ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD
Members Only
lock close icon

Will Hindutva Card Help Raj Thackeray In His Existential Crisis?

Why is MNS suddenly turning towards “soft-Hindutva”? Will change in stand help the demoralised party cadre?

Published
Politics
4 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female
Why is the Supreme court harsh on Hindu festivals? Why are Muslim children not banned from participating in Muharram?

This sharp attack on the Supreme Court may not be anti-Muslim, but it’s surely Hindu-appeasing. It came quite unexpectedly from Raj Thackeray, whose party MNS has positioned itself as party for all Maharashtrians, including Muslims.

With all-important local polls in Mumbai, Thane and Pune just 6 months away, this statement gathers political significance. After successive failures in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, is MNS making a fundamental change in its strategy?

The answer is yes, but before going into details, let’s first see what Raj had promised for Muslims and how things have slowly changed.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Green Colour in MNS Flag



Why is MNS suddenly turning towards “soft-Hindutva”? Will change in stand help the demoralised party cadre?
(Photo courtesy: play.google.com)

On 9 March 2006, when Raj Thackeray broke away from Shiv Sena and launched his own party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, he said an interesting thing in his first speech — “the green colour in my flag stands for Muslims”!

That was the time when Raj had to find an issue and political space for his new party. Shiv Sena, which had started off as a Marathi party had slowly turned into an aggressive Hindutva party. Shiv Sena had a Hindi mouthpiece, Hindi leaders and Marathi was not its agenda anymore. Raj decided to target the neglected issue of ‘Marathi first’.

Shiv Sena’s Marathi stand was originally ‘anti-Madrasi’. Raj realised that ‘bhaiyas’ (North Indians) could be the new villains. So, his Marathi stance was positioned as ‘anti-bhaiya’. Raj wanted to unite all Marathi speakers — Hindus, Muslims and Dalits, so he had saffron, green and blue in his flag.

During Marathwada University movement, Shiv Sena had taken an anti-Dalit stand. Raj wanted to attract Dalits, who were Marathi speaking, but would not vote for Shiv Sena.

So, in 2006, while Shiv Sena was a Hindu party for people speaking all languages, Raj had positioned MNS as a Marathi party for people of all religions.

0

Raj flirts with Hindutva



Why is MNS suddenly turning towards “soft-Hindutva”? Will change in stand help the demoralised party cadre?
MNS protest march in 2012. (Photo courtesy: puputupu.blogspot.in)

In 2012, riots broke out at Azad Maidan in Mumbai when Muslims were protesting the killings in Myanmar and Assam. Over 40 policemen were injured and 5 women police constables were molested by rioters. Raj Thackeray had led a silent march to condemn crimes against Mumbai police. It was the first time he took a soft-Hindutva stand. However, he had avoided directly talking against Muslims.

After 4 years, he’s started indirectly using the ‘Hindu’ card more often. In January 2016, when asked by a student, he said at a college function:

I am a Hindu. I have not undergone conversion. We have saffron in our flag. That’s for Hindutva. But we also have green for Muslims like Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain, not for those in Beherampada and Bhiwandi.      
Raj Thackeray in January 2016

This statement clarified two things. One, Raj started openly using the word ‘Hindutva’. Two, he wanted to target Islamic terrorists, but didn’t want to hurt Muslims in general.

In his first ever Gudhi padva (Marathi new year) rally in in April 2016, Raj reiterated the statement made before students 4 months back.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Marathi + Soft Hindutva = BMC?

Having spoken about ‘Hindutva’ or Hindus thrice this year, Raj Thackeray is definitely making a change in the position that was stated at the launch of his party.

Holding up just the Marathi issue hasn’t clearly worked for his party. But a sudden turn towards Hindutva will make him look like another Shiv Sena and will also confuse his party workers.

Party insiders say Raj Thackeray is experimenting with the formula of aggressive Marathi agenda with a “tadka” of “soft Hindutva”. On the condition of anonymity, an MNS leader close to Raj Thackeray said:

Both Hindutva parties are now in power, so they cannot easily condemn a court order, even if it’s perceived as anti-Hindu. So, we can get into that Hindutva space in Opposition. But we don’t want to be seen as anti-Muslims. Our core ideology remains ‘Marathi for Maharashtra’.

MNS anyway isn’t seen as a secular party. Most of its workers were originally Shiv Sainiks, fed on Bal Thackeray’s fierce anti-Muslim speeches. Few of MNS’ new cadre are Muslims, who are now confused after Raj made statements about Muslims and Muharram.

Existential crisis

MNS had won 27 seats in BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) in 2012, but now his party is fighting for its existence. It failed to win a single seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and managed to win a single seat in 2014 Assembly polls.

With 6 months to go for elections, Raj Thackeray seems to have woken up now. He’s been holding press conferences, reacting on developments, taking stands on issues and visiting places in Maharashtra. Yet, after 10 years, the party lacks organisational structure outside pockets of Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Pune.

Local leaders are directionless and demoralised. Unless these things are fixed, how can ‘soft Hindutva’ work for the party?

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from news and politics

Topics:  Mumbai   BMC   Shiv Sena 

Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×