2008 attacks on North Indians in Maharashtra
Encyclopedia
The 2008 attacks on Uttar Pradeshi and Bihari migrants in Maharashtra began on 3 February 2008 after violent clashes between workers of two political parties—Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
(MNS) and Samajwadi Party
(SP)—at Dadar
in Mumbai
, capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra
. The clashes took place when workers of MNS, a splinter faction formed out of the Shiv Sena
(a major political party of Maharashtra), tried to attack workers of SP, the regional party based in Uttar Pradesh
, who were proceeding to attend a rally organised by the United National Progressive Alliance
(UNPA). Defending his party’s stand, MNS chief Raj Thackeray
explained that the attack was a reaction to the "provocative and unnecessary show of strength" and "uncontrolled political and cultural dadagiri (bullying) of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
migrants and their leaders".
In the events leading to these clashes, Raj Thackeray made critical remarks, themed around language politics
and regionalism
, about migrants from the North India
n states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, accusing them of spoiling Maharashtrian culture and not mingling with them. At political rallies held across the state, he questioned the loyalty of Bollywood
actor Amitabh Bachchan
towards Maharashtra, where he attained "fame and popularity", accusing him of showing "more interest" in his native Uttar Pradesh. He called the celebration of Chhath Puja by North Indian migrants a "drama" and a "show of arrogance".
On 13 February 2008, the state government, which was accused of reluctance to take immediate action, ultimately arrested Raj Thackeray and Abu Asim Azmi
(a local SP leader) on charges of instigation of violence and causing communal disturbance. Although released that same day, a gag order
was imposed on both leaders to prevent them from making further inflammatory remarks. Meanwhile, tensions in Maharashtra rose as the news of Raj's possible arrest, and his subsequent actual arrest, angered his supporters. Incidences of violence against North Indians and their property by MNS workers were reported in Mumbai, Pune
, Aurangabad
, Beed
, Nashik, Amravati
, Jalna
, and Latur
. Nearly 25,000 North Indian workers fled Pune, and another 15,000 fled Nashik in the wake of the attacks. The exodus of workers caused an acute labour shortage, affecting local industries. Analysts estimated financial losses of – . Although the violence receded after the arrests of the two leaders, sporadic attacks were reported until May 2008. After months of lull, on 19 October 2008, MNS activists beat up North Indian candidates appearing for the all-India Railway Recruitment Board entrance exam in Mumbai. The incident led to Raj's arrest and fresh violence. Later on 28 October 2008 a labourer from Uttar Pradesh was lynched in a Mumbai commuter train.
The attacks evoked critical reactions from various parts of the country, particularly the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar political leadership. Even Bal Thackeray
, Raj's estranged uncle and chief of the Shiv Sena, who formed his party in 1966 to raise the voice of Marathi manoos (Marathi people), discounted his nephew's criticism of Bachchan as "stupidity". In an editorial a month later in Saamna, the Shiv Sena's political mouthpiece, however, Bal Thackeray wrote that Biharis antagonised local populations wherever they went and were an "unwelcome lot" throughout the country. The media slated Bal's remarks as an attempt to recapture his party's sons-of-soil plank, being hijacked by Raj.
and corruption
for many decades, the socio-economic conditions and law-and-order situation in UP and Bihar are dismal. Also, these two states have high illiteracy rates and population growth rates. This is has led to lack of economic development, unemployment and poverty.
Many people from these states migrate to more developed areas like Delhi
, Haryana
and Maharashtra
for employment. As per 2001 census, Maharashtra received the highest number of immigrants from other states (3.2 million) during the period 1991-2001, whereas, Uttar Pradesh was the first in the number of emmigrant to other states (4.2 million), followed by Bihar (2.9 million) including Jharkhand
, which was a part of Bihar until 2000. Large scale migration of labourers from this states, especially from Bihar, has led to violent opposition to them in various parts of India, such as Maharashtra, Assam
, Karnataka
and Punjab.
On 9 March 2006, Raj Thackeray, nephew of Bal Thackeray, quit the Shiv Sena and formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) after being "sidelined" by the chief’s son Uddhav
. The Shiv Sainiks (Shiv Sena members) who supported Raj’s leadership, in contrast to his cousin Uddhav, joined the MNS. The party was founded on the ideology of being the benefactor of the local Marathi Manoos (Marathi people), an ideology that the party members felt the Shiv Sena had abandoned. Keeping in line with this, Raj has repeatedly demanded special job reservations for locals. A critic of the influx of migrants into the state, especially Uttar Bhartiyas (literally meaning "North India
ns") predominantly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, he has blamed the large-scale immigration of people from these economically backward states for causing a shortage of jobs for Maharashtrian
s.
summarised the cause of MNS's attacks—"There's a method in MNS's madness in attacking north Indians in Mumbai though, howsoever flawed it might be. Raj believes his cousin and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has been wooing the people from Bihar and UP—through a campaign he began back in 2005 with the inclusive call of Mee Mumbaikar—as his party's vote-bank. Uddhav's growing popularity with North Indians had been rankling Raj, who is losing ground and political relevance as evident in the MNS's performance in the last municipal elections."
in Mumbai, Raj said, "Though he [Amitabh] has become a star in Mumbai, his interest is in Uttar Pradesh. That is why he was trying to be an ambassador of UP rather than Maharashtra. That is why though he achieved everything in Mumbai, when it came to elections, Amitabh chose Uttar Pradesh".
Responding to Raj's accusations, the actor's wife and an SP MP Jaya Bachchan
said that they (Bachchans) were willing to start a school in Mumbai, provided the MNS leader donated the land to build it. She told the media, "I heard that Raj Thackeray owns huge properties in Maharashtra, in Mumbai at Kohinoor Mills. If he is willing to donate land, we can start a school in the name of Aishwarya here". Amitabh, however, abstained from commenting on the issue.
Bal Thackeray refuted the allegations, saying, "Amitabh Bachchan is an open-minded person, he has great love for Maharashtra, and this is evident on many occasions. The actor has often said that Maharashtra and specially Mumbai has given him great fame and affection. He has also said that what he is today is because of the love people have given him. The people of Mumbai have always acknowledged him as an artiste. It was utter foolishness to make these parochial allegations against him. Amitabh is a global superstar. People all over the world respect him. This cannot be forgotten by anyone. Amitabh should ignore these silly accusations and concentrate on his acting". According to some reports, Raj's censure of Amitabh, whom he supposedly admires, stemmed from his disappointment of not being invited to the wedding of Amitabh's son, Abhishek
, despite invitations to his estranged uncle Bal and cousin Uddhav.
On 23 March, Amitabh finally spoke out in an interview with a local tabloid, saying, "Random charges are random; they do not deserve the kind of attention you wish me to give". Later on 28 March at a press conference for the International Indian Film Academy, when asked what his take was on the anti-migrant issue, Amitabh said that it is one's fundamental right to live anywhere in the country and the constitution entitles so. He also stated that he was not affected by Raj's comments.
, a festival popular in Bihar, calling it a "drama" and a "show of arrogance". He demanded that they must only celebrate Maharashtrian festivals. A petition
was filed in the Patna civil court on 8 February against him for his remarks over Chhath Puja. His statements drew flak from leaders of Bihar, especially Indian Railways minister and former chief minister
of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav
, who challenged that he would come to Mumbai and perform Chhath Puja in front of Raj's house, also ridiculed Raj saying, "He [Raj] is a child in politics". The Navnirman Sena leader accused migrants of swamping Maharashtra, India's most industrialised state, in search of jobs.
The MNS chief had also accused migrants of disrespecting the local culture. On 9 February, expressing his stance on newer migrants settling in Mumbai, Raj said, "New immigrants to the city should be denied entry into the city, while those already staying here should show respect to the Marathi 'manoos' and his culture".
, Dadar, in Mumbai to attend a rally organised by the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), the ruling coalition party of India, of which the SP is a member. The rally was to be addressed by former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav
and other prominent members of the UNPA and SP. Police arrested 73 MNS and 19 SP workers after these clashes on charges of rioting.
Raj justified his party's stand as a response to—"provocative and unnecessary show of strength" and "uncontrolled political and cultural dadagiri of the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar migrants and their leaders"—and questioned, "Do political movements need to obey the law?" On 10 February at a press conference, he issued a statement saying, "What happened in Mumbai in the past one week was only a reaction and if leaders of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar try to demonstrate their strength here, such reactions would recur".
After the clashes, SP approached the Election Commission
demanding de-registration of MNS. SP general secretary whose press conference near Azad Maidan
was disrupted by MNS activists on 3 February, Amar Singh
petitioned the Commission requesting action against the MNS and its leaders for issuing "veiled as well as open threats" against non-Maharashtrians. However, Mumbai police dismissed a complaint of "criminal intimidation" filed against Raj by Singh as ‘false and malicious’. In his complaint filed at Azad Maidan police station, Singh had alleged that sloganeering MNS men had threatened him by using Thackeray's name while being whisked away by security personnel from the venue.
, Mumbai. The police faced strong criticism for remaining mute spectators as MNS workers assaulted North Indians. A departmental inquiry was instituted against the police inaction. Inspector Motiram Kadam and sub-inspector Deepak Pawar, who were assigned duty at Dadar, were suspended for dereliction of duty
. Later, over 25 MNS workers were arrested on charges of rioting. In the night, 150 suspected MNS activists ransacked Pratap talkies in Thane, pulled out the print of the Bhojpuri film "Saiyan se Solah Singaar" and burned it because Bhojpuri is the regional language spoken in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The rioters also damaged the theatre and destroyed the seats. A similar incident was reported in Nashik.
The next day in Mumbai, two motorcycle-borne MNS supporters hurled bottles at Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow at Juhu. A group of MNS workers barged inside the booking office of the Grant Road
railway station, damaged the booking office windows and tore off posters of a newly released Bhojpuri film put up there. Party workers resorted to stone throwing in some parts of Kandivli, a North-Mumbai suburb that has a sizable North Indian lower middle-class population. In the Central-Mumbai suburb of Bandra, a clash ensued when MNS workers tried to plant party flags at an open market dominated by North Indians.
The offices of Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari
and North Indian Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam
were stoned by MNS supporters on 5 February. Two days later, a group of 20 to 25 MNS activists forced themselves into the Central Mumbai office of the Bombay Taximen's Union, where they assaulted office staff and damaged property. In response to the attack, the 55,000-strong Union immediately called for a flash strike. The strike was then called off after R. R. Patil
, the Home Minister of Maharashtra, assured the Union of justice and safety. An advocate named Arvind Shukla filed a Public Interest Litigation
(PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission to derecognise MNS in view of its "anti-national activities".
On 8 February, re-invoking the issue of Marathi pride, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on hit out at North Indians again, in a special article titled "Majhi bhumika, majha ladha" (My stand, my struggle) written by him in the Marathi daily Maharashtra Times, Thackeray said, "Even if the whole world opposes my stand, I and my party will continue the struggle to protect Marathi culture, Maharashtrian people and will trample the goondaism of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. At this juncture, I feel like asking the Maharashtrian people that if I am voicing your true emotion, then why are you sitting on the fence. Come join me in this struggle."
On 12 February, MNS workers attacked vendors and shopkeepers from North India in various parts of Maharashtra and destroyed government property to vent their anger against the reported move to arrest Raj. Sporadic violence was reported in Beed and Aurangabad. State-run buses in these areas were stone-pelted, resulting in the arrest of several MNS workers. In Nashik, MNS workers vandalised several shops belonging to North Indians, forcing other shops and business establishments to close down. One shopkeeper was severely beaten and was admitted to Nashik General Hospital. Banks and schools promptly closed after these incidents. Stone pelting by angry mobs was also reported from the city's Shalimar and Bytco squares, and the Satpur and Ambad
industrial areas remained closed. Nashik police detained 26 MNS workers after the violence. Six municipal cooperators were also put under preventive arrest. Additional police pickets were deployed in various parts of the city, including Shalimar and Ambad Chowk, Satpur, Nashik Road
, the MNS head office at Mumbai Naka and some of the city suburbs. In Pune
, MNS workers pelted stones on state-run buses and attacked a few shop owners in Pune's Laxmi Road area, prompting shops to shut down to avoid similar attacks.
