Nativism in a metropolis : the Shiv Sena in Bombay

247 Pages·1982·3.939 MB·English

by  Dipankar Gupta

NATIVISM IN A METROPOLIS:
THE SHIV SENA IN BOMBAY

NATIVISM IN A
METROPOLIS:
THE SHIV SENA IN BOMBAY
By
DIPANKAR GUPTA
MANOHAR
1982
©Dipankar Gupta
First Published 1982
Published by
Ramesh Jain
for Manohar Publications
2, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj,
New Delhi-110002
Printed by
Asia Composer
at Sunil Printers,
1067, Ajay Palace, Naraina
New Delhi-110028
To my parents
and
my wife,
Harmala

Preface
This work is a revised and abridged version of my Ph.D.
thesis on the Shiv Sena, which I submitted to Jawaharlal
Nehru University in 1977. It deals with the Shiv Sena during
the years 1966 to 1974, that is from the time the Shiv Sena
started till roughly before the Emergency was declared in
1975. In 1974 I also wound up field work for my doctoral
dissertation on the Shiv Sena.
I could have of course gone back to Bombay after 1976
to add a postscript and chronologically update my work.
However, I felt such an effort was unnecessary for my major
premises and the conclusions I drew from them, were unlikely
to be affected by a mere accretion of additional sequential
information. To illustrate what I mean, the fact that the Shiv
Sena supported Mrs. Gandhi without any reservation during
the Emergency, and that the latter in turn did not choose to ban
the Shiv Sena when all other so-called communal organisa­
tions were banned, speaks volumes for the close ties that ex­
isted between the two organisations. A state of affairs that
I had already mentioned in my thesis.
I, of course, met some Shiv Sainiks during the Emergency
and also had occasion to read some of the Sena’s ideological
rationale for supporting Mrs. Gandhi. The two most
frequent arguments, that the Shiv Sainiks came up with were
that by supporting Mrs. Gandhi they were at least able to
function. What has Jana Sangh got out of opposing her? And
secondly, Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena leader, had always said
that India needed a “benevolent dictator”, so Mrs. Gandhi was
doing the right thing after all. All other ideological and
practical considerations were blotted out from the scene. This,
however, does not mean that the Shiv Sena was particularly
active in this period, as organised political action was effectively
stamped out in those 19 months. Moreover, most Shiv
viii NATIVISM IN A METROPOLIS
Sainiks were accustomed to the police and the state govern­
ment backing them up and were therefore in no hurry to disobey
Thackeray (and by implication the Emergency decritals), and
land themselves in gaol. These are some of the hard facts about
the Shiv Sena during the Emergency and they should also
drive home the fact that the ability of the Shiv Sena to assume
such forbidding potency in Bombay was to a great extent be­
cause of the official patronage it received. But for such official
backing to be forthcoming and effective a mass base is
required. How the Shiv Sena acquired this mass base and
how it strove to consolidate it are the questions to which this
book is largely devoted.
My research interest in the Shiv Sena began in 1972,
when I chose to write a short M.Phil dissertation on it. The
reasons why I chose the Shiv Sena were several. I shall men­
tion here only the more important ones. Firstly, at the time
I started work, there was no full length account on the Shiv
Sena, and the materials that existed were mainly in the nature
of political pamphlets, newspaper articles, or occasional
papers, like those of K.K. Gangadharan and Mary Katzens­
tein, in a few learned journals. Secondly, as the Shiv Sena was
then a comparatively recent phenomenon which in a short
span of time had gained tremendous popularity, and was one
of the few on-going movements in India, I was naturally intri­
gued to study it. Moreover, by virtue of it being an on-going
and recent movement, I thought it would be a good opportu­
nity to know in detail the complexities and dynamics of the
movement first hand from its sponsors. Thirdly, I had spent a
considerable part of my life in Bombay, both during my
school going years and after, and the fact that if I pursued the
Shiv Sena I would not be on unfamiliar terrain definitely
helped to make up my mind.
My exposure to the Shiv Sena during 1972 for the purpose
of my M.Phil dissertation was brief, but it was fascinating
enough to prod me on to study it in greater detail for my Ph.D.
thesis. I was in Bombay at a stretch from February to December
1973 on field work for my thesis and most of the data that I
have used in this volume were collected during that period. I
