Bal Thackeray

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[[File:Bal_Thackeray_at_70th_Master_Dinanath_Mangeshkar_Awards_(1)_(cropped).jpg|right|165px|thumb|Thackeray]]{{IndianPolitics}}
{{cquote|If you take [[Mein Kampf]] and if you remove the word "[[Jew]]" and put in the word "[[Muslim]]", that is what I believe in.|||Bal Thackeray<ref>https://www.thedailybeast.com/hitlers-strange-afterlife-in-india</ref>}}
{{cquote|I am a staunch Hindu and nothing wrong in saying that. Only we Hindus don't have a religion to be proud of. Call yourself a [[Hindu]] in {{wpl|Hindustan}} and you are a criminal. We want to fight intrusions and encroachments.|||Bal Thackeray<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19840615-call-yourself-a-hindu-in-hindustan-and-you-are-a-criminal-bal-thackeray-803035-1984-06-14</ref>}}
{{cquote|I am a Hindu, a "mad-mad" Hindu.|||Bal Thackeray}}
'''Bal Thackeray''' (Marathi: बाळ ठाकरे), also known as '''Balasaheb Thackeray''' (Marathi: बाळासाहेब ठाकरे) (born as '''Bal Keshav Thackeray''' (Marathi: बाळ केशव ठाकरे), 1926-2012) was an Indian cartoonist and a 
don
 spiritual leader. He headed a [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist]] political party known as {{wpl|Shiv Sena}}, whose motto is "{{wpl|Mumbai}} for {{wpl|Marathi people|Marathis}}". Thus, he had a large political influence in the state, especially in Mumbai.<ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-20180376</ref>
He likewise reiterated a desire for Hindus to unite across linguistic barriers to see a Hindustan for Hindus and to bring [[Islam]] in this country down to its knees.<ref>http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=80435</ref>

== Views ==
Thackeray was very vocal in his opposition to people who migrate to Mumbai, to non-Marathis (especially from {{wpl|Tamil Nadu}}, {{wpl|Gujarat}}, {{wpl|Bihar}} and {{wpl|Uttar Pradesh}}), and Muslim immigrants from [[Bangladesh]]. In the late 1970s, as part of his "{{wpl|Maharashtra}} is for Maharashtrians" campaign, Thackeray threatened migrants from {{wpl|South India}} with harm unless they left Mumbai. In 2002, Thackeray issued a call to form [[Hindu]] suicide squads to counter the [[Muslim]] violence. Again in 2008, he wrote:
{{cquote|{{wpl|Islamic terrorism}} is growing and {{wpl|Hindu terrorism}} is the only way to counter it. We need suicide bomb squads to protect [[India]] and Hindus.|<ref>http://ibnlive.in.com/news/politicians-indulge-in-hate-speech-with-impunity/89623-37-64.html</ref>}}

=== On Muslims & Islam ===
He equated Islam with violence and regularly wrote inflammatory anti-Muslim columns in his newspaper ''{{wpl|Saamana}}'' (Marathi: सामना). and he even criticized former Indian president {{wpl|A. P. J. Abdul Kalam}} merely because he was a Muslim.
Also, while explaining his views on [[Hindutva]], he equated [[Islam]] with violence and called on Hindus to fight terrorism and fight Islam.<ref>http://www.ibnlive.com/news/thackeray-rants-after-tiger-win/top/32673-4.html</ref> He told {{wpl|India Today}},
{{cquote|[Muslims] are spreading like a cancer and should be operated on like a cancer. The country...should be saved from the Muslims and the police should support them [Hindu Maha Sangh] in their struggle just like the police in {{wpl|Punjab, India|Punjab}} were sympathetic to the [[Indian alt-right glossary#Khalistani|Khalistanis]].|<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19840615-fury-of-communal-violence-burns-80-km-stretch-from-tip-of-south-bombay-to-bhiwandi-town-803038-1984-06-14</ref>}}

