Shiv Sena (
IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...
to
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
regionalist and
Hindu ultranationalist political party in
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
founded in 1966 by cartoonist
Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra ...
.
Originally emerging from
nativist movements in Bombay (present-day
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
), the party agitated for preferential treatment for the
Marathi people
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
over migrants from other parts of India. Its election symbol for Maharashtra was the ''Bow and Arrow''.
Although the party's primary base always remained in
Maharashtra, it tried to expand to a pan-Indian base. In the 1970s, it gradually moved from advocating a pro-Marathi ideology to one supporting a broader Hindu nationalist agenda,
and aligned itself with the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP). The party took part in Mumbai (
BMC) municipal elections for its entire existence. In 1989, it entered into an alliance with the BJP for
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-pas ...
as well as
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
The Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha or the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the legislature of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated in the Nariman Point area of South Mumbai in the capital Mumbai. Presently, 288 mem ...
elections. The alliance in the latter was temporarily broken in the
2014 elections, although it was quickly reformed. Shiv Sena was a coalition partner in the BJP-led
National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a centre-right to right-wing and conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded in 1998 and currently controls the government of India ...
(NDA) from 1998 until 2019, including the
Vajpayee Government from 1998–2004 and the
Narendra Modi Government from 2014–2019.
After the
October 2019 Maharashtra elections, Shiv Sena claimed that promises were not kept by their alliance partner the BJP and broke ties. The party joined hands with the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
and the
Nationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party ...
in to form a government in Maharashtra. This alliance lost power in 2022 after
Eknath Shinde
Eknath Sambhaji Shinde (pronunciation: knaːt̪ʰ ʃin̪d̪e born 9 February 1964) is an Indian politician and president of Shivsena serving as the 20th and Current Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He was earlier the Cabinet Minister of Urba ...
, a rebel Shiv Sena leader, gathered the support of a majority of Shiv Sena MLAs along with the BJP and became Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
The party subsequently split in two, with Shinde's faction forming
Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena and the faction of erstwhile leader
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to i ...
forming
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) is a secular, nationalist Indian political party formed in 2022 under the leadership of Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray. It was allotted a new symbol by the Election Commission, se ...
.
The party had a powerful hold over the
Hindi film industry
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
. It has been referred to as an "extremist", "chauvinist", or "
fascist
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
" party.
Shiv Sena has been blamed for the
1970 communal violence in
Bhiwandi
Bhiwandi () is a city in the Thane district in Maharashtra, India. It is located northeast of Mumbai and northeast of the city of Thane. The city is a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Bhiwandi is a commercial city and a major trade ...
, the
1984 Bhiwandi riot
The 1984 Bhiwandi riot was a Hindu-Muslim riot that occurred in May 1984 in and around Bhiwandi town in Indian state of Maharashtra. It left 146 people dead and over 600 injured. On 17 May 1984, riots broke out in industrial belt from Bombay, Th ...
, and violence in the
1992–1993 Bombay riots.
The party draws its strength from the support of the
Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
and
Kunbi
Kunbi (alternatively Kanbi , Kurmi ) is a generic term applied to castes of traditional farmers in Western India. These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa (Leva Patil), Lonare and Tirole communities of Vidarbha. ...
communities of Maharashtra which Shiv Sena drew away from the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
.
History
Origins
After the
Independence of India
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
in 1947, regional administrative divisions from the colonial era were gradually changed and states following linguistic borders were created. Within the
Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
, a massive popular struggle was launched for the creation of a state for the Marathi-speaking people. In 1960, the presidency was divided into two linguistic states -
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...
and
Maharashtra. Moreover, Marathi-speaking areas of the erstwhile
Hyderabad state
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and ...
were joined with Maharashtra. Bombay, in many ways the economic capital of India, became the state capital of Maharashtra. On one hand, people belonging to the
Gujarati community owned the majority of the industry and trade enterprises in the city.
[
]
On the other hand, there was a steady flow of
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...
n migrants to the city who came to take many white-collar jobs.
In 1960
Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra ...
