There
were naturally curious and routine questions on the large crowd that followed
the Maharashtrian leader Bal Thackeray on his last journey when he was cremated
at the Shivaji Park
Yes,
militant politics, that is what Bal Thackeray, the controversy’s favourite
child, had done throughout his life, and his name continues to do so even after
his death.
If
we put aside the ‘quality politics’ debate, Bal Thackeray was the tallest
political figure in Maharashtra since his full-scale advent in the Maharashtra political arena.
He
created and nurtured a follower base that basically was glued to him by traits
of a ‘mob mentality’. Now many can raise questions on using this phrase but it
aptly defines the style of politics Bal Thackeray practiced (and so of many
others).
A
mob is defined by certain basic traits. It doesn’t have a character. It always
looks for a charismatic leader and the character of the leader becomes the
character of the mob. A slight instigation from the leader is enough for them
to commit even violent acts (contrary to the democratic values). And the
charisma of the leader continues till long till he retires, dies or falls from
grace because the bond between the leader and the follower was not made on a
thoughtful note but on a impulsive note of ‘threatened survival’ devoid of the
rational elements of thinking.
In
societies like India where poverty and unemployment are rampant, instigating
such mobs is not a difficult task provided you hit the right note; provided you
are ready to promote radical elements in a society that, in reality, needs
harmony of ‘unity in diversity’; provided you are ready to exploit the militant
brand of politics that shatters this ‘unity in diversity’ concept.
Bal
Thackeray exactly did this. He addressed the concerns of the local Marathi
population by demonizing the migrants in Maharashtra ,
first the South Indians and now the North Indians. He used the concepts of
sectarian politics under the garb of Maratha politics, floated this ideology
mixed with witty but divisive words and threw open the gates for the masses to
grab the words. In short, he created the situational elements for a ‘mob’ class
of followers.
Bal
Thackeray timed it well with the then geopolitical circumstances of India and of Maharashtra
and he got his mob, in full accordance with the mob mentality that he sought to
promote. The history of Shiv Sena and MNS is full of incidents of vandalism and
that tells us how successful Bal Thackeray had been in exploiting the mob
mentality of his followers.
It
was this mob mentality that paid its tribute to Bal Thackeray when almost two
million of them descended on the Mumbai roads on November 18. Mob, because no
conscious and truly nationalist person (of a democracy) would endorse the style
and quality of politics that Bal Thackeray practiced and that Raj Thackeray and
Uddhav Thackeray are practicing.
To
continue..
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
