Prologue.
I'd like to enunciate the fact that I repudiate links with any political party/established school of thought. I consider myself a free Indian and hence I write this with all due to respect to the greatness of Late Mr. Balasaheb Thackeray. Notwithstanding, if anything about this article irks you, I would request you to discuss it with me; peacefully. Today, it has become really easy to indubitably track down a person, especially if you are someone of repute. If you are that person, or are directly/distantly related to any political party and happen to read this (I'd like to thank you first for your time), I would really appreciate it, if you avoid any such whims, right at the onset. A free Indian that I am, I also am a common man with no imposing "contacts" to flaunt, no conspicuous physical strength and to think of it, not an intrepid heart either. In fact, if on the verge of being vandalized, I may even faint with the pressure. In other words, I'm an easy target, if you mind my writing, do remember to forgive me and display magnanimity, God will bless you.(1/2)
I cannot demur two ideas:-
1) I know not much about Late Mr. Bal Thackeray, apart from what was broadcast and/or published.
2) Despite this, I was troubled to see him go. His final speech moved me and caused an unquenchable, insatiable thirst to know more about him.
A Vandal! Anti-National! Chauvinist! Iconoclast! Fascist! These and many more are being used to describe the personality of Late Mr. Thackeray, the sheer vehemence could cause a lot of us to believe in these, a part of me may have too. But a silver beam illuminates through this dark tumultuous maelstrom. An endearing voice that says, "Saheb".
He was also known as the "
Hindu Hriday Samrat", now whether it was self-declared or conferred by someone else is a redundant discussion at the moment. Apart from the controversial events caused under the aegis of
Hindutva, the Late Mr. Thackeray did win over a lot of hearts, and this one was definitely not forced. You can never force anyone to love you or weep for you after you die. I believe he never felt the need to answer Robin Sharma, for if anyone had to ask him the question posed by title of the book, the answer would have been an uncomplicated and apparent one- Maharashtra.
The
Hindu Hriday Samrat did win a lot of hearts, Maharashtra is too advanced a state to grant state honours at the funeral rites of an individual who according to the naiveté was nothing more than a leader of Vandals. He deserved the honour, in a democratic state, since people believed, he deserved every bit of it, maybe even more, but that's a subjective opinion. I was born in 1993, so intelligibly I have not much information on the state of Maharashtra back in 1960s, books can only take you to a certain level, but if people of the 1960s were so moved by this phenomenal political innovator so as to join him directly in his mission (which has been elaborately discussed in the media) to liberate the entrapped minds of the
Marathi Manoos, there must have been one truth, a genuine reason, why they did so!
Allow me to delve into my academics; technically I am an Economics' student. The amount of Economics I actually know is something that baffles me every day. My marks suggest a fairly average IQ at my end and so in this article, I preferred to directly quote an Economist's definition of Micro Economics (I think it was AP Lerner), "Micro Economics is the science that deals with the optimum utilization of the given limited resources." It seems appropriate with this that maximum competition would yield maximum attainable optimization. Thankfully for us, Article 19 (1) (e) of the Indian Constitution states: "All citizens shall have the right — to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India." This sounds good, but what if, the local (let's call him a domicile citizen) is not adequately trained in any/many particular aspect/s as the non-domiciled citizen may be? What if this difference in skill level may be a bit too much? I am not just talking about Maharashtra here; this could happen in any state, in any country even for that matter. As an example, we cannot all simply adopt (though it seems like we have) Adidas, Nike, Puma for footwear and rebuff the 'Bata' and the 'Liberty' (I do hope you remember these fellas).
As a 'true Hindu' one could say, he simply followed the Bhagwad Geeta and reaffirmed one of its verses, "means do not matter only ends do." Maybe he was just following his
Dharma, the righteous duty, the consequences of which seemed the best to him, or maybe it was just his method to consolidate his presence in Maharashtra.
According to an article in 'The Hindu', Respected Justice Markandey Katju vituperates the Late Mr. Thackeray, and I quote (it's easier to quote than to write about it), "What is Bal Thackeray’s legacy?
It is the anti-national ‘sons of the soil’ (bhumiputra) theory."
How would we comprehend the bhumiputra theory after reading the aforementioned paragraph regarding the Holy Geeta. Let me proclaim myself to be destitute of spiritual knowledge and in absolute penury when it comes to my understanding of the law, but as I said in the very beginning, I am just trying to talk here. Whether this makes sense to you depends on your idiosyncrasy.
I am not credulous to the statement that Justice Katju is the first one to quote him as anti-national. I thoroughly ridicule such a statement. I scoff at this thinking. A student at every School in India periodically takes a pledge, "India is my country", “I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage", "To my country and my people, I pledge my devotion. In their well-being and prosperity alone, lies my happiness". Every Indian says this, most Indians know this, and many still giggle when they say "all Indians are my brothers and sisters"(C'mon man! Don't be so harsh on us!)
I believe every Indian understands the importance, need and the pride in being one. No amount of "
Bhumiputras" can ever repudiate this from their minds. Yes! We do get gauche at times, we may get carried away owing to personal needs, but at the back of our minds, there's no prouder feeling, than yelling "Chak de India" whenever India wins accolades worldwide. No Mr Katju! Late Mr. Bal Thackeray cannot be an anti-national, he is too small an entity when compared to the greatness of and patriotism towards this nation. No person, not of Indian origin can ever be that trifle to contravene the great nationality that is India.
Yes, I would have deeply venerated Late Mr. Bal Thackeray had he come up with and publicized innovative schemes to train and equip the local youth. Provide Maharashtrian entrepreneurs with the required start-up capitals comparatively easily, given them enough motivation to feel competitive rather than feeling hate or detest for the 'outsiders', but again, that was his subjective view. (I'll be more than happy to know if Shiv Sena would have innovated anything towards the Economy rather than 'Shiv Vada Pav', but then Shiv Sena is not the topic here. Though I read it in the Economic Times that Late Mr. Thackeray also encouraged Maharashtrian youth to learn required English skills, even though his prime focus was on Marathi.) About our national integrity, it is up to us Indians to understand the value of it ourselves than be guided by any leader about it. (I am not pointing any fingers here! Just made a simple statement!)
As regards Late Mr. Thackeray, he was a man of conviction, something most of our politicians lack. He may have used
Sam, daam, dand, bhed whenever needed, but he did it for the party's aims which were also his, such a union dear reader according to me, is beyond divine.
Epilogue
I do not possess any of the qualities that can make me withstand the heat, if any part of my writing was found undesirable to some. To that reader, I'd like to say that I may be devoid of every quality that Late Mr. Thackeray epitomized (or allegedly did) but I do know that I want to write when I feel like it. These are the reflections of my ruminative mind. Now whether people attended Late Mr. Bal Thackeray's funeral due to fear or respect has not much to do with me, for I believe in what Steve Jobs said, "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do", and Late Mr. Thackeray did change a lot of minds, a lot of lives, and maybe as people suggest, one state.
Jai Maharashtra! = Jai Hind!
