took Thackarey 30 years from the time of Shiv Sena’s formation in 1966 to capture power. And it took just 5 years to let go of it forever. Even when the Shiv Sena was in power, the party really never did anything significant to uplift the Marathis. Thackarey has never had a real vision, even not for the Marathis. Reservation of jobs for Marathis is hardly a solution. And the kind of jobs which Thackarey is now demanding to be reserved are jobs like that of taxi drivers which in any case not many Marathis are willing to take up.

Even Thackarey’s son Uddav, has proved to be a complete failure. Though he did try to get away with the violent political practices, but with the party failing continuously over the last few years, he has also cracked under pressure. Taking a leaf out of his cousin Raj Thackrey’s book, he too has adopted the same course which his father did 40 years back.

Rahul Gandhi in a matter of four hours made the Shiv Sena realize that their argument has no support. It is about connecting with people. It is true that there was an army of policemen protecting Rahul during his visit, but Rahul in 4 hours was able to strike a chord with the Mumbaikars. By travelling in a local train or going to schools & colleges to interact with youngsters, Rahul connected with all Mumbaikars irrespective of the region or state or religion they belonged to. That is what Thackeray failed to realize over the years. What Rahul did in 4 hours, Thackarey has never been able to do in 4 decades. It’s about feeling the pulse of the people and responding to those aspirations.

So on one hand when icons like Sachin, Shahrukh, Mukesh Ambani talk about 'One India', Thackarey pounces on them forgetting that these people have truly contributed to India unlike Thackarey. Unfortunately we need more of Rahuls to make the Thackareys realize that his brand of politics is over and done with. We need a Mumbaikar Rahul to make him realize that.Unfortunately the likes of Pawar, Chavan and bollywood have made Thackarey live on the myth that he is still the tiger who can control the jungle (Mumbai) by roaring from his den. But someone needs to make him realize that he is now a toothless tiger and the jungle belongs to the lion now. And the lion is none other then the common ‘Mumbaikar’.

POLITICS OF VIOLENCE & HATE

Act 1: MNS MLA’s beat Abu Azmi, Samajwadi Party MLA in the Maharashtra assembly
Reason: For taking oath in Hindi and supposedly insulting the pride of ‘Marathi Manoos’

Act 2: Bal Thackarey warns Sachin Tendulkar in Shiv Sena’s mouth piece ‘Saamna’
Reason: For Sachin considering himself an Indian first instead of a Maharashtrian

Act 3: Shiv Sena goons vandalize IBN office (News Channel) & attack journalists
Reason: For showing true stories of Bal Thackarey’s politics

All the above incidents underline the chilling reality that haunts Maharashtra politics; Politics of Violence

Bal Thackarey has built his political career on the premise of violence & hate for over four decades. It began in the 60’s when he spearheaded the hate campaign against south Indians in Maharashtra. But the real rise of Thackarey was seen in the 90’s when he incited his party workers to kill Muslims in the aftermath of the Babri Mosque demolition. Sadly his party, the Shiv Sena along with ally BJP captured power for the first time in Maharashtra in 1995. This was the first election in the state after the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1992-93 and the 1993 Bombay blast. Known for his controversial politics, Thackarey has through out his political career not only spoken against Muslims, north Indian & south Indian but also appreciated the acts of violence carried out by his party workers.

Following his foot steps is his estranged nephew Raj Thackarey, the supremo of MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena). Raj might have drifted away from his uncle and started his own separate political outfit, but when it comes to violent methods the nephew has surely made his uncle proud. From 2006 onwards Raj’s MNS workers have constantly attacked north Indians (U.Ps & Biharis). And now with his goons also entering the Maharashtra Assembly and demonstrating on the very first day their idea of politics, things do not look any better

The only silver lining has been voters’ rejection of Bal Thackeray’s brand of politics. That is precisely the reason for senior Thackeray’s frustration. Both uncle and nephew are now fighting for the common cause and stooping down to reprehensible violent methods to endorse their ideology. Bal Thackeray is at the fag end of his political journey. All this while he hoped that his son and executive-president of Shiv Sena, Uddav Thackeray would carry forward his legacy. But Uddhav lacked Thackeray Snr charisma which gave his cousin Raj the perfect opportunity to tap.

The biggest factor for the rise of the Thackeray’s is with out any element of doubt the Congress. From the 70’s till date Congress which was always in power deliberately ignored the ring leaders who have led and spearheaded hate campaigns against different communities. Throughout the Congress has acted as a mute spectator.
Come 2006, Raj Thackeray’s MNS restored to the same violent methods The Congress led government remained a mute spectator again. It was only when the situation got out of hand completely and after much criticism not only from different parts of the country but international media did the government arrest Raj. But the Congress eventually succeeded in its goal. By letting Raj grow into a monster it was able to divide the Marathi vote which directly benefited the Congress. Thanks to Raj, Congress-NCP combine is back in power. Today both Shiv Sena and the MNS have the audacity to attack anyone, anywhere in Maharashtra. It doesn’t matter whether you are a student or a taxi driver or a journalist or a corporate worker or a common man. It is all about intimidation and cheap publicity at any cost. So what if Shiv Sena’s influence is eroding? Bal Thackeray still considers himself a tiger against no one can speak but mind you, he can speak against anyone like a dictator. Similarly Raj with just 12% of the vote share holds the right to beat any north Indian for not knowing Marathi or rather not respecting Marathi pride. So is the Congress going to stop them? To kill one monster it has to let the other one grow into an even bigger one!!

Unfortunately, Maharashtra is slowly becoming synonymous with the Thackareys; thanks to their ‘hate’ politics. This state has given India stalwarts from different walks of life. From cricketers like Gavaskar & Tendulkar to artists like Lata Mangeshkar & Madhuri Dixit to social actvists like Medha Patkar, Anna Hazare & Baba Apte to army General Arun Shridhar Vaidya. It’s a sad irony that the man who empowered every Indian with the freedom to speak in any language, follow any religion & work in any region was also a Maharashtrian. That man was none other than the architect of the Indian constitution- Babasaheb Ambedkar.