Shiv Sena (1966–2022)
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Shiv Sena or शिव सेना (meaning Army of Shiva, referring to Shiva) is a political party in India founded on June 19, 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who is the president of the party. The party ideology is based on the 'Bhumiputra' (Marathi for "Sons of Soil"), which holds that jobs in Maharashtra should go only to native Maharashtrians and Hindutva or Hindu nationalism.[1] In the 13th Lok Sabha (1999-2004), it had 15 (out of 545) members. During that period, the party was part of the government coalition at the national level. Manohar Joshi, a Shivsainik, was the Speaker of Lok Sabha 2002-2004.
Shiv Sena has its employment cell Shiv Udyog Sena. Bharatiya Kamgar Sena ("Indian Worker's Army"), a labour union, is affiliated to the Shiv Sena. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena ("All India Students' Army") is the student wing of SS.
Origins of the Shiv Sena
Mumbai became the economic capital of India after the incorporation of the Bombay presidency in the Marathi-speaking state as part of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. However, the majority of the industry and trade continued to be owned by the people from outside the state, especially those belonging to the Gujarati and Marwari communities. The Shiv Sena was born out of a growing sense of resentment about the 'marginilization' of the native Marathi people to people from other states. [2] Thackeray, then a cartoonist for the Free Press journal, initially targeted South Indians in the 1970s by painting them as being foreign.[3] Thackeray later launched attacks on Gujaratis, Marwaris, North Indians, Biharis, followed by people from Uttar Pradesh.[4] Thackeray's charged slogans like "lungi hatao pungi bajao" (refering to the lungi, a Marathi word for the traditional men's dress in South India) and often fiery oratory attracted a large number of disgruntled and often unemployed Maharashtrian youth.[1] [5] The party later shifted to the Hindutva ideology after this period, with Thackeray launching verbal attacks on Muslims.
Party Structure
As the Pramukh of the party Bal Thackeray takes all major decisions. He even ran the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government of 1995 to 1999 with what he called a 'remote control.' In recent times, Thackeray does not concern himself with day-to-day activities of the party, which is run by his youngest son Uddhav. The Sena's shakhas (local offices) are spread throughout the state of Maharashtra. The shakhas decide upon most of the local issues in their particular cities or towns.[6]
Alliance with the BJP
The party has ruled the state in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The SS-BJP did however lose the 2004 state assembly election. SS is now the main opposition party in the state. The BJP-SS combine governs the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Traditionally the main strongholds of SS have been Mumbai and the Konkan coastal areas. However, in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the result was reversed. SS made inroads in the interior parts of the state, while suffering losses in Mumbai.
Achievements of the Shiv Sena
The Sena has claimed that it played a central role in the emancipation of 500,000 slum dwellers in the Dharavi area of Mumbai, the largest slum in Asia. It has been alleged that this scheme is fallacious but Thackeray has denied these allegations in the Shiv Sena newspaper 'saamna' [2]. However, he state's policy of gifting free houses to slum dwellers has been mired in controversy ever since it was introduced by the Shiv Sena-BJP government a decade ago[3] [4].
Under the Shiv Sena administration, nearly 40 flyovers in Mumbai and the Mumbai-Pune Expressway were constructed. This was a significant infrastructural boon to Mumbai. While successive State governments have been guilty of neglecting Mumbai's transport problems, the erstwhile Shiv Sena-BJP government drastically altered the course. By initiating a range of road schemes, it unequivocally opted for private, motorised transport in preference to public transport.[5]
The Sena has actively opposed the implementation of the Conditional Acces System (CAS) for cable television in Mumbai. The Sena has addressed problems with the (CAS) as being unfriendly to to consumers and to cable operators[6].
Lastly, the Sena runs public services such as the Shiv Sena ambulance service [7] and the Shiv Sena Rugnavahika Seva.
Controversial Activities of the Shiv Sena
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The Shiv Sena has frequently resorted to aggressive and forceful means for achieving their goals. The party has a history of organized protests, pickets, market shutdowns and bandhs that have been known to degenerate into riots. For instance, the Shiv Sena has frequently resorted to violent action as part of their campaign against what they deem as corrupting western influences on Indian culture such as Valentine's Day.[7] In 1998, Shiv Sainiks attacked movie theatres in Mumbai screening Fire, a controversial film based on a lesbian theme on the grounds that such films violated Hindu culture and ethos, and tried to intentionally defame Hinduism. As a result, the screening of the movie was withdrawn.
The Sena also has a history of sparking political violence against opposition members and minority groups like Muslims. In the 1970s, Shiv Sena members were believed to be responsible for killing Krishna Desai, CPI MLA from Parel. However, the attackers were not indicted for murder.[8] In 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 to investigate the riots following the Babri Mosque demolition in 1992. The incumbent B.J.P.-Shiv Sena government dismissed the Commission, but reinstated it after widespread public protests. The commission's report, finally published in September 1998 tried to indict Bal Thackeray and other members of the Shiv Sena for provoking most of the violence and murders but failed to make the indictment stick. In 1999, Shiv Sainiks damaged a cricket pitch in Delhi to prevent the Pakistani cricket team from playing there. They did so in an atmosphere of growing tensions between the two nations. On July 9, 2006, irate Shiv Sainiks blocked roads at Dadar in central Mumbai and damaged a police outpost after some unidentified miscreants desecrated the statue of Meenatai, the late wife of Bal Thackeray.[9] The party's statewide protests sparked isolated incidences of violence in Nagpur, Pune, Nashik and other cities in Maharashtra.[10]
References and Notes
- ^ a b ""Know Your Party: Shiv Sena"". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
- ^ ""Shiv Sena On The Threshold Of Disintegration"". The Indian Express via www.countercurrent.org. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
- ^ ""Shiv Sena Dangles Carrot For Dalits"". The Indian Express via www.countercurrent.org. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
- ^ ""Profile: Bombay's militant voice"". BBC news. Retrieved 2006-07-13.
- ^ Thackeray has responded to the media coverage of the 'sons of the soil campaign' by accusing them of emphasizing on what he describes as a minor issue and "vested interests and politicians" deflecting attention from the more productive activities of the Sena [1][dubious – discuss].
- ^ ""Know Your Party: Shiv Sena"". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
- ^ ""Tough love for Indian Valentines"". BBC news. Retrieved 2006-07-13.
- ^ ""Revolt In The Shiv Sena: death-knell for a fascist party?"". The Kashmir Times accessed via website of the Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières association. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
- ^ ""Shiv Sainiks run amok, Maha on high alert"". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2006-07-09.
- ^ ""Maharashtra faces the wrath of Shiv Sena"". The Hindustan Times. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
See also: List of political parties in India, Politics of India