The Mumbai Police
announced its move to put Raj under their custody on 13 February, which created an upsurge of violence in the state and led to two deaths. Attacks on North Indians were reported from Mumbai, Pune, Jalna
, Beed, Aurangabad and Latur
. Shops, offices and other business establishments were shut down in different parts of Mumbai, as MNS workers threatened violence in case their leader was arrested. Central Mumbai localities were most affected, especially around Dadar and Shivaji Park, the strongholds of both the MNS and the Shiv Sena. The police blocked roads in front of the residence of Raj in the Shivaji Park area. A civic activist named James John was assaulted by suspected MNS workers while he was attempting to photograph them forcing shop owners to down shutters in JB Nagar
, Andheri. John suffered two rib fractures and bruises on his lungs. In Nashik, an employee of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
, a Maharashtrian, died during a stone pelting on state-run buses by MNS supporters. A migrant from Bihar, who was a security guard with a private company at Igatpuri
in Nashik district
, was killed by a mob.
In Mumbai and Aurangabad
, police rounded up more than 400 MNS workers. In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad
, MNS workers went on a rampage following the arrest of Raj, smashing windows and windscreens of eleven state buses. Thirteen rioters were arrested. They also chopped off both hands of a Bihari hawker sleeping on the streets. He was severely beaten until he fell unconscious. When he gained consciousness the following day, he found himself in a hospital with both hands amputated. The injured, mainly hawkers, were treated at the Nashik Civil Hospital after they were beaten. Shops along Nashik Road closed down after the incident. Incidents of stone pelting on state-run buses were reported from the Nashik Road, Ambad, Ravivar Peth, and Gangapur
areas. Bus services were severely curtailed and diverted via Nipani
. In Amrawati, MNS workers blocked roads and pelted stones at buses, damaging several vehicles in the process. Though contingents of the Rapid Action Force
and the Central Industrial Security Force
were deployed in many parts of the state, the police could not control violence by the MNS who adopted hit-and-run methods of attack. More than 200 activists of the MNS were arrested across Nashik. Many activists went underground and coordinated with party activists from undisclosed locations.
revelers, suspected to be MNS workers, in Santa Cruz, Mumbai. On the same day, a shop owned by a North Indian was ransacked by a group of 10 – 15 drunken men, who pelted stones and beat his children because they had refused to provide free food. On 29 March, motorcycle-borne assailants damaged at least five taxis owned by North Indians in Central Mumbai. Four people were arrested. Four labourers travelling on the Konkan Kanya Express
from Thane
to Margao
in search of jobs were beaten and looted by some men in Raigad district
after being identified as North Indians on 1 April. Then on 30 May, a group of North Indians was injured when a mob of approximately 800 MNS activists attacked them at a meeting organised by the SP and some other North Indians fronts. Five North Indians were critically injured in the attack, and the police arrested 35 MNS activists after the incident.
Bihar witnessed violent protest after death of Pawan Mahto, a resident of Bara-Khurd village in Nalanda district, in anticipation that he died after being assaulted by MNS activists. However, railway police clarified, based on the CCTV footage, that Pawan had died due to an accident at Andheri station after slipping at a platform.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh admitted that his government was responsible for failure in preventing the attacks by MNS on north Indian candidates at Railways examination centres and ordered a probe into the incident, which will also inquire into why the job advertisements where not given in Marathi newspapers. "What has happened is not good. Such incidents take place because of loopholes in the law. One can't hold only the Home Ministry responsible for it, it is (entire) government's responsibility. Such incidents are affecting the image of the state and I have instructed the DGP to take stern action," Deshmukh said. However, NCP leader Narayan Rane, wrote a piece in the 23 October 2008, issue of `Prahar', in a city newspaper he owns, pleading that Marathis should get their legitimate share in the central government sector. The Times of India noted, the essay indicates that Rane continues to have a soft spot for MNS chief Raj Thackeray — the two were close friends when Rane was in the Sena. Stating that the Marathis were getting a raw deal in central government jobs such as income tax and the railways, Rane said it was perplexing that of 54,000, only 54 Marathis were summoned for the railway recruitment exams. The railways must give Marathis their legitimate share in employment, Rane said.
On 20 October 2008, Thackeray was arrested in Ratnagiri
after Mumbai police had received a non-bailable warrant issued by a Jamshedpur court against the MNS chief. Raj's arrest ignited violence by his supporters in large parts of the city forcing it to shut down. Irate supporters went on the rampage torching public transport and telling office goers to return home. Many shops and commercial establishments, especially those run or managed by non-Maharashtrians, chose not to open at all to avoid trouble. Raj, whose MNS workers Sunday attacked non Maharashtrians appearing for the railway board examination, was brought from Ratnagiri, about 250 km from here, to be produced at the Bandra court, where he was summoned for.
There was mayhem outside the court premises with large crowds gathering around restively and camera crews waiting to capture the trouble. In some places, buses, taxis and autorickshaws were set on fire, in others areas public transport just stayed off the roads. The office of the state Congress spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam was also vandalised.
A North Indian shopkeeper was killed in Bhandup
, Mumbai after he refused to shut down his shop when MNS activists protesting Raj's arrest forced him to do so. Four persons were killed and another seriously injured in a village near Kalyan
. Deputy commissioner of police (rural) Sanjay Shintre said two North Indians, a member of the Agri
community and an MNS worker were killed in a clash between the two communities in Pisavali, 10 km from Kalyan. Earlier, curfew had been imposed in the entire Kalyan area. The situation in Kalyan worsened in the evening as Raj was driven there to a police station lock-up where he was to spend the night before being presented in a court on 22 October. Five outdoor broadcast vans belonging to media houses were damaged by MNS supporters. A cameraman from ETV
was injured and had to admitted to a private hospital. One Kalyan-Dombivli municipal transport bus was set on fire while five bikes were reduced to ashes. Transport services across Kalyan were paralysed. A jewellery shop was also ransacked by MNS supporters. In all one hundred and twenty-five cases of arson, rioting and stonepelting were registered across the state, including in Pune and Marathwada
, by early evening, and 2,085 people were arrested, state director general of police A N Roy said.
As news about the arrest spread, there was violence in other parts of Maharashtra too. Sporadic incidents of stone pelting at municipal and private buses were reported in the reat of Maharashtra following the arrest of MNS chief Raj Thackeray in Ratnagiri. In Kothrud area, some alleged MNS activists damaged a company's bus that was taking its employees to workplace. Few Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) buses were stoned by miscreants, police said. Meanwhile, police have picked up around 100 MNS activists, including some corporators as a preventive measure. In Nashik, MNS activists set ablaze a truck near PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal's farm and also damaged another truck at Vilholi-Phata area, police said. Incidents of stone pelting on MSRTC buses and other vehicles were reported in some areas, they said, adding vehicular traffic on the busy Mumbai-Agra-national highway was disrupted following the protest. Police rounded up 70 MNS activists in Nashik incidents and security was tightened in the city. In Solapur, incidents of stone pelting on state transport buses were also reported. In Nagpur
MNS party leaders claimed to have damaged several MSRTC
buses.
Angry students in various parts of Bihar damaged railway property and disrupted train traffic, as a protest. The police said the protesters targeted Patna
, Jehanabad
, Barh
, Khusrupur
, Sasaram
and Purnia
railway stations in the morning. The protesting students reportedly set afire two AC bogies of an express train at Barh railway station. They ransacked Jehanabad, Barh, Purnia and Sasaram railway stations. According to the railway police, at least 10 students were detained in the morning and extra security was deployed to control the situation. A 10-year-old boy was killed when police opened fire on protesters. The child was hit by a stray bullet and died at the scene after police in Rohtas district fired on a mob attacking a train station. A group of 25 people pelted stones on the Maharashtra Bhawan in Khalasi Line, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Constructed in 1928, the building is owned by the lone trust run by Marathis in Kanpur.
's intimate photoshoot with a model in Mumbai, claiming that it promoted lesbianism and chanting "Jai Maharashtra."
Raj Thackeray and SP leader Abu Asim Azmi were booked under Indian Penal Code
sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (promoting enmity between groups on the basis of place of birth, residence, etc.) and 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) on 11 February. The police also applied section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to both politicians and warned them not to hold any press conferences or rallies in the next seven days. On 13 February, however, police arrested both the leaders. Later that day, a local court granted Raj conditional bail and ordered him not to make any speeches that would inflame public tension. He obtained a release after furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 15,000. Azmi was arrested and taken to the Bhoiwada court in South Central Mumbai and was released on surety of Rs. 10,000.
Raj appealed before the court against the gag order
imposed on him, stating that he had to move around different places in Maharashtra for propounding the philosophy of his party and that such an order was an infringement of his 'fundamental rights'. On 22 February, the court dismissed his appeal to re-track the extension of the gag order passed against him, following which MNS started a signature campaign to get support against the gag order. According to MNS, Maharashtrian actors Nana Patekar
and Shreyas Talpade
had shown support in opposing the gag order, along with actors Salman Khan
and Suneil Shetty. Salman Khan and Suneil Shetty, however, later denied the MNS's claim. This move by MNS prompted the police to serve a show cause notice to Raj, asking him why the gag order should not be extended.
Over 1,800 activists were put under arrest for substantive offenses and as a preventive measure since violence had erupted on the streets of Mumbai on 13 February, according to the Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police (Law and Order), K. L. Prasad.
s, the Supreme Court of India termed the attacks on North Indians in Mumbai by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists as "a dangerous trend". The three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice
K G Balakrishnan, and Justices R V Ravindran and Markandey Katju
observed,
The court passed the judgement while hearing two Public Interest Litigation
s on related issues. While the first, filed by advocate Arvind Shukla, had sought direction to the Election Commission to derecognise Mr Raj Thackeray’s MNS for his controversial remarks against North Indians, the other one, filed by RU Upadhyay, sought protection for the North Indians in Maharashtra and compensation to those who had suffered from the attacks. The court, however, refused to pass any direction on the grounds that the issue was related to the aspect of law and order, and it thus directed the petitioners to have faith in the Bombay High Court
and seek further hearing there.
In another apparent rebuff to Raj Thackeray, the Supreme Court asserted that every Indian has the right to settle anywhere in the country. A bench consisting of Justices H K Sema and Markandey Katju remarked,
The apex court made the observation while upholding the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
's move to ban the sale of meat in the town during the nine-day "Paryushan festival" observed by the Jain community.
, Nashik’s guardian minister, reported that 15,000 migrant workers had left the city in the aftermath of the violence against North Indians.
MP Suresh Kalmadi
, who picketed at Pune railway station to allay fears of those boarding the trains with their family members, carrying their meager belongings.
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation
area, were affected due to the large-scale departure of migrant workers. According to a report, 40 percent small and medium industries in the Ambad industrial area had been closed down due to the migration. Though the local industries at Nashik are ancillary units, they provide material to big industries such as Mahindra and Mahindra and Crompton Greaves
. Losses resulting from the exodus were estimated to be Rs. 500 – 700 crore
.
In Pune, where the construction industry was badly hit, some local organisations, working for porters, construction workers and casual labourers, tried to stop the exodus. These organisations set up a National Integration Committee (NIC) and charted out confidence-building measures among the migrants in the city. One of the resolutions passed at the meeting was to encourage participation of the North Indians in all festivities in the near future. In fact, ninety percent of the labour force in Pune consists of migrants; 60 percent of these come from Bihar and UP. It was also feared that the stoppage of construction activities would adversely affect the plans of hosting certain events of the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games
to be held in the city.
On 8 September 2008, Infosys Technologies announced that 3,000 employee positions had been shifted from Pune to Chennai, due to construction delays caused earlier that year by the attacks on North Indian construction workers.
The attacks evoked severe responses from political parties and their leaders, particularly of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Mayawati
, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, accused the Congress
-ruled Maharashtra government of failing to prevent the attacks. She demanded centre intervention to protect the lives and properties of North Indians in the state. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar
said "Mumbai ujad jayega (Mumbai will be ruined)". In response to the attacks on taxi drivers and vendors, he added, "What will happen in Mumbai if taxis go off the roads? Mumbai will come to a standstill".
Lalu Prasad Yadav on 5 February 2008, took up the issue of attacks on North Indians with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
and demanded action against those involved in them. Commenting on Raj Thackeray, Lalu Prasad said, "He is desperate and such type of leader will never be successful in the country. The Government should take action against him and his supporters".
In the national capital, Delhi
, political and social organisations launched street protests and burnt Raj's effigy
, while members of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP)'s Poorvanchal cell held a demonstration demanding that the dismissal of the Maharashtra government. In Allahabad
, SP workers tried to obstruct the movement of trains in protest. In Uttar Pradesh's capital, Lucknow
, Nationalist Congress Party
activists burnt an effigy of Raj. In Patna
, capital of Bihar, RJD's youth wing staged a demonstration against Raj and the MNS. Thackeray's effigies were burnt also in Jamshedpur in the state of Jharkhand
.