=== Admiration for Adolf Hitler ===
Bal Thackeray was a great fan of [[Adolf Hitler]] and has made various Islamophobic statements mirroring Hitler's [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] statements, such as saying that {{wpl|Islam in India|Indian Muslims}} will meet the same fate [[Holocaust|German Jews did]].<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/29varsha.htm In rod we trust], Varsha Bhosle, 29 January 1998</ref> He was quoted by {{wpl|Asiaweek}} as saying:
{{cquote|I am a great admirer of Hitler, and I am not ashamed to say so! I do not say that I agree with all the methods he employed, but he was a wonderful organiser and orator, and I feel that he and I have several things in common...What India really needs is a dictator who will rule benevolently, but with an iron hand.|<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010709213551/http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/95/0922/nat5.html</ref>}}
In a 1993 interview, Thackeray stated,
{{cquote|There is nothing wrong if Muslims are treated as Jews were in [[Nazi Germany]].}}
{{wpl|Indian Express}} published an interview on 29 January 2007:
{{cquote|Hitler did very cruel and ugly things. But he was an artist, I love him [for that]. He had the power to carry the whole nation, the mob with him. You have to think what magic he had. He was a miracle... The killing of Jews was wrong. But the good part about Hitler was that he was an artist. He was a daredevil. He had good qualities and bad. I may also have good qualities and bad ones.|<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20080611224627/http://www.indianexpress.com/story/21977-3.html</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20131212090521/http://maharashtrainformation.com/page.php?id=232</ref>}}

=== Admiration for Savarkar ===
Thackeray defended [[Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh#Savarkar|Savarkar]] against criticism and praised him as a great leader. In 2002, when President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam unveiled a portrait of Savarkar in the presence of Prime Minister {{wpl|Atal Bihari Vajpayee}}, the {{wpl|Indian National Congress}} party opposed the unveiling of the portrait and boycotted the function. Thackeray criticized the opposition and spoke,
{{cquote|Who is [Congress president and Leader of the Opposition] {{wpl|Sonia Gandhi}} to object to the portrait? What relation does she have with the country? How much does she know about the history and culture of India?}}
Years later, when Congress General Secretary {{wpl|Digvijaya Singh}} made a statement that Savarkar was allegedly the first one to suggest the {{wpl|Two-nation theory}} that led to {{wpl|The Partition}}, Thackeray rejected the statement of Singh.

=== On Nehru-Gandhi Family ===
{{cquote|This [[Hindu genocide#Jihadi nexus/Muslim appeasement|pro-Muslim]] attitude of the {{wpl|Nehru-Gandhi family|Nehru family}} is ruining unity and national integrity. They are creating walls pampering, and spoiling. See, the lady ([[Indira Gandhi|Mrs Gandhi]]) has decided to come here but when there was a flood in {{wpl|Konkan}} she didn't come. The prime minister's moral support should be impartial. She belongs to the nation.|<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19840615-call-yourself-a-hindu-in-hindustan-and-you-are-a-criminal-bal-thackeray-803035-1984-06-14</ref>}}

== Religious beliefs ==

Ironically, he claimed that he was once an [[atheist]], perhaps in an attempt to discredit atheists.<ref>''The Rebirth of Shiv Sena: The Symbiosis of Discursive and Organizational Power'', Mary Fainsod Katzenstein, Uday Singh Mehta, Usha Thakkar, The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 56, No. 2 (May 1997), pp. 371-390, [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2646242 JSTOR link (requires subscription)] [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-US&q=%22Thackeray+has+declared+himself+an+atheist%22 Google Search result showing the quote]</ref>

==External links==
* {{wpa|Bal Thackeray}}

== References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thackeray, Bal}}
{{Hindu nationalism}}
[[Category:Anti-Christian bigots]]
[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Hindu nationalists]]
[[Category:Indians]]
[[Category:Hindus]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Indian politicians]]
[[Category:Islamophobes]]
[[Category:Religious leaders]]

Categories: Anti-Christian bigots, Cult leaders, Hindu nationalists, Indians, Hindus, Atheists, Indian politicians, Islamophobes, Religious leaders