Bal Thackeray

Thackeray

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“”If you take Mein Kampf and if you remove the word "Jew" and put in the word "Muslim", that is what I believe in.

—Bal Thackeray

“”I am a staunch Hindu and nothing wrong in saying that. Only we Hindus don't have a religion to be proud of. Call yourself a Hindu in Hindustan and you are a criminal. We want to fight intrusions and encroachments.

—Bal Thackeray

“”I am a Hindu, a "mad-mad" Hindu.

—Bal Thackeray

Bal Thackeray (Marathi: बाळ ठाकरे), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi: बाळासाहेब ठाकरे) (born as Bal Keshav Thackeray (Marathi: बाळ केशव ठाकरे), 1926-2012) was an Indian cartoonist and a don spiritual leader. He headed a Hindu nationalist political party known as Shiv Sena, whose motto is "Mumbai for Marathis". Thus, he had a large political influence in the state, especially in Mumbai. He likewise reiterated a desire for Hindus to unite across linguistic barriers to see a Hindustan for Hindus and to bring Islam in this country down to its knees.

Views

Thackeray was very vocal in his opposition to people who migrate to Mumbai, to non-Marathis (especially from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh), and Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh. In the late 1970s, as part of his "Maharashtra is for Maharashtrians" campaign, Thackeray threatened migrants from South India with harm unless they left Mumbai. In 2002, Thackeray issued a call to form Hindu suicide squads to counter the Muslim violence. Again in 2008, he wrote:

“”Islamic terrorism is growing and Hindu terrorism is the only way to counter it. We need suicide bomb squads to protect India and Hindus.

On Muslims & Islam

He equated Islam with violence, and regularly wrote inflammatory anti-Muslim columns in his newspaper Saamana (Marathi: सामना). and he even criticized former Indian president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam merely because he was a Muslim. Also, while explaining his views on Hindutva, he equated Islam with violence and called on Hindus to fight terrorism and fight Islam. He told India Today,

“”[Muslims] are spreading like a cancer and should be operated on like a cancer. The country...should be saved from the Muslims and the police should support them [Hindu Maha Sangh] in their struggle just like the police in Punjab were sympathetic to the Khalistanis.

Admiration for Adolf Hitler

Bal Thackeray was a great fan of Adolf Hitler and has made various Islamophobic statements mirroring Hitler's antisemitic statements, such as saying that Indian Muslims will meet the same fate German Jews did. He was quoted by Asiaweek as saying:

“”I am a great admirer of Hitler, and I am not ashamed to say so! I do not say that I agree with all the methods he employed, but he was a wonderful organiser and orator, and I feel that he and I have several things in common...What India really needs is a dictator who will rule benevolently, but with an iron hand.

In a 1993 interview, Thackeray stated,

“”There is nothing wrong if Muslims are treated as Jews were in Nazi Germany.

Indian Express published an interview on 29 January 2007:

“”Hitler did very cruel and ugly things. But he was an artist, I love him [for that]. He had the power to carry the whole nation, the mob with him. You have to think what magic he had. He was a miracle... The killing of Jews was wrong. But the good part about Hitler was that he was an artist. He was a daredevil. He had good qualities and bad. I may also have good qualities and bad ones.

Admiration for Savarkar

Thackeray defended Savarkar against criticism and praised him as a great leader. In 2002, when President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam unveiled a portrait of Savarkar in the presence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Indian National Congress party opposed the unveiling of the portrait and boycotted the function. Thackeray criticized the opposition and spoke,

“”Who is [Congress president and Leader of the Opposition] Sonia Gandhi to object to the portrait? What relation does she have with the country? How much does she know about the history and culture of India?

Years later, when Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh made a statement that Savarkar was allegedly the first one to suggest the Two-nation theory that led to The Partition, Thackeray rejected the statement of Singh.

On Nehru-Gandhi Family

“”This pro-Muslim attitude of the Nehru family is ruining unity and national integrity. They are creating walls pampering, and spoiling. See, the lady (Mrs Gandhi) has decided to come here but when there was a flood in Konkan she didn't come. The prime minister's moral support should be impartial. She belongs to the nation.

Religious beliefs

Ironically, he claimed that he was once an atheist, perhaps in an attempt to discredit atheists.

External links

• See the Wikipedia article on Bal Thackeray.

References

Articles on RationalWiki about Hindu nationalism

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