Maharashtra
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
condemned Raj's actions and promised to protect migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and at the same time warned SP from hijacking the situation for political mileage. The Nationalist Congress Party
, a key member of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, also criticised Raj Thackeray and said the campaign was a "cheap publicity stunt". On 6 February 2008 about 200 MNS party workers quit their party and re-joined Shiv Sena
, to protest against the MNS's anti-North Indian agenda.
On 9 March, Congress
President Sonia Gandhi
declared that there should be no leniency towards those stoking regional and communal passions. "Unity and integrity are the basic conditions for progress of the nation and to fight terrorism. There should be no leniency towards those who seek to discriminate on the basis of religion and region," Sonia Gandhi said. She asserted that the country belongs to all with equal rights to it, and that it is the responsibility of all to ensure security of life and property of every citizen in any part of the country.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Lal Krishna Advani
of the BJP criticising the attacks commented, "No political party should say or do anything that weakens the country's unity or undermines the Constitution". BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar
alleged that the Congress
State government deliberately delayed taking any action when the attacks on North Indians began in Mumbai. He said that he suspected Congress had a strategy to divide Maharashtrian and non-Maharashtrian votes, by creating a feeling of insecurity among non-Maharashtrians in the hope that they would vote for the Congress. He blamed the party for trying to divert people's attention from more critical problems that Maharashtra faces, such as the agrarian crisis and load shedding. He added, "India is one and every Indian has a right to settle down and work in any part of the country".
The Communist Party of India
demanded stringent action against those inciting violence and asked democratic forces to launch a united struggle against such elements. The party also accused the media, particularly the electronic media, of encouraging anti-national and parochial forces by giving them "undue publicity". According to a resolution adopted at its 20th national Congress at Hyderabad, no adequate action was against those who indulge in chauvinistic slogans and perpetuate hooliganism, and the ruling Congress-led coalition and the opposition BJP utilised these forces for their local political gains. The resolution also said, "Opportunistic, parochial and chauvinistic" forces like Shiv Sena and MNS have exploited the situation for narrow electoral gains and demanded compensation for those affected by the violence. The resolution stated that in 1966, Bal Thackeray gave anti-South Indian slogans and now his nephew wants to repeat that experience by giving anti-North Indian slogans. The All India Minorities Front
(AIMF) threatened to launch a nation-wide agitation against Raj if he did not mend his ways and avoid targeting North Indians and non-Maharashtrians.
The anti-North Indian violence was labeled as a 'tirade against North Indians' by sections of the national media (The Hindu
, The Times of India
, Deccan Herald
, Hindustan Times
, The Economic Times
) and international media (Khaleej Times
). The Hindustan Times published a survey on the front page on 15 February, which said that 73 percent of Mumbai believed the insular line of the MNS and its president against North Indians was denting Mumbai’s cosmopolitan image. The Hindustan Times later received a call from the MNS spokesperson Shirish Parkar protesting the findings of the study. Raj blamed the English and Hindi language media of being biased against him and his party. In addition, some held the media responsible of giving Raj undue publicity. According to an SMS/web poll conducted by CNN IBN, 88 percent of the voters were of the opinion that Raj Thackeray was "feeding on media hype". On 11 February, in Pune, a group of about 15 MNS activists burnt 150 copies of The Week
, a weekly magazine in English, in reaction to its cover story on Raj's controversial utterances, portraying him as Mumbai's Hitler.
The Editor-in-Chief of Outlook
, Vinod Mehta
, said in a debate on the media's role in the situation, "Here is a politician [Raj Thackeray] propounding an idea that could lead to a civil war in the country. The doctrine had to be challenged and what could the media have done? While you may argue that some images were in excess, you will also agree we had to report because this fight to the streets". Ending the debate on a sarcastic note Mehta said, "It's ridiculous! The politicians are not responsible, the state government isn't responsible, police are not to be blamed but media is responsible".
Painter Pranava Prakash
did his exhibition titled “Chal Hat Be Bihari” in Jan 2009 in delhi protesting violence against north Indians in Mumbai.
daily Maharashtra Times
editorial on Raj's arrest said that his arrest was a big farce, from which he emerged with pomp and style. It condemned the violence that resulted after the arrest that forced thousands of migrant workers to uproot themselves from various parts of Maharashtra. Loksatta criticised the television channels for their relentless replay of just two instances to portray the violent impact of his arrest. The edit blamed Hindi channels for making Mumbai look like Gujarat during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Another editor in the same daily also wrote that the "Marathi andolan" (Marathi demonstration) will not benefit any party, as the Marathi vote would be divided between the Shiv Sena and MNS. Lokmat
, another popular Marathi daily, published a special on a population survey conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences
(TISS), according to which, there has been a 21% decrease in the migrant population in the city since 1961. The North Indian population, however, witnessed an increase from 12 to 24 percent. Saamna’s editorial asked what wrong Ambadas Bararao, the Maharashtrian man killed in the violence, had committed. The editor of Sakal
wrote that although Raj had gained political mileage by taking up the cause of Marathi people, its impact was severe on the migrants, who had to flee the state.
Nikhil Wagle, Editor-in-Chief of Lokmat TV, on the day of Raj's arrest said in an interview with CNBC India that the Mumbai police should have acted against Raj Thackeray and Abu Azmi earlier. He said, "Had they acted, there would have been no violence. I think the police reacted a little late." He expressed his apprehensions about the Shiv Sena stirring up some trouble to compete with Raj Thackeray as he had put the Sena on the back foot. "Raj Thackeray has stolen the show from Uddhav Thackeray. I think Bal Thackeray will be worried and he will create some trouble. He might give some provocative statements. So, the police have to be observant otherwise it will be a fight between the two brothers and Maharashtra and Mumbai will suffer."
Indian Express editor Sudheendra Kulkarni
's open letter in Loksatta (Marathi newspaper owned by The Indian Express
) to Raj Thackeray, in response to Raj's article article in Marathi titled Maazi Bhoomika, Maaza Ladha (My Stand, My Struggle) in the Maharashtra Times of 9 February. The letter by Sudheendra which admonished Raj Thackeray for his "hate speech" solicited a response from Raj. A similar open letter was addressed to Raj by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai
to Raj deploring his party's actions in the 19 October 2008 All-India Railway Recruitment Board examination attack
.
* Translated in English (original text in Marathi
)
n campaign—"Lungi Bhagao, Pungi Bajao" (throw out those who wear lungis, celebrate by blowing bugles)—during the formative years of the Shiv Sena in the 1960s.
Kumar Ketkar, the editor of the Marathi daily Loksatta, said though Raj might have achieved what he wanted, but he may have not anticipated the attention it would get. He said, "He thought the media would gobble it up and just create a small storm that will shift the agenda. But the great Amar Singh and Abu Azmi fuelled the issue by taking him more seriously than what he deserves. The confrontational position aided the MNS volunteers to get into the limelight". Ketkar also said the Shiv Sena would lose in the scenario commenting, "The Sena tried to woo the North Indians after it realised their value as a vote bank in the 2004 defeat. They realised that the demography of the city had changed within a decade. That is when they decided it was time to please the North Indians. Uddhav
started organising Uttar Bharatiya functions. This is the year that he bore the fruits of his efforts. That is why Raj decided to strike at the same sentiment that the Sena played in the past—the Marathi Manoos."
The author of The Sena Story, Vaibhav Purandare, said Raj resorted to this measure to stem his party's eroding credibility. He said, "When Raj launched his party, he first started out with an inclusive approach. When he found that it is not working, he had to do something drastic to get back into the limelight. On the other hand, the Sena was actually becoming inclusive. It even began attracting Muslims into its fold. It also began taking up the common man's issues like farmer suicides and power supply. This is Raj's attempt to take the Sena's mass base away to completely embarrass the Sena. And he has succeeded." Both Ketkar and Purandare, however, agreed that Raj was trying to position himself as Bal Thackeray's potential successor.
Congress leader Hussain Dalwai said, "It’s a sad commentary on the administration which has come to a stage where it requires the high court intervention.” He put the onus of his party’s coalition partner, saying, “Whether it is MNS violence in the signboard or dalit killing at Khairlanji it shows an insensitive administration. The NCP president Sharad Pawar should seriously reflect on the working of the state home department." Even NCP leaders including Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal have told RR Patil and Deshmukh, in the cabinet meet to “either act or shut up”. Suggesting that the Maharashtra government was not keen on taking strong action against MNS chief Raj Thackeray, the NDA on Thursday described as "stage-managed show" the arrest and bail for him in cases of violence against north Indians in the state. BJP MP Shahnawaz Hussain said, "Congress is Raj Thackeray's event management company and it is trying to project Raj's arrest as an event instead of making any serious effort to check the violent campaign of MNS against north Indians. There is match-fixing between Raj and the Maharashtra government. The state government deliberately books him under small sections and he gets bail." Talking on the attacks on North Indian candidates at the All-India Railway Recruitment examinations in Mumbai, Rajya Sabha MP and JD-U national general secretary Shivananda Tiwari also attacked Congress for "promoting" the MNS chief and comparing him with slain Punjab separatist leader Bhindarwale. "Congress party has a mastery in creating 'bhasmasurs' (self destructing demons). Earlier they created Bhindranwale in Punjab, which killed a Congress Prime Minister. Even this Raj Thackeray is ultimately going to damage Congress," Tiwari claimed. He also alleged that Maharashtra government arrested Raj to carry out a "formality" and as mild charges were pressed, he got bail soon.
While still under the gag order, in an interview with the Marathi weekly magazine Lok Prabha of the Indian Express group, Raj was quoted as saying: "We will go with folded hands and ask them [North Indians] to leave. If they refuse, then we will raise our hands." Lok Prabha editor Pravin Tokekar said: "The MNS chief has technically not made any inflammatory statement. Even when he says he and his party would go with folded hands to people asking them to leave and only raise hands if they refuse, he treads the ground gingerly without naming any community or party per se". On 3 March, at a party function organized by the MNS at Shivaji Park, after the expiry of the gag order, Raj announced, "I have not given up my mission", thus signaling to his supporters of continuing his stance on the migrant issue.
Then on 3 May, despite legal warnings by the police before his rally, Raj issued a diktat to his supporters to take action whenever they encountered "injustice". At a rally at Shivaji Park, he said, "That north Indians are living in Mumbai is because of our mercy. Let it be known". He told MNS leaders to shed their complacence and advised his supporters to "take action" whenever they felt necessary. He warned that North Indians who did not speak Marathi and did not respect Marathi culture would be driven away. Raj dared the police in his speech by saying, "Arrest me for this if you can". After analysing the speech amidst demand for action against the MNS chief a senior police official quoted it was "difficult to find an explicit threat or provocation" in the text of his speech to initiate strong legal action against him and "it seems he [Raj] consulted legal experts before making the speech".
He also denounced Bihari MPs, saying they were "spitting in the same plate from which they ate" by criticising Mumbaikars and Maharashtrians. He also wrote, "They are trying to add fuel to the fire that has been extinguished, by saying that Mumbaikars have rotten brains". The outburst was apparently in response to MPs from Bihar who had disrupted the proceedings of the Lok Sabha
in protest against the attacks on North Indians. Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, upset with the remarks, demanded that the Prime Minister and the Centre intervene in the matter immediately. The Saamna editorial prompted at least 16 Lok Sabha MPs from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, belonging to the RJD, JD (U), SP and the Congress, to give notice for breach of privilege proceedings against Bal Thackeray. After the matter was raised in the Lok Sabha Speaker
Somnath Chatterjee
said: "If anybody has made any comment on our members’ functioning in the conduct of business in the House, not only do we treat that with the contempt that it deserves, but also any action that may be necessary will be taken according to procedure and well established norms. Nobody will be spared".
On 27 March, in protest against Bal Thackeray's editorial, leaders of Shiv Sena in Delhi
resigned citing its "outrageous conduct" towards non-Marathis in Maharashtra and announced that they will form a separate party. Addressing a press conference Shiv Sena's North India chief Jai Bhagwan Goyal said the decision to leave the party was taken because of the "partial attitude" of the party high command towards Maharashtrians. "Shiv Sena is no different from Khalistan and Jammu and Kashmir militant groups which are trying to create a rift between people along regional lines. The main aim of these forces is to split our country. Like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the Shiv Sena too has demeaned North Indians and treated them inhumanely", he said.
