Thackeray

So, Bal Thackeray has passed away. From the news on his health condition over the recent weeks it was apparent. Now, I have heard of him only after I finsihed my undergrad. I am not a fan of his approach or do i approve any form of use of violence to assert your will on the people. But what I dont approve of is the hypocrisy expressed when "secular intellectuals" respond on the day of his death with various statements - calling him "an asshole" or accussing people who call his death a loss to Maharastra as "pathetic" individuals. When a person dies people who respond to that are people who received some help/assistance from that man. Irrespective of whether he is a nice person or not, Bal Thackeray in his role as ShivSena brought justice (his version of it) to some undertrodden people. Yes, he did a lot of bullshit, but the people who received his help be it "amitabh" or a poor marathi family in Bombay, they will feel bad that he died and express their condolences. The fact that you cannot tolerate it only highlights the intolerance in your life. What you miss when you say he propogated hate is .. he was the source - probably - but the rest of the people chose to pursue what he preached. So, the responsibility lies with everybody. He was a politician, what he did was extract things that will win him votes. It is not any different from what Man mohan singh is doing. He wants to be the PM at any cost. But secular intellectuals are blind to such connections and will go vote for Congress without any qualms. Do you folks remember 1984 sikh riots. Read Ramchandra Guha's description of Rajiv Gandhi's response. Rajiv Gandhi was awarded Bharat Ratna after his death. To be honest, i feel the comments delivered on Bal Thackeray would be equivalently applicable to him too. But well, he allowed you to celebrate valentine's day and said he is secular. So, for you its not any different. 

I do not endorse any of the things BT did or stood for. To be honest i dont think he was right. But to blame an individual for an ideology that receives so much traction does not cut ice. The reason he has supporters is because of the vacuum created for Marathis in the political space due to the way Congress handled the state in 70s. the same in any regional leader. AP got NT Rama Rao because of the same reason. NTR was not so divisive but Congress fed him. So, if you want to blame someone, start blaming the Congress starting with Indira Gandhi. Well, i know you wont, because for you believe in the secular credentials of congress - irrespective of what they do in real life!