, a Bombay-based cartoonist, began publishing the satirical cartoon weekly ''
Marmik
''Marmik'' (Marathi: मार्मिक ''Mārmik'') meaning: traight from the heart/A silent word that goes directly to the Heart is an Indian weekly published by the Shiv Sena from Mumbai, until publication of its daily ''Saamana'' it was S ...
''. Through this publication, he started disseminating anti-migrant sentiments. On 19 June 1966, Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena as a political organisation.
The Shiv Sena attracted many unemployed Marathi youth, who were attracted by Thackeray's charged anti-migrant oratory. Shiv Sena cadres became involved in various attacks against the South Indian communities, vandalizing South Indian restaurants and pressuring employers to hire Marathis.
Alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party
The Sena started placing more weight on the
Hindutva
Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), t ...
ideology in the 1970s as the 'sons of the soil' cause was weakening.
The party began a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for seats in the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-pas ...
and the
Maharashtra Assembly
The Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha or the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the legislature of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated in the Nariman Point area of South Mumbai in the capital Mumbai. Presently, 288 memb ...
from 1989. The two formed a government in Maharashtra between 1995 and 1999.
The Sena was the opposition party in the state along with the BJP from 1999 to 2014. However, the 25 year alliance with the BJP was threatened in
2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections
The Indian state of Maharashtra has a bicameral legislature, comprising two houses. The lower house, known as the Legislative Assembly ("Vidhan Sabha" in Marathi), is directly elected by the people and is the more powerful of the two houses. The ...
over seat sharing and both contested the election independently.
With the BJP becoming the largest party following the 2014 election, Sena declared opposition. However, after negotiations, Sena agreed to join the government in Maharashtra.
[Shiv Sena to join Fadnavis govt; gives up claim to home minister, deputy CM post]
Indian Express, 4 December 2014 The Shiv Sena-BJP combine governs the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC; IAST: ), also known as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. It is India's richest municipal corporation. The B ...
. Traditionally the main strongholds of Shiv Sena have been Mumbai and the
Konkan
The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterla ...
coastal areas. However, in the
2004 Lok Sabha elections
General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governme ...
the result was reversed. The Shiv Sena made inroads in the interior parts of the state, while suffering losses in Mumbai.
Formation of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
In July 2005, Former
Maharashtra Chief Minister and Sena leader
Narayan Rane was expelled from the party, which sparked internal conflict in the party. In December the same year
Raj Thackeray
Raj Shrikant Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: aːd͡ʒ ʈʰaːkɾeː born Swaraj Shrikant Thackeray; 14 June 1968) is an Indian politician and the founding chairperson of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a regional political party. Raj wa ...
, Bal Thackeray's nephew, left the party. Raj Thackeray later founded a new party,
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (translation: Maharashtra Reformation Army; MNS) is a Regionalist far-right Indian political party based in the state of Maharashtra and operates on the ideology of " Hindutva" and "Marathi" Manus. It was found ...
(MNS). After the split, clashes have occurred between followers of the two Senas.
Although the MNS is a break-away group from the Shiv Sena, the party is still based in Bhumiputra ideology. When unveiling the party in an assembly at Shivaji Park he said, everyone is anxious to see what will happen to Hindutva and, "I shall elaborate on the party's stance on issues like Hindutva, its agenda for development of Maharashtra and the significance of the party flag colours at the 19 March public meeting."
Leadership change
Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra ...
's son
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to i ...
became the party's leader in 2004, although Bal Thackeray continued to be an important figurehead. After the death of Bal Thackeray on 17 November 2012, Uddhav became the leader of the party but refused to take the title "Shiv Sena Pramukh" (Shiv Sena Supremo).
2022 Maharashtra political crisis and split
Following the
2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election
The 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election was held on 21 October 2019 to elect all 288 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. After a 61.4% turnout in the election, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of the Bharatiya ...
, which was contested by Shiv Sena as part of an alliance with the BJP, the longtime allies
In January 2018, Shiv Sena officially cut ties with the BJP and their
National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a centre-right to right-wing and conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded in 1998 and currently controls the government of India ...