Evaluating the developments, political observers in Mumbai remarked that the Shiv Sena had been "caught in a bind" by Raj’s campaign as it had in recent years sought to portray an inclusive image to try to woo the significant migrant vote in the Mumbai and Thane region in the run-up to the Assembly elections in 2009. In order to balance this strategy, the party had started speaking up for Maharashtrians to remind them that it was the Shiv Sena was the original voice of the local people.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is a political party based in Maharashtra operating on the motto of "Sons of the Soil". It was founded on the March 9, 2006 in Mumbai by Raj Thackeray after he left the Shiv Sena due to differences with Uddhav Thackeray and sidelining in major decisions like...
(MNS) and Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party is a political party in India. It is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party...
(SP)—at Dadar
Dadar
Dadar is a place in Mumbai, and is also a railway station on both the Western and Central lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Dadar is situated in the heart of Mumbai, and Dadar station is the only railway station common to both the Central and Western lines...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. The clashes took place when workers of MNS, a splinter faction formed out of the Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
(a major political party of Maharashtra), tried to attack workers of SP, the regional party based in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, who were proceeding to attend a rally organised by the United National Progressive Alliance
United National Progressive Alliance
Sometimes known as the Third Front. For the Third Front in power between 1996 and 1998, see United Front . For the Third Front in power between 1989 and 1991, see National Front ....
(UNPA). Defending his party’s stand, MNS chief Raj Thackeray
Raj Thackeray
Raj Shrikant Thackeray is the founder and president of the right-wing Marathi ethnocentric regional political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the state of Maharashtra, India...
explained that the attack was a reaction to the "provocative and unnecessary show of strength" and "uncontrolled political and cultural dadagiri (bullying) of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
migrants and their leaders".
In the events leading to these clashes, Raj Thackeray made critical remarks, themed around language politics
Language politics
Language politics is a term used to describe political consequences of linguistic differences between people, or on occasion the political consequences of the way a language is spoken and what words are used. It means language can express some authority. Examples include:*Recognition of a...
and regionalism
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
, about migrants from the North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
n states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, accusing them of spoiling Maharashtrian culture and not mingling with them. At political rallies held across the state, he questioned the loyalty of Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
actor Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
towards Maharashtra, where he attained "fame and popularity", accusing him of showing "more interest" in his native Uttar Pradesh. He called the celebration of Chhath Puja by North Indian migrants a "drama" and a "show of arrogance".
On 13 February 2008, the state government, which was accused of reluctance to take immediate action, ultimately arrested Raj Thackeray and Abu Asim Azmi
Abu Asim Azmi
Abu Asim Azmi born 8 August 1955, is the state president of Maharashtra Samajwadi Party. He represented Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament from November 2002- Nov 2008....
(a local SP leader) on charges of instigation of violence and causing communal disturbance. Although released that same day, a gag order
Gag order
A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
was imposed on both leaders to prevent them from making further inflammatory remarks. Meanwhile, tensions in Maharashtra rose as the news of Raj's possible arrest, and his subsequent actual arrest, angered his supporters. Incidences of violence against North Indians and their property by MNS workers were reported in Mumbai, Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, Aurangabad
Aurangabad District, Maharashtra
Aurangabad District is one of the 35 districts of Maharashtra state in western India. It is bordered by the districts of Nashik to the west, Jalgaon to the north, Jalna to the east, and Ahmednagar to the south. Aurangabad is the headquarters and principal city...
, Beed
Beed
Beed is a town and administrative headquarters of the district of the same name located in central Maharashtra state of India. According to 2001 census, it is the largest urban area in the district with a population of 138,091. Calculated population of 2010 is 161,604. It ranks 295th in population...
, Nashik, Amravati
Amravati
Amravati is a city in the state of Maharashtra, India and the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Maharashtra. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Amravati district...
, Jalna
Jalna district
Jalna district is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in western India. Jalna town is the district headquarters. The district is part of Aurangabad division. The district occupies an area of 7718 km²...
, and Latur
LaTur
La Tur was a Mexican airline that operated from 1988 until 1992 when it was taken over by TAESA.-Company history:Set up in 1988 to help develop the tourist market, La Tur began operations using McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft. One year later, the Airbus A300-600 was introduced for flights to Europe...
. Nearly 25,000 North Indian workers fled Pune, and another 15,000 fled Nashik in the wake of the attacks. The exodus of workers caused an acute labour shortage, affecting local industries. Analysts estimated financial losses of – . Although the violence receded after the arrests of the two leaders, sporadic attacks were reported until May 2008. After months of lull, on 19 October 2008, MNS activists beat up North Indian candidates appearing for the all-India Railway Recruitment Board entrance exam in Mumbai. The incident led to Raj's arrest and fresh violence. Later on 28 October 2008 a labourer from Uttar Pradesh was lynched in a Mumbai commuter train.
The attacks evoked critical reactions from various parts of the country, particularly the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar political leadership. Even Bal Thackeray
Bal Thackeray
Bal Keshav Thackeray , popularly known as Balasaheb Thackeray, is an Indian politician, founder and chief of the Shiv Sena, a right-wing Hindu nationalist, and Marathi ethnocentric party active mainly in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.Born in Pune, Thackeray began his professional career...
, Raj's estranged uncle and chief of the Shiv Sena, who formed his party in 1966 to raise the voice of Marathi manoos (Marathi people), discounted his nephew's criticism of Bachchan as "stupidity". In an editorial a month later in Saamna, the Shiv Sena's political mouthpiece, however, Bal Thackeray wrote that Biharis antagonised local populations wherever they went and were an "unwelcome lot" throughout the country. The media slated Bal's remarks as an attempt to recapture his party's sons-of-soil plank, being hijacked by Raj.
Migration from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
Due to poor governance, criminalization of politicsCriminalization of politics
"Criminalization of politics" is a political buzzword in the United States used in the media, by commentators, bloggers as well as by defenders of high-ranking government officials who have been indicted or face criminal or ethical investigations....
and corruption
Corruption
Corruption usually refers to spiritual or moral impurity.Corruption may also refer to:* Corruption , an American crime film* Corruption , a British horror film...
for many decades, the socio-economic conditions and law-and-order situation in UP and Bihar are dismal. Also, these two states have high illiteracy rates and population growth rates. This is has led to lack of economic development, unemployment and poverty.
Many people from these states migrate to more developed areas like Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
for employment. As per 2001 census, Maharashtra received the highest number of immigrants from other states (3.2 million) during the period 1991-2001, whereas, Uttar Pradesh was the first in the number of emmigrant to other states (4.2 million), followed by Bihar (2.9 million) including Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, which was a part of Bihar until 2000. Large scale migration of labourers from this states, especially from Bihar, has led to violent opposition to them in various parts of India, such as Maharashtra, Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
and Punjab.
Raj Thackeray's resignation from Shiv Sena and the formation of MNS
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Thackeray is the executive president of the Shiv Sena, a right wing, Marathi ethnocentric regional political party based in the Indian state of Maharashtra...
. The Shiv Sainiks (Shiv Sena members) who supported Raj’s leadership, in contrast to his cousin Uddhav, joined the MNS. The party was founded on the ideology of being the benefactor of the local Marathi Manoos (Marathi people), an ideology that the party members felt the Shiv Sena had abandoned. Keeping in line with this, Raj has repeatedly demanded special job reservations for locals. A critic of the influx of migrants into the state, especially Uttar Bhartiyas (literally meaning "North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
ns") predominantly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, he has blamed the large-scale immigration of people from these economically backward states for causing a shortage of jobs for Maharashtrian
Marathi people
The Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
s.
Shiv Sena's move to appease migrants
Bal Thackeray's son Uddhav, who has been trying to project himself as Bal's successor after the out ouster of Raj, suffered major defeats in the 2005 Municipal elections. As a result, he shifted from the previous pro-Marathi agenda of "son-of-soil" to the inclusive stand of Mee Mumbaikar (We the people of Mumbai). Under this new banner, the Shiv Sena started focusing on appeasing the largely North Indian migrant population. The Times of IndiaThe Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
summarised the cause of MNS's attacks—"There's a method in MNS's madness in attacking north Indians in Mumbai though, howsoever flawed it might be. Raj believes his cousin and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has been wooing the people from Bihar and UP—through a campaign he began back in 2005 with the inclusive call of Mee Mumbaikar—as his party's vote-bank. Uddhav's growing popularity with North Indians had been rankling Raj, who is losing ground and political relevance as evident in the MNS's performance in the last municipal elections."
Raj’s criticism of Amitabh Bachchan
In January 2008, targeting Mumbai-resident Amitabh Bachchan at political rallies, Raj asserted that the actor was "more interested" in his native state Uttar Pradesh than Maharashtra. He expressed his disapproval of Amitabh's inaugurating a girls' school named after his daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, rather than in Maharashtra. Bachchan was also criticised for choosing to run elections from his native state. On 2 February at a party function at DharaviDharavi
Dharavi is a slum and administrative ward, over parts of Sion, Bandra, Kurla and Kalina suburbs of Mumbai, India. It is sandwiched between Mahim in the west and Sion in the east, and spread over an area of 175 hectares, or...
in Mumbai, Raj said, "Though he [Amitabh] has become a star in Mumbai, his interest is in Uttar Pradesh. That is why he was trying to be an ambassador of UP rather than Maharashtra. That is why though he achieved everything in Mumbai, when it came to elections, Amitabh chose Uttar Pradesh".
Jaya Bachchan
Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Bachchan is the wife of Amitabh Bachchan, and is the mother of Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan...
said that they (Bachchans) were willing to start a school in Mumbai, provided the MNS leader donated the land to build it. She told the media, "I heard that Raj Thackeray owns huge properties in Maharashtra, in Mumbai at Kohinoor Mills. If he is willing to donate land, we can start a school in the name of Aishwarya here". Amitabh, however, abstained from commenting on the issue.
Bal Thackeray refuted the allegations, saying, "Amitabh Bachchan is an open-minded person, he has great love for Maharashtra, and this is evident on many occasions. The actor has often said that Maharashtra and specially Mumbai has given him great fame and affection. He has also said that what he is today is because of the love people have given him. The people of Mumbai have always acknowledged him as an artiste. It was utter foolishness to make these parochial allegations against him. Amitabh is a global superstar. People all over the world respect him. This cannot be forgotten by anyone. Amitabh should ignore these silly accusations and concentrate on his acting". According to some reports, Raj's censure of Amitabh, whom he supposedly admires, stemmed from his disappointment of not being invited to the wedding of Amitabh's son, Abhishek
Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
, despite invitations to his estranged uncle Bal and cousin Uddhav.
On 23 March, Amitabh finally spoke out in an interview with a local tabloid, saying, "Random charges are random; they do not deserve the kind of attention you wish me to give". Later on 28 March at a press conference for the International Indian Film Academy, when asked what his take was on the anti-migrant issue, Amitabh said that it is one's fundamental right to live anywhere in the country and the constitution entitles so. He also stated that he was not affected by Raj's comments.
Raj’s remarks on Chhath Puja and migrants
In his party speeches, Raj had also reproached North Indian migrants on the celebration of Chhath PujaChhath
Chhath is an ancient Hindu festival dedicated to the Hindu Sun God, Surya, also known as Surya Shashti. The Chhath Puja is performed in order to thank Surya for sustaining life on earth and to request the granting of certain wishes. The Sun, considered the god of energy and of the life-force, is...
, a festival popular in Bihar, calling it a "drama" and a "show of arrogance". He demanded that they must only celebrate Maharashtrian festivals. A petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
was filed in the Patna civil court on 8 February against him for his remarks over Chhath Puja. His statements drew flak from leaders of Bihar, especially Indian Railways minister and former chief minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party...
, who challenged that he would come to Mumbai and perform Chhath Puja in front of Raj's house, also ridiculed Raj saying, "He [Raj] is a child in politics". The Navnirman Sena leader accused migrants of swamping Maharashtra, India's most industrialised state, in search of jobs.
The MNS chief had also accused migrants of disrespecting the local culture. On 9 February, expressing his stance on newer migrants settling in Mumbai, Raj said, "New immigrants to the city should be denied entry into the city, while those already staying here should show respect to the Marathi 'manoos' and his culture".
Clashes between MNS and SP workers
On 3 February 2008, MNS and SP workers indulged in street fighting after the former tried to attack the latter, who were proceeding to Shivaji ParkShivaji Park
Shivaji Park is the largest park in Mumbai. It is situated in the Dadar area of Mumbai. Like the Azad Maidan and August Kranti Maidan , it is of historical and cultural value because of the political and social gatherings it has witnessed, both in pre- and post-independence Mumbai.-Geography:The...
