Skip to main content

Shiv Sena isn't keeping its Hindutva politics in sealed cover, yet seeks to ‘act’ secular

Uddhav Thackeray, Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar
By Adv Masood Peshimam*
The swearing of Uddhav Thackrey as Maharashtra chief minister has signaled an end of the stalemate in the government formation in the state, but it did not arouse much of applause and excitement in certain predominant Maharashtrian areas like Kalyan and Thane. The Shiv Sena for the very first time agreed that secular values could be part of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP).
Thackrey’s quest to integrate secular values is not liked by certain quarters, which were equally well disposed towards the Sena. Embracing secular values has not been the cup of tea for the Thackray clan, which now faces a poignant moment with the new-found love for secular values.
Facing the implausible situation with his hardcore followers adhering to communal politics, Uddhav Thackray has, of course, tried to dilute the impact of his alliance with the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine. Even as asserting his adherence to the tenets of secularism, Uddhav Thackray said, Hindutva ideology is quite indispensable to the Shiv Sena, which could not be discarded.
It is believed that the statement is dictated by political compulsions. It is more directed towards BJP rather than to the Congress-NCP combine, which would need to be prevented from appropriating the vast chunk of Hindutva votes. Uddhav Thackrey can’t keep his Hindutva in the sealed cover, since it is this alone which catapulted him into power.
Relations between the Shiv Sena with the Congress have a history. In fact, the Shiv Sena owes its existence to the Congress. In the sixties, the Congress faced increasing influence of Leftist trade unions. The growing influence of Leftist trade unions in particular and the labour movement in general had its impact on elections.
The Congress faced such a tough electoral scenario that the uncrowned king of the then Bombay, SK Patil, had to bite the dust at the hands of George Fernandes. The Congress felt it necessary to checkmate the Leftist influence in Bombay. The birth and nourishment of the Sena was promoted as a tool to combat this trade union influence.
Primarily, the Shiv Sena took up the cause of sons of the soil against south Indians with the narrative that the south Indians, well equipped with English, had occupied much of space in the realm of employment at the cost of the locals. The campaign ignited animosity against the south Indians.
The movement to protect the interests of the sons of the soil led to fascination for the Sena among the locals. With the passage of time, the Sena backed by the Congress, particularly late VP Naik, and thus struck deep roots in the state. The Shiv Sena successfully played the outsider card to enhance its strength and clout.
The ever growing clout of the Sena with the alleged softness of the police led to a situation in which migrants felt threatened. But it was communal politics which offered even greener pastures than the anti-migrant stance. Hence, given the later dynamics of the situation, the Sena joined hands with the saffron shade of politics. The Sena was transformed from an anti-migrant entity into a deeply communal entity.
Bal Thackeray with Indira Ga ndhi
The Congress not only gave birth to the Sena but gave it a kid glove treatment concerning its alleged role in the post-Babri communal violence that rocked Mumbai. The Justice Sri Krishna Commission indicted the role of the Sena and the Mumbai police. Recommendations of the Sri Krishna Commission were taken casually. The Congress ignored inconvenient facts, and the recommendations of the commission were reduced to a child’s play.
While the Congress promoted the fortunes of the Sena, and at times defended it, the Sena deemed it convenient to politically flirt with BJP and remained partners with the saffron party in the Maharashtra government. Yet, the Sena, despite remaining in government, had the cheek to criticize the BJP government for its acts of commission and omission.
The Sena continued to stone the BJP government despite living under the same political roof. Raj Thackray continued to be ruthless in attacking the BJP government. Series of his speeches focused on building a case against the BJP government at the Centre and the state. Raj Thackrey kept swinging the pendulum against BJP at the instance of Sharad Pawar. Thus, Raj Thackray remains the only cock in the farmyard.
Now the BJP-Sena imbroglio has given way to the formation of the Sena-Congress-NCP government, it is expected of the Sena to play a somewhat secular card, despite its assertiveness of the Hindutva brand of politics not to discomfort other partners, who very much depend on secular votes, though their secularism is more of opportunistic than ideological, but a lesser evil.
---
*Based in Kalyan West, Maharashtra

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.