(NDA) coalition ahead of the
2019 Indian general election
General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...
after nearly 30 years of campaigning alongside the BJP. But in February 2019, BJP and Shiv Sena announced the resumption of their alliance for the general elections as well as the
2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election
The 2019 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election was held on 21 October 2019 to elect all 288 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. After a 61.4% turnout in the election, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of the Bharatiya ...
. The election saw Shiv Sena lose votes, after which they declined to support the BJP in forming a government over the BJP's refusal to engage in power-sharing. Shiv Sena withdrew from the NDA, precipitating a
political crisis in late October-early November 2019. Ultimately, the crisis led to party leader
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to i ...
becoming Chief Minister through the support of the
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
and the
Nationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party ( NCP) is one of the nine national parties in India. The party generally supports Indian nationalism and Gandhian secularism. It is the largest opposition party in Maharashtra and is also a significant party ...
.
The three parties formed the
Maha Vikas Aghadi sub-alliance to
govern Maharashtra.
In 2022, during a party meeting, Thackeray explained his move to pull out of NDA to join the
United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single par ...
. "We supported the BJP wholeheartedly to enable them to fulfill their national ambitions. The understanding was they will go national while we will lead in Maharashtra. But we were betrayed and attempts were made to destroy us in our home. So we had to hit back". Thackeray accused BJP of dumping its allies according to its political convenience. He said, "BJP doesn't mean Hindutva. I stand by my comment that Shiv Sena had wasted 25 years in alliance with BJP."
On 20 June 2022, elections to the
Maharashtra Legislative Council
The Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad or Maharashtra Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India.
Location
The seat of the Vidhan Parishad is situated at the Nariman Point area of South M ...
were held, in which members of the Legislative Assembly voted to elect members of the upper house. Shiv Sena and its allies won less seats than expected, while the BJP won more. This was attributed to some members of Shiv Sena cross-voting for BJP candidates.
Immediately afterward,
Eknath Shinde
Eknath Sambhaji Shinde (pronunciation: knaːt̪ʰ ʃin̪d̪e born 9 February 1964) is an Indian politician and president of Shivsena serving as the 20th and Current Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He was earlier the Cabinet Minister of Urba ...
, a senior Shiv Sena leader, began negotiating with the BJP with the support of several Shiv Sena MLAs.
On 29 June 2022, Uddhav Thackeray resigned from the post of Chief Minister as well as from the Legislative Council after the Supreme Court ruled that he must prove his majority. A new government was formed that included the BJP and a majority of Shiv Sena MLAs. On 30 June, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the new Chief Minister with
Devendra Fadnavis
Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (Marathi pronunciation: ेवेंद्र फडणवीस born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th and current Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 30 June 2022. He served as ...
of the BJP as Deputy CM.
As a result of the political crisis, Shiv Sena split into two parties, with Shinde's supporters forming
Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, and the faction remaining loyal to Thackeray forming
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) is a secular, nationalist Indian political party formed in 2022 under the leadership of Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray. It was allotted a new symbol by the Election Commission, se ...
. As an interim measure, neither party was designated as Shiv Sena's legal successor.
Party structure and caste composition
Structure
The ''ShivsenaPramukh'' (Chief) of the party is the post equivalent to the president of an organisation. This post is an hereditary post.The current ''ShivsenaPramukh'' is
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to i ...
while his son
Aditya Thackeray being the crowned ''ShivsenaPramukh''.As the ''Pramukh'' (Chief) of the party, Bal Thackeray took all major decisions while the activists and members of the Shiv Sena ''Shiv Sainiks'' carried out most of the party's grassroots work. During his last days, the day-to-day activities of the party were handled by his youngest son
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to i ...
.
Aditya Thackeray, son of
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to i ...
, became the leader of the Yuva Sena, the Youth Wing of the party. After Bal Thackerey's death in 2012, the party was de facto led by
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to i ...
.
The Sena Bhavan located in the
Dadar
Dadar ( ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity.
Dadar holds the distinction of being Mumbai’s first plann ...
locality in Mumbai has served as the Headquarters of the Sena since 1976.
The Sena's ''shakhas'' (Branches) spread throughout the state of Maharashtra as well as in selected locations in other states, which decide on most of the local issues in their localities.
The
Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti is affiliated with the Shiv Sena. It advocates the preservation of rights of employment for Maharashtrians in Maharashtra.