, Dadar, in Mumbai to attend a rally organised by the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), the ruling coalition party of India, of which the SP is a member. The rally was to be addressed by former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav in Hindi मुलायम सिंह यादव is an Indian politician and has influence mainly in Uttar Pradesh state of India...
and other prominent members of the UNPA and SP. Police arrested 73 MNS and 19 SP workers after these clashes on charges of rioting.
Raj justified his party's stand as a response to—"provocative and unnecessary show of strength" and "uncontrolled political and cultural dadagiri of the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar migrants and their leaders"—and questioned, "Do political movements need to obey the law?" On 10 February at a press conference, he issued a statement saying, "What happened in Mumbai in the past one week was only a reaction and if leaders of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar try to demonstrate their strength here, such reactions would recur".
After the clashes, SP approached the Election Commission
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...
demanding de-registration of MNS. SP general secretary whose press conference near Azad Maidan
Azad Maidan
Azad Maidan is a triangular-shaped maidan in South Mumbai, India. The name Azad means "free" in Hindi. The ground is known for its cricket pitches, for protest meetings, and for political rallies...
was disrupted by MNS activists on 3 February, Amar Singh
Amar Singh (politician)
Amar Singh is an Indian politician from the state of Uttar Pradesh and one of the founding leaders of Samajwadi Party. Known for his chaste Hindi and political connections, Amar Singh polarises the public opinion on him...
petitioned the Commission requesting action against the MNS and its leaders for issuing "veiled as well as open threats" against non-Maharashtrians. However, Mumbai police dismissed a complaint of "criminal intimidation" filed against Raj by Singh as ‘false and malicious’. In his complaint filed at Azad Maidan police station, Singh had alleged that sloganeering MNS men had threatened him by using Thackeray's name while being whisked away by security personnel from the venue.
February
On 3 February, immediately after clashes with SP, MNS workers assaulted North Indian taxi drivers and vandalised their vehicles in DadarDadar
Dadar is a place in Mumbai, and is also a railway station on both the Western and Central lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Dadar is situated in the heart of Mumbai, and Dadar station is the only railway station common to both the Central and Western lines...
, Mumbai. The police faced strong criticism for remaining mute spectators as MNS workers assaulted North Indians. A departmental inquiry was instituted against the police inaction. Inspector Motiram Kadam and sub-inspector Deepak Pawar, who were assigned duty at Dadar, were suspended for dereliction of duty
Dereliction of duty
Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10,892. Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties or has incapacitated himself in such a way that he cannot perform his duties...
. Later, over 25 MNS workers were arrested on charges of rioting. In the night, 150 suspected MNS activists ransacked Pratap talkies in Thane, pulled out the print of the Bhojpuri film "Saiyan se Solah Singaar" and burned it because Bhojpuri is the regional language spoken in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The rioters also damaged the theatre and destroyed the seats. A similar incident was reported in Nashik.
The next day in Mumbai, two motorcycle-borne MNS supporters hurled bottles at Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow at Juhu. A group of MNS workers barged inside the booking office of the Grant Road
Grant Road
Grant Road , named after Sir Robert Grant, the Governor of Bombay between 1835 and 1839, is currently a suburban railway station and former terminus of the erstwhile Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway...
railway station, damaged the booking office windows and tore off posters of a newly released Bhojpuri film put up there. Party workers resorted to stone throwing in some parts of Kandivli, a North-Mumbai suburb that has a sizable North Indian lower middle-class population. In the Central-Mumbai suburb of Bandra, a clash ensued when MNS workers tried to plant party flags at an open market dominated by North Indians.
The offices of Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari
Manoj Tiwari (actor)
Manoj Tiwari Mridul is a bhojpuri mega star, most popular bhojpuri singer,Television presenter and Director, hailing from Bihar,India who acts in Bhojpuri films.-Early life:...
and North Indian Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam
Sanjay Nirupam
Shree Sanjay Nirupam is a third time Member of Indian Parliament. He has served two terms as a nominated MP in the Rajya Sabha first of which was as a Shiv Sena member and the second as a Congress party member. He now represents North Mumbai as an elected Congress member in the Lok Sabha. He is the...
were stoned by MNS supporters on 5 February. Two days later, a group of 20 to 25 MNS activists forced themselves into the Central Mumbai office of the Bombay Taximen's Union, where they assaulted office staff and damaged property. In response to the attack, the 55,000-strong Union immediately called for a flash strike. The strike was then called off after R. R. Patil
R. R. Patil
Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, better known as R. R. Patil , is an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He is a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party. He became Home Minister of Maharashtra for the second time after the 2009 Maharashtra assembly election victory of the Congress-NCP alliance...
, the Home Minister of Maharashtra, assured the Union of justice and safety. An advocate named Arvind Shukla filed a Public Interest Litigation
Public interest litigation
In Indian law, Public Interest Litigation OR जनहित याचिका means litigation for the protection of the public interest. It is litigation introduced in a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any other private party...
(PIL) seeking directions to the Election Commission to derecognise MNS in view of its "anti-national activities".
On 8 February, re-invoking the issue of Marathi pride, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on hit out at North Indians again, in a special article titled "Majhi bhumika, majha ladha" (My stand, my struggle) written by him in the Marathi daily Maharashtra Times, Thackeray said, "Even if the whole world opposes my stand, I and my party will continue the struggle to protect Marathi culture, Maharashtrian people and will trample the goondaism of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. At this juncture, I feel like asking the Maharashtrian people that if I am voicing your true emotion, then why are you sitting on the fence. Come join me in this struggle."
On 12 February, MNS workers attacked vendors and shopkeepers from North India in various parts of Maharashtra and destroyed government property to vent their anger against the reported move to arrest Raj. Sporadic violence was reported in Beed and Aurangabad. State-run buses in these areas were stone-pelted, resulting in the arrest of several MNS workers. In Nashik, MNS workers vandalised several shops belonging to North Indians, forcing other shops and business establishments to close down. One shopkeeper was severely beaten and was admitted to Nashik General Hospital. Banks and schools promptly closed after these incidents. Stone pelting by angry mobs was also reported from the city's Shalimar and Bytco squares, and the Satpur and Ambad
Ambad
Ambad is a city and a municipal council in Jalna district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Ambad is notable for its temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Matsyodari. In October of each year, devotees of the goddess gather in Ambad for the Hindu festival of Dashahara. A local tradition claims...
industrial areas remained closed. Nashik police detained 26 MNS workers after the violence. Six municipal cooperators were also put under preventive arrest. Additional police pickets were deployed in various parts of the city, including Shalimar and Ambad Chowk, Satpur, Nashik Road
Nashik Road
Nashik Road is the name given to the suburb of Nashik that has the city's railway station...
, the MNS head office at Mumbai Naka and some of the city suburbs. In Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, MNS workers pelted stones on state-run buses and attacked a few shop owners in Pune's Laxmi Road area, prompting shops to shut down to avoid similar attacks.
The Mumbai Police
Mumbai Police
The Mumbai Police is the police force of the city of Mumbai, India. It has the primary responsibilities of law enforcement and investigation within the limits of Mumbai. The department's motto is ""...
announced its move to put Raj under their custody on 13 February, which created an upsurge of violence in the state and led to two deaths. Attacks on North Indians were reported from Mumbai, Pune, Jalna
Jalna district
Jalna district is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in western India. Jalna town is the district headquarters. The district is part of Aurangabad division. The district occupies an area of 7718 km²...
, Beed, Aurangabad and Latur
LaTur
La Tur was a Mexican airline that operated from 1988 until 1992 when it was taken over by TAESA.-Company history:Set up in 1988 to help develop the tourist market, La Tur began operations using McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft. One year later, the Airbus A300-600 was introduced for flights to Europe...
. Shops, offices and other business establishments were shut down in different parts of Mumbai, as MNS workers threatened violence in case their leader was arrested. Central Mumbai localities were most affected, especially around Dadar and Shivaji Park, the strongholds of both the MNS and the Shiv Sena. The police blocked roads in front of the residence of Raj in the Shivaji Park area. A civic activist named James John was assaulted by suspected MNS workers while he was attempting to photograph them forcing shop owners to down shutters in JB Nagar
JB Nagar
JB Nagar is a suburb in Andheri , Mumbai. Its proximity to the international airport makes it a prime business district. Located off the Andheri-Ghatkopar link road, it has good east-west connectivity....
, Andheri. John suffered two rib fractures and bruises on his lungs. In Nashik, an employee of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence, this state-owned company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and...
, a Maharashtrian, died during a stone pelting on state-run buses by MNS supporters. A migrant from Bihar, who was a security guard with a private company at Igatpuri
Igatpuri
Igatpuri is a city and a Hill Station municipal council in Nashik District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Western Ghats. The station lies in Nashik District between Mumbai and Nashik Road on the Central Railway. Igatpuri is known for its Buddhist Pagoda for Meditation...
in Nashik district
Nashik district
Nashik district, also known as Nasik district, is a district in Maharashtra, India. The city of Nashik is the administrative headquarters of the district.-Geography:Nashik district has an area of 15,530 square kilometres...
, was killed by a mob.
In Mumbai and Aurangabad
Aurangabad District, Maharashtra
Aurangabad District is one of the 35 districts of Maharashtra state in western India. It is bordered by the districts of Nashik to the west, Jalgaon to the north, Jalna to the east, and Ahmednagar to the south. Aurangabad is the headquarters and principal city...
, police rounded up more than 400 MNS workers. In Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad
Pimpri-Chinchwad
Pimpri-Chinchwad is a city in the Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It consists of the twin towns of Pimpri and Chinchwad which are governed by a common municipal body...
, MNS workers went on a rampage following the arrest of Raj, smashing windows and windscreens of eleven state buses. Thirteen rioters were arrested. They also chopped off both hands of a Bihari hawker sleeping on the streets. He was severely beaten until he fell unconscious. When he gained consciousness the following day, he found himself in a hospital with both hands amputated. The injured, mainly hawkers, were treated at the Nashik Civil Hospital after they were beaten. Shops along Nashik Road closed down after the incident. Incidents of stone pelting on state-run buses were reported from the Nashik Road, Ambad, Ravivar Peth, and Gangapur
Gangapur, Maharashtra
Gangapur is a city and a municipal council in Aurangabad district in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Geography:Gangapur is located on west side of Aurangabad-Ahmednagar Highway, 38 km from Aurangabad. Gangapur is Taluka place in Historical District Aurangabad...
areas. Bus services were severely curtailed and diverted via Nipani
Nipani
Nipani is a town and a city municipal council in Belgaum district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Nippani is the largest urban center in Chikkodi Taluka of Belgaum District...
. In Amrawati, MNS workers blocked roads and pelted stones at buses, damaging several vehicles in the process. Though contingents of the Rapid Action Force
Rapid Action Force
The Rapid Action Force is a specialised wing of the Indian CRPF . It was established on 11 December 1991 and became fully operational in October 1992, to deal with riots & related unrest...
and the Central Industrial Security Force
Central Industrial Security Force
The Central Industrial Security Force is a Central Armed Police Force in India.It was set up under an Act of the Parliament of India on March 10, 1969 with a strength of 2,800. CISF was subsequently made an armed force of the Union of India by another Act of Parliament passed on June 15, 1983. Its...
were deployed in many parts of the state, the police could not control violence by the MNS who adopted hit-and-run methods of attack. More than 200 activists of the MNS were arrested across Nashik. Many activists went underground and coordinated with party activists from undisclosed locations.