subsequently went back to Bombay for several short visits in
1974 to fill in some gaps in my data.
PREFACE ix
Barring my ineptitude and ignorance, which account for
many of the drawbacks in this work, the book itself would
have been substantially better had the Shiv Sainiks, especially
the leadership, been more co-operative. By and large they
withheld any sympathy for my endeavour, and treated
my recurring presence as something of a nuisance. They were
reluctant to grant interviews and often failed to keep
their appointments. The leaders of the Shiv Sena were general­
ly more accessible and the fact that I showed up with them
publicly on several occasions helped to break the ice with some
of the rank and file in the organization. The Shiv Sainiks,
however, barring a few, were afraid or hesitant to talk freely,
and very often I found that they reported my interviews with
them to Bal Thackeray. I was also suspected variously of
being a police agent, a communist agent or a newspaper re­
porter intent on vilifying the organization. This, in spite of
the fact, that I carried credentials from the University which
verified my status as a bonafide research scholar. In fact my
connection with Jawaharlal Nehru University itself came un­
der sharp scrutiny, as many members of the Shiv Sena
erroneously believe that this University is the hot bed of
communist and Muslim League activity. The Shiv Sena’s anti­
pathy towards both these organizations is well known.
It is quite possible, however, that the fault lay with me.
As a researcher I was unable to establish complete rapport
with the Shiv Sainiks. The fact that I am not a Maharashtrian
may have also contributed to their cool response. Though
I generally believe that the problem of establishing
rapport with the Shiv Sainiks will be faced by any scholar
who studies the Shiv Sena, given its dictatorial character
and method of functioning. Furthermore, as the organ­
ization is still quite informal and as very little attempt is made
to maintain and classify documents, it becomes difficult for the
investigator to supplement his observations with documentary
evidence.
If I have been able to complete my work with a reason­
able degree of competence then it is primarily due to my
supervisor, Professor Yogendra Singh, of the Centre for
the Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences,
Jawaharlal Nehru University. I am very grateful to him for
X NATIVISM IN A METROPOLIS
guiding me in the study of social movements and for sensitiz­
ing me to the theoretical complexities involved in this field. I
am also indebted to Dr. Satish Saberwal of Jawaharlal
Nehru University who patiently went through several portions
of this work and offered valuable comments which helped me
to tighten up my arguments.
I should like to thank Prof. A.R. Desai of Bombay
University and Prof. Y.B. Damle of Poona University for
their comments on my thesis. It is largely on the basis of their
comments that I reworked my thesis for publication. I am
especially grateful to Prof. Desai for the advice he gave me
in the early stages of my field trip. I am also indebted, in
no small measure, to the faculty members and students of the
Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, who helped me overcome the numerous problems I
faced in the course of writing my thesis.
My field trip to Bombay would not have been quite as
fruitful or pleasant had it not been for the warm hospitality of
Shri Anil Kumar Bhave. His intimate association with the
Shiv Sena enabled me to observe the organisation at close
quarters. He also helped me in the arduous task of translating
Marathi language publications, especially the Marmik, into
English. His enthusiasm and interest in my thesis often surpas­
sed my own. I am deeply indebted to him for his friendship and
co-operation. I am afraid he will perhaps not be very happy
with the position I have taken on the Shiv Sena, but I know
he is big enough not to let ideological differences come in the
way of friendship. I should also like to take this opportunity
to thank all those members of the Shiv Sena who helped me
in the various stages of my work.
Acknowledgements are due to Prof. Ramachandran of the
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and to my friends Mr. Vinay
T. Gautam for assisting me with the tables, Mr. A.W.
Rohankar for preparing the maps, and Mr. Ramesh Alve for
providing some general assistance to me. There are several
others who performed labour gratis and assisted me in securing
information for my thesis, but who would not like to be
acknowledged by name. This does not in any way reduce my
indebtedness to them.
The manuscript for publication was finalised after much