Caste composition
People of various Maharashtrian castes worked together in the Sena. The party's leaders mostly came from the so-called "high castes" i.e.
Brahmins
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...
,
CKP
Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) is a caste group mainly found in Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. They held the posts such as Deshpandes and Gadkaris and according to the historian, ...
s and
Pathare Prabhus - Thackerey,
Manohar Joshi
Manohar Gaju Joshi (born 2 December 1937) is a prominent politician from the state of Maharashtra. He was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999 and Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2002 to 2004. He is one of the prominent leaders ...
,
Sudhir Joshi, Balwant Mantri, Dr Hemchandra Gupte, Shyam Deshmukh, Madhav Deshpande, Datta Pradhan, Vijay Parvatkar,
Madhukar Sarpotdar and
Pramod Navalkar
Pramod Sachchidanand Navalkar (23 Jan 1935 – 20 Nov 2007) was an Indian politician and member of the Shiv Sena political party. A legislator for over thirty years, he served as cabinet minister in the Government of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999 ...
.
One of the above-mentioned leaders, Dr.Hemchandra Gupte,
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
of Bombay in the early 70s and the former family physician and confidante of Thackeray, quit Shivsena in "disgust" citing importance given to money, violence committed by the Shivsainiks and Thackeray's support for Mrs.Gandhi during the 1975 emergency.
There were also leaders from other castes such as
Dattaji Salvi,
Dattaji Nalawade and
Wamanrao Mahadik, and those from the so-called lower castes such as
Chaggan Bhujbal,
Leeladhar Dake, Bhai Shingre and Vijay Gaonkar.
Over the years, other than the Sena Chief, there have been twelve senior leaders in the party, called 'Netas'. Out of these, eight have been
upper caste (four
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
s, two
CKP
Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu (CKP) is a caste group mainly found in Maharashtra. Historically, they made equally good warriors, statesmen as well as writers. They held the posts such as Deshpandes and Gadkaris and according to the historian, ...
s and two
Pathare Prabhus). Others have been either
Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
(
Dattaji Salvi),
Shimpi (
Wamanrao Mahadik),
Agri
Agri may refer to:
Places
* Ağrı Province, eastern Turkey
** Ağrı, the capital city of the province
* Ağrı, the Turkish name for Mount Ararat in Turkey
* Ağrı Subregion, Turkey, a statistical subregion
* Ağrı (electoral district), an e ...
(
Leeladhar Dake) or
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
(
Chaggan Bhujbal). In fact, Bhujbal quit the party accusing the Sena of upper-caste bias in the leadership.
The number of
dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...
s were also not insignificant. And even after the Sena opposed the reservations proposed by the Mandal commission, there was no dent in the percentage of OBCs in the Sena. In this way, the Sena was successful in uniting all Maharashtrians irrespective of caste under the common "Marathi umbrella". The agenda of preferential treatment for the "sons of the soil" i.e. Maharashtrians brought them all together.
Voter base
Shiv Sena's strength in the late 1980s and early '90s mainly came from the support of the
Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
caste - which it drew away from the Congress.
Citing the large percentage of MLAs elected from Shiv Sena belonging to the
Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a ...
caste, Vora from the
University of Pune
Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganes ...
concludes that the Shiv Sena has been emerging as a "Maratha Party".
Office
is a building which houses the central office of the Shiv Sena in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
. It is located on Ram Ganesh Gadkari Chowk and Shivaji Park in
Dadar
Dadar ( ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity.
Dadar holds the distinction of being Mumbai’s first plann ...
. It was inaugurated on 19 June 1977. The refurbished Sena Bhavan was inaugurated on 27 July 2006. It has a
Copper Statue of
Shivaji Maharaj
Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adilsh ...
and a Large
Poster
A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. ...
of
Balasaheb Thackeray.
In the
1993 Bombay bombings
The 1993 Bombay bombings were a series of 12 terrorist bombings that took place in Bombay, Maharashtra, on 12 March 1993. The single-day attacks resulted in 257 fatalities and 1,400 injuries. The attacks were coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim, ...
, a group of terrorists attacked the building as well as a number of other major buildings in the city.