March–May
The attacks simmered down after mid-February due to the arrest and imposition of a gag order on Raj. Isolated cases of attacks, however, were reported until April 2008. On 22 March, six North Indians were beaten up by a group of HoliHoli
Holi , is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. Holi is also known as festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism, such as Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United...
revelers, suspected to be MNS workers, in Santa Cruz, Mumbai. On the same day, a shop owned by a North Indian was ransacked by a group of 10 – 15 drunken men, who pelted stones and beat his children because they had refused to provide free food. On 29 March, motorcycle-borne assailants damaged at least five taxis owned by North Indians in Central Mumbai. Four people were arrested. Four labourers travelling on the Konkan Kanya Express
Konkan Kanya Express
The Konkan Kanya Express is an Indian Railways train running between Mumbai and Madgaon on the Konkan Railway route. The train covers the 765 km journey in about 13.5 hours. It is an important train link serving people along the coastal areas of Maharastra and Goa.-Konkan Kanya Express :-External...
from Thane
Thane
Thane , is a city in Maharashtra, India, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, northeastern suburb of Mumbai at the head of the Thane Creek. It is the administrative headquarters of Thane district. On 16 April 1853, G.I.P...
to Margao
Margao
Margao and commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It is the administrative headquarters of South Goa district and of the Salcete taluka.- Etymology :...
in search of jobs were beaten and looted by some men in Raigad district
Raigad district
Raigad District , also known as Raigarh District, is a district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Konkan region. The district was renamed after Raigad, the fort which was the former capital of the Maratha leader Shivaji, and is located in the interior regions of the district,...
after being identified as North Indians on 1 April. Then on 30 May, a group of North Indians was injured when a mob of approximately 800 MNS activists attacked them at a meeting organised by the SP and some other North Indians fronts. Five North Indians were critically injured in the attack, and the police arrested 35 MNS activists after the incident.
October
After months of lull in the anti-North Indian offensive, on 19 October 2008, MNS activists beat up North Indian candidates appearing for the all-India Railway Recruitment Board entrance exam for the Western region in Mumbai. The attack invoked a quick reaction from Lalu Prasad Yadav and his cabinet colleague Ram Vilas Paswan, who too hails from Bihar. Chief minister Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, spoke to his Maharashtra counterpart Vilasrao Deshmukh and urged him to provide protection to the migrants from Bihar. Lalu demanded a ban on the MNS, and described its chief Raj Thackeray as a "mental case".Bihar witnessed violent protest after death of Pawan Mahto, a resident of Bara-Khurd village in Nalanda district, in anticipation that he died after being assaulted by MNS activists. However, railway police clarified, based on the CCTV footage, that Pawan had died due to an accident at Andheri station after slipping at a platform.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh admitted that his government was responsible for failure in preventing the attacks by MNS on north Indian candidates at Railways examination centres and ordered a probe into the incident, which will also inquire into why the job advertisements where not given in Marathi newspapers. "What has happened is not good. Such incidents take place because of loopholes in the law. One can't hold only the Home Ministry responsible for it, it is (entire) government's responsibility. Such incidents are affecting the image of the state and I have instructed the DGP to take stern action," Deshmukh said. However, NCP leader Narayan Rane, wrote a piece in the 23 October 2008, issue of `Prahar', in a city newspaper he owns, pleading that Marathis should get their legitimate share in the central government sector. The Times of India noted, the essay indicates that Rane continues to have a soft spot for MNS chief Raj Thackeray — the two were close friends when Rane was in the Sena. Stating that the Marathis were getting a raw deal in central government jobs such as income tax and the railways, Rane said it was perplexing that of 54,000, only 54 Marathis were summoned for the railway recruitment exams. The railways must give Marathis their legitimate share in employment, Rane said.
On 20 October 2008, Thackeray was arrested in Ratnagiri
Ratnagiri
Ratnāgiri is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri district in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan.The Sahyadri mountains border Ratnagiri to the east...
after Mumbai police had received a non-bailable warrant issued by a Jamshedpur court against the MNS chief. Raj's arrest ignited violence by his supporters in large parts of the city forcing it to shut down. Irate supporters went on the rampage torching public transport and telling office goers to return home. Many shops and commercial establishments, especially those run or managed by non-Maharashtrians, chose not to open at all to avoid trouble. Raj, whose MNS workers Sunday attacked non Maharashtrians appearing for the railway board examination, was brought from Ratnagiri, about 250 km from here, to be produced at the Bandra court, where he was summoned for.
There was mayhem outside the court premises with large crowds gathering around restively and camera crews waiting to capture the trouble. In some places, buses, taxis and autorickshaws were set on fire, in others areas public transport just stayed off the roads. The office of the state Congress spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam was also vandalised.
A North Indian shopkeeper was killed in Bhandup
Bhandup
Bhandup is a suburb of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, in the state of Maharashtra, India and is also the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Central Railway line....
, Mumbai after he refused to shut down his shop when MNS activists protesting Raj's arrest forced him to do so. Four persons were killed and another seriously injured in a village near Kalyan
Kalyan
Kalyan is a city in Thane district of Maharashtra, and a major railway station lying at the junction of the north-east and south-east lines of the suburban Mumbai division of the Central Railway, 53 km north-east of Mumbai. Kalyan is also a major Taluka place, a tehsil of the Thane district...
. Deputy commissioner of police (rural) Sanjay Shintre said two North Indians, a member of the Agri
Agri
Agri may refer to:* As shorthand or prefix referring to agriculture* Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development * Azerbaijan–Georgia–Romania Interconnector * Ağrı, a city in eastern Turkey* the Agri in southern Italy...
community and an MNS worker were killed in a clash between the two communities in Pisavali, 10 km from Kalyan. Earlier, curfew had been imposed in the entire Kalyan area. The situation in Kalyan worsened in the evening as Raj was driven there to a police station lock-up where he was to spend the night before being presented in a court on 22 October. Five outdoor broadcast vans belonging to media houses were damaged by MNS supporters. A cameraman from ETV
ETV Network (India)
ETV2 is first 24-hour Telugu news channel in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the many channels which telecast news in pure Telugu language....
was injured and had to admitted to a private hospital. One Kalyan-Dombivli municipal transport bus was set on fire while five bikes were reduced to ashes. Transport services across Kalyan were paralysed. A jewellery shop was also ransacked by MNS supporters. In all one hundred and twenty-five cases of arson, rioting and stonepelting were registered across the state, including in Pune and Marathwada
Marathwada
The name Marathwada identifies one of the five regions in Maharashtra state of India. The region coincides with the Aurangabad Division.-Historical highlights:...
, by early evening, and 2,085 people were arrested, state director general of police A N Roy said.
As news about the arrest spread, there was violence in other parts of Maharashtra too. Sporadic incidents of stone pelting at municipal and private buses were reported in the reat of Maharashtra following the arrest of MNS chief Raj Thackeray in Ratnagiri. In Kothrud area, some alleged MNS activists damaged a company's bus that was taking its employees to workplace. Few Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) buses were stoned by miscreants, police said. Meanwhile, police have picked up around 100 MNS activists, including some corporators as a preventive measure. In Nashik, MNS activists set ablaze a truck near PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal's farm and also damaged another truck at Vilholi-Phata area, police said. Incidents of stone pelting on MSRTC buses and other vehicles were reported in some areas, they said, adding vehicular traffic on the busy Mumbai-Agra-national highway was disrupted following the protest. Police rounded up 70 MNS activists in Nashik incidents and security was tightened in the city. In Solapur, incidents of stone pelting on state transport buses were also reported. In Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
MNS party leaders claimed to have damaged several MSRTC
MSRTC
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation , also referred to as MSRTC, or simply ST, is the state run bus service of Maharashtra, India with 16,000 buses which ferry 7 million passengers daily on 17,000 routes...
buses.
Angry students in various parts of Bihar damaged railway property and disrupted train traffic, as a protest. The police said the protesters targeted Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, Jehanabad
Jehanabad
Jehanabad is a city and a municipality in and the headquarters of Jehanabad district in the Indian state of Bihar. Earlier, Jehanabad was part of Gaya district. It is 50 km away from both Patna and Gaya.-Demographics:...
, Barh
Barh
Barh is a town and subdivision of Patna District of Bihar. It is located along the Ganges River, south-east of Patna.Barh railway station witnessed burning of many trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there and many more causes....
, Khusrupur
Khusrupur
Khusrupur is a city and a notified area in Patna district in the Indian state of Bihar. On June 1, 2009, Khusrupur railway station witnessed burning of two trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there...
, Sasaram
Sasaram
Sasaram , sometimes also spelled as Sahasram, is the administrative headquarters of the Rohtas district in the Indian state of Bihar.It is one of the oldest cities in India, and is famous for production of stone chips and for the local quarrying industry...
and Purnia
Purnia
Purnia is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Purnia district of the Indian state of Bihar. It is located 400 km from Patna.The Indian army, Border Security Force ,and the SSB and the have bases around the city...
railway stations in the morning. The protesting students reportedly set afire two AC bogies of an express train at Barh railway station. They ransacked Jehanabad, Barh, Purnia and Sasaram railway stations. According to the railway police, at least 10 students were detained in the morning and extra security was deployed to control the situation. A 10-year-old boy was killed when police opened fire on protesters. The child was hit by a stray bullet and died at the scene after police in Rohtas district fired on a mob attacking a train station. A group of 25 people pelted stones on the Maharashtra Bhawan in Khalasi Line, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Constructed in 1928, the building is owned by the lone trust run by Marathis in Kanpur.
January–May 2009
On 26 January 2009, MNS activists attacked North Indian residents of Satpur near Nashik who were paying tribute to the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008 and also celebrating 'Uttar Pradesh Din' through cultural programmes. Eight of them were arrested. In May 2009, alleged MNS workers tried to disrupt Patna-born actress Neetu ChandraNeetu Chandra
Neetu Chandra is an Indian theatre and film actress and model.-Early life and education:Neetu Chandra was born in Patna, Bihar, India. A resident of Patliputra Colony, she did her schooling from the Notre Dame Academy, Patna, and dreamt of entering the modelling world...
's intimate photoshoot with a model in Mumbai, claiming that it promoted lesbianism and chanting "Jai Maharashtra."
Arrests of Raj Thackeray and Abu Asim Azmi
Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code is the main criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code, intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. It was drafted in 1860 and came into force in colonial India during the British Raj in 1862...
sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (promoting enmity between groups on the basis of place of birth, residence, etc.) and 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) on 11 February. The police also applied section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to both politicians and warned them not to hold any press conferences or rallies in the next seven days. On 13 February, however, police arrested both the leaders. Later that day, a local court granted Raj conditional bail and ordered him not to make any speeches that would inflame public tension. He obtained a release after furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 15,000. Azmi was arrested and taken to the Bhoiwada court in South Central Mumbai and was released on surety of Rs. 10,000.
Raj appealed before the court against the gag order
Gag order
A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
imposed on him, stating that he had to move around different places in Maharashtra for propounding the philosophy of his party and that such an order was an infringement of his 'fundamental rights'. On 22 February, the court dismissed his appeal to re-track the extension of the gag order passed against him, following which MNS started a signature campaign to get support against the gag order. According to MNS, Maharashtrian actors Nana Patekar
Nana Patekar
Vishwanath "Nana" Patekar is an Indian actor and filmmaker.-Biography:Born Vishwanath Patekar in Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, to Dinkar Patekar and his wife Sanjanabai Patekar. He is an alumnus of the Sir J.J...
and Shreyas Talpade
Shreyas Talpade
-Early life:Talpade was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra, in a Marathi family. He attended Shree Ram Welfare Society's High School in Andheri-West. He is married to Deepti Talpade. Shreyas met his wife Deepti when he went to her college as a celebrity...
had shown support in opposing the gag order, along with actors Salman Khan
Salman Khan
Salman Khan is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya , for which he won a Filmfare Award for...
and Suneil Shetty. Salman Khan and Suneil Shetty, however, later denied the MNS's claim. This move by MNS prompted the police to serve a show cause notice to Raj, asking him why the gag order should not be extended.
Over 1,800 activists were put under arrest for substantive offenses and as a preventive measure since violence had erupted on the streets of Mumbai on 13 February, according to the Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police (Law and Order), K. L. Prasad.
Expression of displeasure by the Supreme Court
On 22 February, while hearing two Public Interest LitigationPublic interest litigation
In Indian law, Public Interest Litigation OR जनहित याचिका means litigation for the protection of the public interest. It is litigation introduced in a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any other private party...
s, the Supreme Court of India termed the attacks on North Indians in Mumbai by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists as "a dangerous trend". The three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
K G Balakrishnan, and Justices R V Ravindran and Markandey Katju
Markandey Katju
Justice Markandey Katju is the Chairman, Press Council of India. He was formerly a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.-Family / Background:Justice Markandey Katju was born on September 20, 1946 in Lucknow, India. He is of Kashmiri Brahmin descent...
observed,
"It [attack on North Indians] is a very dangerous tendency. What is happening there [Mumbai], we can understand. These [who were attacked] are innocent people. We understand the situation there [in Maharashtra] and what is happening. This is one country and we will not accept son-of-soil theory. We will not permit Balkanisation of this country."
