Android
BANNED
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2011
- Messages
- 4,872
- Reaction score
- -4
- Country
- Location
Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray 's health continues to 'improve' and he is responding to 'treatment' given to him, Shiv Sena leaders claimed on Thursday.
But that did not cut much ice with his supporters and rumours continued to swirl through the day.
The fact that no leader or celebrity, such as Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Amitabh Bachchan, was allowed to see Thackeray did not help.
It's not hard to see why Thackeray is so important to Maharashtra politics. Thackeray formed the Shiv Sena in 1966 to espouse the cause of the 'Marathi manoos,' who he claimed was being marginalisedby both Gujaratis and south Indians.
The message soon started to hit home and Thackeray began to have a following among the Maharashtrians. Through his cartoons and writings, Thackeray created an enormous groundswell of support as he claimed that the two lobbies were ensuring that jobs in the state would go only to"outsiders" and not locals.
It's not known why Thackeray disliked south Indians. But, it is rumoured that when he was working as a cartoonist with Free Press Journal, he was troubled by his south Indian bosses.
BJP chief Nitin Gadkari and industrialists Rahul Bajaj were among a stream of visitors to Bal Thackeray's bungalow on Thursday.
That could explain Thackeray's acerbic attacks on south Indians."Uthao lungi aur bajao pungi", went his war cry. After he quit Free Press Journal, he started hisown weekly magazine along with his younger brother, Shrikant Thackeray (father of Raj Thackeray) in 1960.
The satirical magazine's take on politicians and the Congress played a part in the Sena's rise. The Congress wanted the Sena to rise in order to tackle Communist parties and their unions that held a huge hold over Mumbai and its labour class.
So, when Sena slowly began capturing the unions through violence and other intimidatory tactics, the Congress looked the other way.
ctor Salman Khan visted Matoshree along with his fatherSalim and brother Arbaaz.
Once the Sena captured the unions, its support base grew phenomenally. This was because the unions were used to push through jobs for locals.
So, if it was a public sector bankor PSU, the Sena union would ensure that most workers who got in were Maharashtrians.
This made the Sena extremely popular.
In the eighties, when mill workers were rendered jobless as mills were shut in the city, the Sena once again played its union card and tried to ensure that the workers were absorbedin local restaurants, hotels and other establishments.
While his initial fan following was because of his cartoons andwritings, his speeches later became the hallmark of his career.
He had the ability to rouse passions among followers and also generate laughter by taking on opponents. He mimicked all, from Sonia Gandhito Manmohan Singh.
Thackeray's larger than life image is also due to his association with film stars and celebrities. For instance, he has a very close association with Amitabh Bachchan.
Amitabh has been close to the Sena ever since he was ferried to the hospital in a Sena ambulance when he was injured the shooting of Coolie.
The actor has enjoyed many a dinner with the Thackeray household. In spite of controversies sparked by Jaya Bachchan's recent comments, the relationship between the two has survived.
Another filmstar with whom Thackeray shared a close friendship was Dilip Kumar.
Thackeray would often talk about how he and the actor would share a beer together in Matoshree.
The friendship soured in the nineties when Dilip Kumar accepted the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian award. Thackeray didn't want Dilip to accept the award. Thackeray would later say that"the channa and the beer are still there, but Dilip Kumar's has gone on a different path."
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bal-thackeray-maharashtra-politics/1/229314.html
I would love to see if Raj also die with his lovely old duckling uncle 