List of Chief Ministers
Following is the list of the Chief Ministers of
Maharashtra from Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena ministers in central Government
*
Manohar Joshi
Manohar Gaju Joshi (born 2 December 1937) is a prominent politician from the state of Maharashtra. He was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999 and Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2002 to 2004. He is one of the prominent leaders ...
:
Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises,
13th
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
The speaker of the Lok Sabha ( IAST: ) is the presiding officer and the highest official of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general e ...
*
Anandrao Vithoba Adsul
Anandrao Vithoba Adsul (born 1 June 1947) was a member of the 16th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Amravati constituency of Maharashtra and is a member of the Shiv Sena (SS) political party.
He had represented the Amravati constituency i ...
: Ministry of State, Finance and Company Affairs
*
Suresh Prabhu
Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (born 11 July 1953) is an Indian politician, India's Sherpa to the G7 anChancellor of Rishihood University who was the Minister of Civil Aviation, Railways, Commerce & Industry in the First Modi ministry.
He is a ...
:
Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers,
Ministry of Power,
Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
*
Anant Geete
Anant Gangaram Geete (born 2 June 1951) is an Indian politician and was the Union Cabinet Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises during 2014 - 2019 in Narendra Modi cabinet. He is also a former Union Cabinet Minister for ...
:
Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises,
Minister of Power
*
Arvind Sawant:
Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
Electoral performance
Lok Sabha elections
Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha elections
Activities and criticism
The Sena says it has played a central role in the emancipation of 500,000 slum dwellers in the
Dharavi
Dharavi is a locality in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, considered to be one of the world's largest slums. Dharavi has an area of just over and a population of about 1,000,000. With a population density of over , Dharavi is one of the most den ...
area of Mumbai, the largest slum in Asia. However, the policy of giving free houses to slum dwellers has been controversial since it was introduced by the then Shiv Sena-BJP government.
In the 1970s, Shiv Sena was opposed to the
Namantar Andolan, a
Dalit
Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming a ...
-led movement to change the name of Marathwada University in
Aurangabad
Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is the ...
to "Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar University", and supported views of conservative Marathas.
In 1996, Shiv Sena organised the first and only live concert of American pop icon
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
in India to raise the funds for its business wing and to help create over two-hundred seventy thousand jobs for people of
Maharashtra.
In December 2003, Shiv Sena activists damaged the cricket pitch of the Agra Sport Stadium which was supposed to host the cricket match between Pakistan and India. In April 2005, Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, the student wing of Shiv Sena, attempted to prevent the India-Pakistan
One-day international
A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cup ...
match being held in New Delhi. The protester's spokesman demanded:
The Sena acted as a "
moral police" and opposed Valentine's Day celebrations.
On 14 February 2006, Bal Thackeray condemned and apologised for the violent attacks by its Shiv Sainiks on a private celebration in Mumbai. "It is said that women were beaten up in the Nallasopara incident. If that really happened, then it is a symbol of cowardice. I have always instructed Shiv Sainiks that in any situation women should not be humiliated and harassed." Thackeray and the Shiv Sena remained opposed to it, although they indicated support for an "Indian alternative".
On 20 November 2009, Shiv Sena activists attacked and vandalised the offices of
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
and
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
TV news channels
IBN7 and
IBN-Lokmat, located in Mumbai and
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
respectively. The Shivsainik slapped IBN7's senior editor Ravindra Ambekar and then attacked IBN-Lokmat's editor Nikhil Wagle. Shiv Sena attributed the attacks to the criticisms of
Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra ...
by the news channel over his remarks on
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...
. Shiv Sena's
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legisl ...
MP Sanjay Raut described the attacks as "spontaneous". Shiv Sena spokespersons tried to justify the attacks and refused to apologize for their acts of violence.
Shiv Sena got an entry in
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
in 2010 for "collecting maximum blood in a day". Shiv Sena organized a blood donation camp which collected over 24,000 bottles of blood in a single day. Later this world record was broken by a blood donation camp of
HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank Limited (also known as HDB) is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai. It is India's largest private sector bank by assets and world's 10th largest bank by market capitalisation . It is the third lar ...
in 2014.