The court passed the judgement while hearing two Public Interest Litigation
Public interest litigation
In Indian law, Public Interest Litigation OR जनहित याचिका means litigation for the protection of the public interest. It is litigation introduced in a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any other private party...
s on related issues. While the first, filed by advocate Arvind Shukla, had sought direction to the Election Commission to derecognise Mr Raj Thackeray’s MNS for his controversial remarks against North Indians, the other one, filed by RU Upadhyay, sought protection for the North Indians in Maharashtra and compensation to those who had suffered from the attacks. The court, however, refused to pass any direction on the grounds that the issue was related to the aspect of law and order, and it thus directed the petitioners to have faith in the Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court
Bombay High Court at Mumbai, Maharashtra, is the High Court of India with jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra & Goa, and, the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli...
and seek further hearing there.
In another apparent rebuff to Raj Thackeray, the Supreme Court asserted that every Indian has the right to settle anywhere in the country. A bench consisting of Justices H K Sema and Markandey Katju remarked,
"India is not an association or confederation of states, it is a union of state and there is only one nationality that is Indian. Hence every Indian has a right to go anywhere in India, to settle anywhere, and work and do business of his choice in any part of India peacefully."
The apex court made the observation while upholding the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation or the AMC, established in July 1950 under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act, 1949, is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city of Ahmedabad.-Vision:...
's move to ban the sale of meat in the town during the nine-day "Paryushan festival" observed by the Jain community.
Nashik
The news of Raj's possible arrest provoked a heightened attack on the North Indians in the industrial town of Nashik in Maharashtra, Raj's political stronghold. North Indians left the city by buses, trains and private vehicles. Railway officials at Nashik station said that this was the largest crowd using the railroad since the Sinhasta Kumbha Mela in 2003–2004. It was perhaps one of the largest exoduses from a single district in the country ever. Chhagan BhujbalChhagan Bhujbal
Chhagan Bhujbal is a politician from the state of Maharashtra, India. At present he is Minister of Public Works & Special Assistance Department, Maharashtra State and Guardian Minister, Nashik District; Member of Legislative Assembly, Yeola Assembly ; Constituency...
, Nashik’s guardian minister, reported that 15,000 migrant workers had left the city in the aftermath of the violence against North Indians.
Pune
In Pune, an estimated 25,000 workers left the city in the wake of the attacks, according to government officials. Pune's District Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar and Collector Prabhakar Deshmukh held meetings of various people's representatives to stop the mass departure. They were joined by local CongressIndian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
MP Suresh Kalmadi
Suresh Kalmadi
Suresh Kalmadi is an Indian politician and senior sports administrator. He was formerly a member of the Indian National Congress...
, who picketed at Pune railway station to allay fears of those boarding the trains with their family members, carrying their meager belongings.
Effects on local industries
Local industries in Nashik, especially those located in the AmbadAmbad
Ambad is a city and a municipal council in Jalna district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Ambad is notable for its temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Matsyodari. In October of each year, devotees of the goddess gather in Ambad for the Hindu festival of Dashahara. A local tradition claims...
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation is a project of the Government of Maharashta State in India, and is the leading corporation of Maharashtra....
area, were affected due to the large-scale departure of migrant workers. According to a report, 40 percent small and medium industries in the Ambad industrial area had been closed down due to the migration. Though the local industries at Nashik are ancillary units, they provide material to big industries such as Mahindra and Mahindra and Crompton Greaves
Crompton Greaves
Crompton Greaves is an Indian multinational engaged in design, manufacturing, and marketing of products related to power generation, transmission, and distribution based in Mumbai. Its part of Avantha Group. - History :...
. Losses resulting from the exodus were estimated to be Rs. 500 – 700 crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....
.
In Pune, where the construction industry was badly hit, some local organisations, working for porters, construction workers and casual labourers, tried to stop the exodus. These organisations set up a National Integration Committee (NIC) and charted out confidence-building measures among the migrants in the city. One of the resolutions passed at the meeting was to encourage participation of the North Indians in all festivities in the near future. In fact, ninety percent of the labour force in Pune consists of migrants; 60 percent of these come from Bihar and UP. It was also feared that the stoppage of construction activities would adversely affect the plans of hosting certain events of the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games
2008 Commonwealth Youth Games
The 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games were held in Pune, India, a city in the state of Maharashtra. They were the third Commonwealth Youth Games, which are held every four years; they were the first Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in Asia....
to be held in the city.
On 8 September 2008, Infosys Technologies announced that 3,000 employee positions had been shifted from Pune to Chennai, due to construction delays caused earlier that year by the attacks on North Indian construction workers.
Political reactions
Mayawati
Mayawati is the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India. She heads the Bahujan Samaj Party, which represents the Bahujans or Dalits, the weakest strata of Indian society. This is her fourth term as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh...
, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, accused the Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
-ruled Maharashtra government of failing to prevent the attacks. She demanded centre intervention to protect the lives and properties of North Indians in the state. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumar
Nitish Kumār is an Indian politician currently serving as Chief Minister of Bihar, an eastern state of India. He leads the Janata Dal party...
said "Mumbai ujad jayega (Mumbai will be ruined)". In response to the attacks on taxi drivers and vendors, he added, "What will happen in Mumbai if taxis go off the roads? Mumbai will come to a standstill".
Lalu Prasad Yadav on 5 February 2008, took up the issue of attacks on North Indians with Prime Minister
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
and demanded action against those involved in them. Commenting on Raj Thackeray, Lalu Prasad said, "He is desperate and such type of leader will never be successful in the country. The Government should take action against him and his supporters".
In the national capital, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, political and social organisations launched street protests and burnt Raj's effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
, while members of the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP)'s Poorvanchal cell held a demonstration demanding that the dismissal of the Maharashtra government. In Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
, SP workers tried to obstruct the movement of trains in protest. In Uttar Pradesh's capital, Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, Nationalist Congress Party
Nationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...
activists burnt an effigy of Raj. In Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, capital of Bihar, RJD's youth wing staged a demonstration against Raj and the MNS. Thackeray's effigies were burnt also in Jamshedpur in the state of Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh , popularly known as Vilasrao is the current Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences....
condemned Raj's actions and promised to protect migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and at the same time warned SP from hijacking the situation for political mileage. The Nationalist Congress Party
Nationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...
, a key member of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, also criticised Raj Thackeray and said the campaign was a "cheap publicity stunt". On 6 February 2008 about 200 MNS party workers quit their party and re-joined Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...
, to protest against the MNS's anti-North Indian agenda.
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
President Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
declared that there should be no leniency towards those stoking regional and communal passions. "Unity and integrity are the basic conditions for progress of the nation and to fight terrorism. There should be no leniency towards those who seek to discriminate on the basis of religion and region," Sonia Gandhi said. She asserted that the country belongs to all with equal rights to it, and that it is the responsibility of all to ensure security of life and property of every citizen in any part of the country.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Lal Krishna Advani
Lal Krishna Advani
Lal Kishanchand Advani known as Lal Krishna Advani is a Veteran Indian politician. A former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004...
of the BJP criticising the attacks commented, "No political party should say or do anything that weakens the country's unity or undermines the Constitution". BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar
Prakash Javadekar is a Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha and a leader of Bharatiya Janata Party. He was Elected to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2008...
alleged that the Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
State government deliberately delayed taking any action when the attacks on North Indians began in Mumbai. He said that he suspected Congress had a strategy to divide Maharashtrian and non-Maharashtrian votes, by creating a feeling of insecurity among non-Maharashtrians in the hope that they would vote for the Congress. He blamed the party for trying to divert people's attention from more critical problems that Maharashtra faces, such as the agrarian crisis and load shedding. He added, "India is one and every Indian has a right to settle down and work in any part of the country".
The Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
demanded stringent action against those inciting violence and asked democratic forces to launch a united struggle against such elements. The party also accused the media, particularly the electronic media, of encouraging anti-national and parochial forces by giving them "undue publicity". According to a resolution adopted at its 20th national Congress at Hyderabad, no adequate action was against those who indulge in chauvinistic slogans and perpetuate hooliganism, and the ruling Congress-led coalition and the opposition BJP utilised these forces for their local political gains. The resolution also said, "Opportunistic, parochial and chauvinistic" forces like Shiv Sena and MNS have exploited the situation for narrow electoral gains and demanded compensation for those affected by the violence. The resolution stated that in 1966, Bal Thackeray gave anti-South Indian slogans and now his nephew wants to repeat that experience by giving anti-North Indian slogans. The All India Minorities Front
All India Minorities Front
All India Minorities Front is a political party in India, based amongst the Muslim minority. The party president is S.M. Asif.AIMF advocates a negotiated solution to the Ayodhya issue....
(AIMF) threatened to launch a nation-wide agitation against Raj if he did not mend his ways and avoid targeting North Indians and non-Maharashtrians.
Media coverage and response
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
, The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
, Deccan Herald
Deccan Herald
The Deccan Herald is a leading English-language daily newspaper distributed in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is published by the Printers Private Limited and has a number of editions in Bangalore, Hubli, Mysore, Mangalore and Gulbarga....
, Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times
Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....
, The Economic Times
The Economic Times
The Economic Times is an English-language Indian daily newspaper published by the Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.. The Economic Times was started in 1961. It is the most popular and widely read financial daily in India, read by more than 8 lakh people...
) and international media (Khaleej Times
Khaleej Times
The Khaleej Times is a daily English language newspaper published in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Traditionally perceived as the second most popular newspaper in the UAE, Khaleej Times has struggled to keep up its circulation and entered 2011 with a print run of just under 40,000 copies...
). The Hindustan Times published a survey on the front page on 15 February, which said that 73 percent of Mumbai believed the insular line of the MNS and its president against North Indians was denting Mumbai’s cosmopolitan image. The Hindustan Times later received a call from the MNS spokesperson Shirish Parkar protesting the findings of the study. Raj blamed the English and Hindi language media of being biased against him and his party. In addition, some held the media responsible of giving Raj undue publicity. According to an SMS/web poll conducted by CNN IBN, 88 percent of the voters were of the opinion that Raj Thackeray was "feeding on media hype". On 11 February, in Pune, a group of about 15 MNS activists burnt 150 copies of The Week
The Week (Indian magazine)
THE WEEK is an Indian weekly newsmagazine published by The Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd. The magazine is published from Kochi and is currently printed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kottayam. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it is the largest selling English newsmagazine in India...
, a weekly magazine in English, in reaction to its cover story on Raj's controversial utterances, portraying him as Mumbai's Hitler.
The Editor-in-Chief of Outlook
Outlook (magazine)
Outlook is one of India's four top-selling English weekly newsmagazines. Like many other Indian magazines, it is reluctant to reveal its circulation, but the 2007 National Readership Survey suggested 1.5 million copies...
, Vinod Mehta
Vinod Mehta
Vinod Mehta is the editor-in-chief of Outlook India.Mehta was born in Rawalpindi, in Pakistan. His family fled to India when he was three. He attended La Martinere school in Lucknow and the university there. He has published three books, including a biography of Sanjay Gandhi. He took over as...
, said in a debate on the media's role in the situation, "Here is a politician [Raj Thackeray] propounding an idea that could lead to a civil war in the country. The doctrine had to be challenged and what could the media have done? While you may argue that some images were in excess, you will also agree we had to report because this fight to the streets". Ending the debate on a sarcastic note Mehta said, "It's ridiculous! The politicians are not responsible, the state government isn't responsible, police are not to be blamed but media is responsible".
Painter Pranava Prakash
Pranava Prakash
Pranava Prakash is an Indian artist working in neopop style. Pranava started " tuchchart " style with a group of Delhi artists, starting with his Tuchchart show in Delhi...
did his exhibition titled “Chal Hat Be Bihari” in Jan 2009 in delhi protesting violence against north Indians in Mumbai.
Local vernacular media
The MarathiMarathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
daily Maharashtra Times
Maharashtra Times
Maharashtra Times , coloquially referred to as 'Ma Taa' from its Marathi initialism, is a Marathi newspaper based out of Mumbai, India. It is the 9th largest selling daily newspaper in the country. It is owned by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
editorial on Raj's arrest said that his arrest was a big farce, from which he emerged with pomp and style. It condemned the violence that resulted after the arrest that forced thousands of migrant workers to uproot themselves from various parts of Maharashtra. Loksatta criticised the television channels for their relentless replay of just two instances to portray the violent impact of his arrest. The edit blamed Hindi channels for making Mumbai look like Gujarat during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Another editor in the same daily also wrote that the "Marathi andolan" (Marathi demonstration) will not benefit any party, as the Marathi vote would be divided between the Shiv Sena and MNS. Lokmat
Lokmat
Lokmat is the largest read & circulated Marathi language newspaper. It is the fifth largest Indian daily and in Marathi, it is the largest selling daily with 1.58 million copies a day. As per IRS 2010 Q3, Lokmat has a total readership of 23.67 million...
