The Shiv Sena is a popular Indian political party which has made headlines, time and again. This far right party is guided by the typical pro Marathi ideology and Hindu nationalism. Its founder, Shri Bal Thackeray, brought the party into existence in 1966. All members of this party, make themselves known as Shivsainiks and the movement for which this party was formed, was to demand preferential treatment for the Maharashtrians, over the people who migrated to the city.
About the origin of the party
Bal Thackeray was a Mumbai based cartoonist before he started this party. He used to publish his works of satire in the weekly magazine ‘Marmik’. It was through this magazine that he began expressing his ideas on the whole migrations system. This led to the founding of the Shiv Sena on 19 June 1966. The party unemployed Marathi’s in large numbers, who then began getting involved in attacks on south Indian establishments, forcing them to employ Marathi’s as well.
Today, the party is headed by Bal Thackeray’s son, Uddhav Thackeray, who became the party leader in the year 2004. Now, after his father’s death, he is the leader of the party but refuses to take on the title of ‘Sena Pramukh’.
The structure of the party
Being the founder and the leader of the party, it was mostly Bal Thackeray himself, who was seen taking all major decisions related to the conduct of the party. The members and activists of the party, who called themselves Shiv Sainiks, were responsible for implementing the actions of their leader.
During his last days in the year 2012, owing to ill health, Bal Thackeray ensured that the day to day affairs of the party are carried out and overlooked by his sons Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray. At that time, son Uddhav Thackeray had been entrusted with the leadership of the Yuva Sena, which is the young wing of the party. However, later that year, after the death of Bal Thackeray, the reigns of the party leadership were handed over to him.
Since the year 1976, the party has maintained its headquarters at the Dadar locality of Mumbai. However, in order to address various issues of the party members and the locals in general, the party has instituted various ‘Shakhas’ that spread out all across Maharashtra and are responsible for overseeing the local issues in their respective localities. Owing to its objectives, the Sthaniya Lokadhikar has also affiliated with the Shiv Sena, where their main objectives are the preservation of the rights of Maharashtra’s people, in relation to employment.
Stories of internal conflict
When there is politics and a mass congregation of crowds collected at one place, there are bound to be clashes between people. It is said that Raj Thackeray, nephew of Bal Thackeray, left the party in the year 2005, owing to some internal conflicts, sparking controversies. The break away became even rife with speculation when he went on to form another party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Since, then, there have been frequent clashes between the two parties on several issues.
What are the ideologies of the party?
The party states that it is committed on an 80-20 percent strata to social service and politics. According to party data, it is believed that the Shiv Sena has played a central role in the freedom of five lakh slum dwellers in Dharavi, Mumbai. The anti Dalit party has come forward to place its views in favour of the Marathi’s and has clearly opposed Namantar Andolan. The party has also shown active protest against Pakistan and actively opposes any Indian Pakistan activity.
The Shiv Sena has bagged an entry into the Guinness World book of records for collecting the maximum amount of blood in a day. Time and again, the party has come forward to help fellow citizens such as in the case of drought affected farmers in the Marathwada region in 2015.
Alliance of the Shiv Sena with the Bharatiya Janata Party
The party is based and originated on the Hindutva ideology. However, over the years, it was felt that the ideology of the party was weakening. Therefore, since the year 1989, the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party, have been in a coalition with each other, both, for the Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra Assembly. However, this marriage of the two parties came to an end in 2014, over seat issues in the Maharashtra assembly elections. After that, the two parties contested the elections independently. The Bharatiya Janata Party received a major win over here and after further negotiations between the two parties, they now govern the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation together today.
The election symbol of the party
As approved by the election commission of India, the party has a symbol of a bow and arrow, drawn on a saffron flag. The symbolism of this emerges from the strong Hindu nationalist sentiment that the part reserves. It relates to the proper symbolism used in Hindu temples and the tilak that is drawn across the forehead. The purpose of the bow and arrow is to symbolise hitting the target and again, this reserves a special relevance in the Hindu mythology, which is why it was brought into use by the party. Therefore, the party manifests its ideologies and practices in a very transparent manner that is deeply religious, ethnic and regional. Owing to the farfetched ideologies of the party, it is also a symbol of being an enemy to anyone who is not a Marathi. This has made the party an extremely fascist and extremist party in the modern times, which becomes very visible through the use of their unique party symbol.
The final say
Despite its extremist nature, the Shiv Sena is a popular party in the Maharashtra region. It has achieved many high accolades since its inception and continues to do so even today. The leaders of the party still walk along the original ideologies of its fathers.