On 2 November 2014, during the
Kiss of Love protest against moral policing, members of Shiv Sena,
Bajrang Dal
The Bajrang Dal () is a Hindu nationalist militant organisation that forms the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). It is a member of the right-wing Sangh Parivar. The ideology of the organisation is based on Hindutva. It was ...
,
Vishwa Hindu Parishad
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) () is an Indian right-wing Hindu organization based on Hindu nationalism. The VHP was founded in 1964 by M. S. Golwalkar and S. S. Apte in collaboration with Swami Chinmayananda. Its stated objective is "t ...
and many other right wing groups opposed and attacked protestors and threatened to strip protestors for kissing on the streets. These opposing groups claimed that
public display of affection
Public displays of affection (PDA) are acts of physical intimacy in the view of others. What is an acceptable display of affection varies with respect to culture and context.
Some organizations have rules limiting or prohibiting public displa ...
is against both Indian culture and the law of the land (under section 294 of the Indian Penal Code), though according to the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, kissing in public is not a criminal offence. Police took many of the Kiss of Love protestors into custody to save their lives, but were blamed for giving a free hand to counter protestors of the right wing groups.
In October 2015, Shiv Sena issued threats which enforced a ban on a scheduled concert by Pakistani classic singer
Ghulam Ali. The move was adopted to appease anti-Pakistan constituents to vote for Sena in coming elections. However, in 2015 Pakistan urged the international community to take note of the activities of Shiv Sena, while Shiv Sena claimed that criticism of Shiv Sena by Pakistan vindicates "our patriotism".
On 19 October 2015, Shiv Sena activists attacked and vandalised the office of
BCCI to stop a meeting between
PCB
PCB may refer to:
Science and technology
* Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant
* Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics
* ...
and
BCCI officials. The activists shouted anti-Pakistan slogans and held posters that read 'Shahryar Khan go back', determined to stop Manohar from meeting his Pakistani counterpart. Shiv Sena has also threatened to stop Pakistan's Aleem Dar from officiating in the fifth and final ODI between India and South Africa.
In 2015 Shiv Sena announced 10,000 rupees help to each drought-affected farmer of
Marathwada
Marathwada () is a proposed state and geographical region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra. I ...
region, while they also announced 2 lakh rupees "reward" to Hindus family who had 5 children between 2010 and 2015 in
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
. As per Shiv Sena, the reason behind the "reward" was "decline in growth rate of Hindu population compared to Muslim population as per recent census".
In January 2016, the Shiv Sena demanded that the words “secular” and “socialist” be “permanently removed” from the
Constitution's Preamble which were added in the
42nd amendment during
the emergency. In April 2019, party member
Sanjay Raut called for the burka to be banned.
During the 2018 Maharashtra Council election and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, many candidates fielded by Shiv Sena had criminal records or had criminal charges pending against them.
See also
*
List of Hindu nationalist political parties
This is a list of political parties professing to follow Hindu nationalism or stating that they represent the interests of Hinduism.
Within India
National Active
*Bharatiya Janata Party
* Hindu Mahasabha
* Hindu Sena
*Hindu Samaj Party Former ...
References
Further reading
* ''Ethnicity and Equality: The Shiv Sena Party and Preferential Policies in Bombay'', MF Katzenstein – 1979 – Cornell University Press
* ''Warriors in Politics: Hindu Nationalism, Violence, and the Shiv Sena in India'', S Banerjee – 2000 – Westview Press
* ''The Charisma of Direct Action: Power, Politics, and the Shiv Sena'', JM Eckert – 2003 – Oxford University Press
* ''Shiv Sena: An Assessment'', Palshikar, Suhas, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Pune, Pune (1999)
* ''Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found, 'Power', chapter 3, Mumbai'', Mehta, Suketu, Penguin Books (2005)
External links
*
{{Authority control
Far-right political parties in India
Far-right politics in India
Political parties established in 1966
1966 establishments in Maharashtra
Indian nationalist political parties
Hindu nationalism
Conservative parties in India
Regionalist parties in India
Anti-Pakistan sentiment
Right-wing populism in India
Right-wing populist parties
Anti-Islam sentiment in India