, another popular Marathi daily, published a special on a population survey conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Tata Institute of Social Sciences is a social sciences institute based in Deonar, Mumbai, India.-History:TISS was established in 1936, as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work, the first school of social work in India. In 1944 the school was renamed to its current name...
(TISS), according to which, there has been a 21% decrease in the migrant population in the city since 1961. The North Indian population, however, witnessed an increase from 12 to 24 percent. Saamna’s editorial asked what wrong Ambadas Bararao, the Maharashtrian man killed in the violence, had committed. The editor of Sakal
Sakal
Sakal is a Marathi language daily newspaper headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Sakal is the flagship newspaper of the foundation publication, Sakal Media Group. Present newspaper circulation of Sakal is approximately 1.5 million copies per day, mainly in Maharashtra...
wrote that although Raj had gained political mileage by taking up the cause of Marathi people, its impact was severe on the migrants, who had to flee the state.
Nikhil Wagle, Editor-in-Chief of Lokmat TV, on the day of Raj's arrest said in an interview with CNBC India that the Mumbai police should have acted against Raj Thackeray and Abu Azmi earlier. He said, "Had they acted, there would have been no violence. I think the police reacted a little late." He expressed his apprehensions about the Shiv Sena stirring up some trouble to compete with Raj Thackeray as he had put the Sena on the back foot. "Raj Thackeray has stolen the show from Uddhav Thackeray. I think Bal Thackeray will be worried and he will create some trouble. He might give some provocative statements. So, the police have to be observant otherwise it will be a fight between the two brothers and Maharashtra and Mumbai will suffer."
Indian Express editor Sudheendra Kulkarni
Sudheendra Kulkarni
Sudheendra Kulkarni is an Indian politician and columnist. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, earning a B. Tech in Civil Engineering in 1980. He began his political career as a full time activist for the Communist Party of India . He became a member of Bharatiya Janata...
's open letter in Loksatta (Marathi newspaper owned by The Indian Express
The Indian Express
The Indian Express is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. It is published in Mumbai by Indian Express Group. After Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split in 1999 among his family members into two with the southern editions taking the name The New Indian Express, while the old...
) to Raj Thackeray, in response to Raj's article article in Marathi titled Maazi Bhoomika, Maaza Ladha (My Stand, My Struggle) in the Maharashtra Times of 9 February. The letter by Sudheendra which admonished Raj Thackeray for his "hate speech" solicited a response from Raj. A similar open letter was addressed to Raj by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai
Rajdeep Sardesai
Rajdeep Sardesai is an Indian journalist, political commentator and news presenter. Sardesai is the Editor-in-Chief of IBN18 Network, that includes CNN-IBN, IBN-7 and IBN-Lokmat.- Biography :...
to Raj deploring his party's actions in the 19 October 2008 All-India Railway Recruitment Board examination attack
19 October 2008 All-India Railway Recruitment Board examination attack
On 19 October 2008, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena activists attacked North Indian candidates appearing for the all-India Railway Recruitment Board entrance exam for the Western region in Mumbai, India...
.
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
)
Political analysis
Political observers commented that the attacks on North Indians by MNS were a "shrewd ploy" of their chief Raj to embarrass the Shiv Sena and usurp its core Marathi constituency. They also felt Raj was trying to gain a political foothold by imitating his uncle and political mentor Bal Thackeray, who had headed the anti-South IndiaSouth India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
n campaign—"Lungi Bhagao, Pungi Bajao" (throw out those who wear lungis, celebrate by blowing bugles)—during the formative years of the Shiv Sena in the 1960s.
Kumar Ketkar, the editor of the Marathi daily Loksatta, said though Raj might have achieved what he wanted, but he may have not anticipated the attention it would get. He said, "He thought the media would gobble it up and just create a small storm that will shift the agenda. But the great Amar Singh and Abu Azmi fuelled the issue by taking him more seriously than what he deserves. The confrontational position aided the MNS volunteers to get into the limelight". Ketkar also said the Shiv Sena would lose in the scenario commenting, "The Sena tried to woo the North Indians after it realised their value as a vote bank in the 2004 defeat. They realised that the demography of the city had changed within a decade. That is when they decided it was time to please the North Indians. Uddhav
Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Thackeray is the executive president of the Shiv Sena, a right wing, Marathi ethnocentric regional political party based in the Indian state of Maharashtra...
started organising Uttar Bharatiya functions. This is the year that he bore the fruits of his efforts. That is why Raj decided to strike at the same sentiment that the Sena played in the past—the Marathi Manoos."
The author of The Sena Story, Vaibhav Purandare, said Raj resorted to this measure to stem his party's eroding credibility. He said, "When Raj launched his party, he first started out with an inclusive approach. When he found that it is not working, he had to do something drastic to get back into the limelight. On the other hand, the Sena was actually becoming inclusive. It even began attracting Muslims into its fold. It also began taking up the common man's issues like farmer suicides and power supply. This is Raj's attempt to take the Sena's mass base away to completely embarrass the Sena. And he has succeeded." Both Ketkar and Purandare, however, agreed that Raj was trying to position himself as Bal Thackeray's potential successor.
Alleged Congress support for MNS
Shubhangi Khapre of Daily News and Analysis noted in her article titled Forget political will, Raj has state support, stated, "Ever since its birth on 9 March 2006, MNS has been nurtured by the ruling Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with an ulterior motive of splitting the Shiv Sena. Ironically, the Sena itself was given a ‘protected childhood’ in the late 1960s by the then Congress as a tool to war with the Communist Party of India, which had a strong presence in Mumbai. Not surprisingly, covertly the administration has provided Raj adequate platform to consolidate the political forum through an emotive Marathi plank. The purpose is to split the 26% Marathi voters in Mumbai, which is rather loyal to the Shiv Sena. The electoral merit of the MNS remains untested but its ability to bond with sons of the soil cannot be cursorily dismissed in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Pune." She further noted, "Under chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, the Congress sees a double advantage in the strategy: A proactive MNS will divide Sena voters on the one hand and drive Mumbai’s North Indian community — which was being targeted as “outsiders” by the MNS — to Congress’s lap. North Indians, who dominate 48 essential services in Mumbai, constitute a sizeable — and hence decisive — vote bank. Forget political will, it is well-calculated political design which has withheld the Democratic Front government from taking stern action against Raj. Or else, how does one explain home minister RR Patil engaging in a telephone conversation urging him to slow down instead of arresting his men indulging in violence on streets?" She also said, "(Vilasrao) Deshmukh is no better. He has often said, “My administration will not tolerate divisive forces. Nobody is above the law.”" She expressed her views in reference to, Bombay High Court on lashing out at the Maharashtra government over the threat given by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena about displaying the Marathi signboard on the shops and establishments in the metropolis. "If you don't have political will, then give that message to the people that we can not do anything," Division Bench of Justice J N Patel and K K Tated said dissatisfied about government's inaction against hooliganism of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists. "Why no action has been taken against respondent number six (Raj Thackeray)? Are some people 'untouchable' for you?" Justice Patel asked as government failed to file a proper reply regarding the action taken.Congress leader Hussain Dalwai said, "It’s a sad commentary on the administration which has come to a stage where it requires the high court intervention.” He put the onus of his party’s coalition partner, saying, “Whether it is MNS violence in the signboard or dalit killing at Khairlanji it shows an insensitive administration. The NCP president Sharad Pawar should seriously reflect on the working of the state home department." Even NCP leaders including Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal have told RR Patil and Deshmukh, in the cabinet meet to “either act or shut up”. Suggesting that the Maharashtra government was not keen on taking strong action against MNS chief Raj Thackeray, the NDA on Thursday described as "stage-managed show" the arrest and bail for him in cases of violence against north Indians in the state. BJP MP Shahnawaz Hussain said, "Congress is Raj Thackeray's event management company and it is trying to project Raj's arrest as an event instead of making any serious effort to check the violent campaign of MNS against north Indians. There is match-fixing between Raj and the Maharashtra government. The state government deliberately books him under small sections and he gets bail." Talking on the attacks on North Indian candidates at the All-India Railway Recruitment examinations in Mumbai, Rajya Sabha MP and JD-U national general secretary Shivananda Tiwari also attacked Congress for "promoting" the MNS chief and comparing him with slain Punjab separatist leader Bhindarwale. "Congress party has a mastery in creating 'bhasmasurs' (self destructing demons). Earlier they created Bhindranwale in Punjab, which killed a Congress Prime Minister. Even this Raj Thackeray is ultimately going to damage Congress," Tiwari claimed. He also alleged that Maharashtra government arrested Raj to carry out a "formality" and as mild charges were pressed, he got bail soon.
Raj Thackeray
Then on 3 May, despite legal warnings by the police before his rally, Raj issued a diktat to his supporters to take action whenever they encountered "injustice". At a rally at Shivaji Park, he said, "That north Indians are living in Mumbai is because of our mercy. Let it be known". He told MNS leaders to shed their complacence and advised his supporters to "take action" whenever they felt necessary. He warned that North Indians who did not speak Marathi and did not respect Marathi culture would be driven away. Raj dared the police in his speech by saying, "Arrest me for this if you can". After analysing the speech amidst demand for action against the MNS chief a senior police official quoted it was "difficult to find an explicit threat or provocation" in the text of his speech to initiate strong legal action against him and "it seems he [Raj] consulted legal experts before making the speech".
Bal Thackeray
On 6 March, Bal Thackeray issued an editorial titled Ek Bihari, Sau Bimari (One Bihari, Hundred illnesses) in Saamna, Shiv Sena's political mouthpiece, saying Biharis were "an unwanted lot" in the country. In what was termed as an apparent bid to recapture his party's Marathi sons of soil plank, which was being hijacked by the MNS leader Raj, Thackeray wrote about Biharis,
"They [Biharis] are not wanted in southern India, Assam and also Punjab and Chandigarh. The Biharis have antagonised local population wherever they had settled. The UP-Bihari MPs have shown their ingratitude towards Mumbai and Maharashtra with an anti-Marathi tirade in Parliament."
He also denounced Bihari MPs, saying they were "spitting in the same plate from which they ate" by criticising Mumbaikars and Maharashtrians. He also wrote, "They are trying to add fuel to the fire that has been extinguished, by saying that Mumbaikars have rotten brains". The outburst was apparently in response to MPs from Bihar who had disrupted the proceedings of the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
in protest against the attacks on North Indians. Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, upset with the remarks, demanded that the Prime Minister and the Centre intervene in the matter immediately. The Saamna editorial prompted at least 16 Lok Sabha MPs from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, belonging to the RJD, JD (U), SP and the Congress, to give notice for breach of privilege proceedings against Bal Thackeray. After the matter was raised in the Lok Sabha Speaker
Speaker of Lok Sabha
The Speaker is the presiding officer of the lower house of Parliament of India. His/her role is similar to that of Speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system of government....
Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee is an Indian politician who had been associated with the Communist Party of India for most of his life, though he is currently an independent...
said: "If anybody has made any comment on our members’ functioning in the conduct of business in the House, not only do we treat that with the contempt that it deserves, but also any action that may be necessary will be taken according to procedure and well established norms. Nobody will be spared".
On 27 March, in protest against Bal Thackeray's editorial, leaders of Shiv Sena in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
resigned citing its "outrageous conduct" towards non-Marathis in Maharashtra and announced that they will form a separate party. Addressing a press conference Shiv Sena's North India chief Jai Bhagwan Goyal said the decision to leave the party was taken because of the "partial attitude" of the party high command towards Maharashtrians. "Shiv Sena is no different from Khalistan and Jammu and Kashmir militant groups which are trying to create a rift between people along regional lines. The main aim of these forces is to split our country. Like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the Shiv Sena too has demeaned North Indians and treated them inhumanely", he said.
Evaluating the developments, political observers in Mumbai remarked that the Shiv Sena had been "caught in a bind" by Raj’s campaign as it had in recent years sought to portray an inclusive image to try to woo the significant migrant vote in the Mumbai and Thane region in the run-up to the Assembly elections in 2009. In order to balance this strategy, the party had started speaking up for Maharashtrians to remind them that it was the Shiv Sena was the original voice of the local people.