Sena fate: From roar to meow - Times Of India http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-11-29/mumbai/27855110_1_shiv-sena-meow... Mumbai The Times of India Advanced Search » Home City India World Business Tech Sports Entertainment Life & Style Women Hot on the Web Spirituality NRI IPL 2013 Photos Times Now Videos LIVE TV Mumbai Delhi Bangalore Hyderabad Chennai Ahmedabad Allahabad Aurangabad Bhubaneswar Bhopal Chandigarh Coimbatore Goa Gurgaon Guwahati Hubli Indore Jaipur Kanpur Kolkata Kochi Kozhikode Lucknow Ludhiana Madurai Mangalore Mysore Nagpur Nashik Noida Patna Pune Raipur Rajkot Ranchi Thane Surat Thiruvananthapuram Vadodara Varanasi Visakhapatnam You are here: Home > Collections > Shiv Sena Ads by Google ShareShareShareMore Sena fate: From roar to meow 0 0 S Balakrishnan, TNN Nov 29, 2005, 01.39am IST StumbleUpon Submit Tweet Recommend MUMBAI: No one would have imagined that the frail cartoonist in the corner of the Free Press Journal's office would one day have such an important role to play in the politics of Maharasthra. Bal Keshav Thackeray never pretended to be an intellectual but what he did have was a shrewd grasp of how deep and fast ran the sense of disenfranchisement among the Maharashtrian middle class in the mid-sixties. Ads by Google 20 Paise Extra per Euro Superior Exchange Rate & Zero Fee. 24/7 Service. Register Online Now! 1 of 5 4.8.2013 16:07 Sena fate: From roar to meow - Times Of India http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-11-29/mumbai/27855110_1_shiv-sena-meow... www.yesbankremit.in/Euro In 1960, the bilingual state of Bombay was bifurcated into Gujarat and Maharashtra, and after a bitter struggle, Bombay was retained as capital. But the Maharashtrians soon realised that they weren't really in charge of the city's destiny—the Gujaratis and Marwaris controlled big business while the white collar was worn by the South Indians, derisively referred to as the "lungiwallas". On the emotive plank of giving to the Maharashtrian youth what was rightfully his, the Shiv Sena was born on June 19, 1966 in Thackeray's flat in Shivaji Park. News of the foundling organisation spread rapidly, fanned by Thackeray's periodical 'Marmik'. RELATED ARTICLES The magazine began to publish lists of employees working in different companies—it was apparent that Lalu sidelining Maharashtrians in railway jobs: Shiv Sena most of the surnames were non-Maharashtrian. November 24, 2008 The lists which appeared under the goading caption, 'Vaacha ani gappa basa' (Read and keep quiet), had Shiv Sena looks back into Mumbai again the desired effect. South Indians were targetted with the war cry "Bajao pungi, bhagao lungi". April 15, 2003 'Mumbai first' is Sena's new bugle blast Vasantrao Naik's Congress used the Sena to counter the Communists who controlled the trade unions. April 15, 2003 Weakened as it was by the 1964 split, the Communist Party was in no position to stop the armed gangs of Sainiks. IN-DEPTH COVERAGE The 1970 murder of CPI MLA from Parel, Krishna Desai, by Sainiks prepared the ground for the party's Shiv Sena entry into the trade union arena. Shivaji Park Bombay Companies, especially those in the public sector, succumbed to the Sena's violent tactics and began Meow employing Maharashtrians in large numbers. A Reserve Bank employee says that 20 years ago not a word of Marathi was spoken in his office, but now one hears nothing but Marathi. 2 of 5 4.8.2013 16:07 Sena fate: From roar to meow - Times Of India http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-11-29/mumbai/27855110_1_shiv-sena-meow... The Sena thus succeeded in fulfilling a critical economic need of the Maharashtrians and in return was supported by a solid socio-political vote-bank. Industrialists rarely objected to the Sena's clout—since Thackeray ruled like a dictator, one phone call was enough to ensure peace on the shop floor. Ads by Google Fashion Online Shop Gr. Auswahl zu Outletpreisen hier! Finde Urban Fashion & mehr hier. www.vente-privee.com Ihr Foto als Poster Ihre Liebsten auf einem Poster - ganz einfach & individuell. Ab 1,90 www.posterjack.com The Sena's control over the Mumbai and Thane corporations helped it to get access to crores of rupees. As long as the Sena confined its activities to the Mumbai-Thane belt, Congress leaders like Murli Deora, who headed the party unit in Mumbai for two decades, never confronted the Sena. The real threat came when, from 1985 onwards, Thackeray started actively nursing aspirations to form a government. He forged an alliance with the BJP and sent his second rung to rural Maharashtra—Diwakar Raote to Marathwada and Narayan Rane to the Konkan. Threatened, the Congress engineered the Chhagan Bhujbal defection. But the Sena could withstand Bhujbal's departure by its virulent communal propaganda. Thackeray's anti-Muslim hectoring found ready takers since he made frequent historical references to Chhatrapati Shivaji's battles against the Mughals. The Shiv Sena took part in the anti-Muslim riots of January 1993 in a big way. By consolidating OBC votes and espousing the Hindutva agenda, the saffron alliance swept the assembly elections in 1995. By not installing himself as chief minister, Thackeray wisely kept his distance from scams like Dabhol, while 3 of 5 4.8.2013 16:07 Sena fate: From roar to meow - Times Of India http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-11-29/mumbai/27855110_1_shiv-sena-meow... making it amply clear that he held the remote control. Scores of Sena leaders who were made ministers made a killing—people who could not afford a vada pav were now moving about in Land Cruisers. But the exposure to power and pelf also engendered the 'fast-food political culture'. Party satraps like Ganesh Naik were willing to run the risk of revolt in order to be rewarded promptly with ministerial posts. In 1999, after five years in the opposition, the Marathas in the Congress recaptured power by forging an alliance with the Dalits. In 2001, a tired Thackeray decided to hand over the baton to son Uddhav, bypassing nephew Raj in the process, although he was politically senior. The clash between the cousins has weakened the party in the last four years and been ably exploited by the Congress which is backing Narayan Rane while the NCP is tacitly supporting Raj. A splintered Sena, led by the ageing Bal Thackeray, may never ever pose a threat to the ruling Congress-NCP. But it is still too early to write off the Sena. However, if Thackeray does not counter the challenge posed by a member of his own clan, the Sena's roar may soon be reduced to a meow. Ads by Google Date Sexy African Women African Dating and Singles Site. Find the Perfect African Woman Now! www.AfroIntroductions.com/Dating FEATURED ARTICLES More: 4 of 5 4.8.2013 16:07.