Raj Thackeray, the Posterboy of Parochialism (West), has responded to an open letter in The Indian Express from Sudheendra Kulkarni, the Belgaum-born media advisor to Atal Behari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani.
In his open letter, among other things, Kulkarni wrote:
“How can you allow your supporters to take law into their hands and do raada (street mayhem)? Can you justify the politics of violence against a fellow-Indian, as was evident when an innocent employee of HAL was killed in a stone-throwing incident in Nashik following your arrest in Bombay?”
Raj Thackeray’s justification of verbal and physical violence, and the vandalism thereof, shows that linguistic and regional chauvinists, not to speak of communalists and fundamentalists—be they in Maharashtra or Karnataka, Gujarat or West Bengal—are cut from the same tattered cloth, ever so willing to distort and demonise the past to suit the present.
Like the Posterboy of Parochialism (NorthWest), Narendra Modi, Thackeray pits media versus media, painting the English media as the villain of the piece for not dancing to his bankrupt tunes like the local media. But it’s the unapologetic firespitting that offers a sneak peek of the anarchy that lies at democracy’s doorsteps.
Thackeray writes :
“Isn’t the outbreak of spontaneous outrage in a people’s movement understood? Can anyone avoid the violence or damage to property even if it does not bring happiness? Wasn’t Gandhiji forced to withdraw his agitation when a chowkie was burnt at Chauri Chaura?
“Besides, even after all this, was the violence and damage to public property avoided in the 1942 agitation? When people become furious, their response is the same, whether it is the Congress or the African National Congress.
“Sudheendraji, as you are a former communist, you must be aware of crores of deaths and political murders during communist movements the world over. People’s movements are a repetition of history to some extent.
“Besides, do political movements need to obey the law? Political history learnt by me tells me that breaking the law, getting arrested, braving lathis and getting jailed are symbols of a principled agitation.
“In recent times, the rulers and opposition parties indulged in movements of political compromise, in which morchas are taken out, the share of benefits of the government and opposition parties are decided. Then the protesters and their companions go home and sleep peacefully! This is called todbazi (compromise). The word political movement is an equivalent word for breaking the law!
“Tell me, Sudheendraji, was Bihari MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy not aware of Lal Krishna Advaniji‘s Rath Yatra when he chose to criticise me on the grounds that my agitation was unconstitutional, destabilising for the nation, sectarian? How many people died then? How much was the violence?
“But didn’t Advani pursue his campaign to make his point? The Bihari babu in Rudy seems to have woken up. I don’t remember Rudy mustering courage to register his protest during the Rath yatra, or with Narendrabhai Modiji when our Gujarati brethren were outraged after the Godhra incident.”
Full text of Sudheendra Kulkarni‘s open letter
Full text of Raj Thackeray‘s response
Also read: Thodo, phodo, hum sab tumhare saath hain!
churumuri 
What a Irony!!!!
There is always hope……na?
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such discussions are not deserve comment as every politician do the same in different fashion. Ultimate loser is the common man. who has to abide the law of the land. The rich and political leaders are always above law and they will get protection for every act of them.
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Is violence the product of the weak minded?
If Raj Thackerey’s violence is justified then we may have to justify the militants of the far eastern states, Kashmir, Punjab, the Maoists, the communists and the saffron brigades, LTTE etc..etc. and that of every chauvinist and bigot.
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Crazy Raj Thackeray.
I would like to ask him one simple question. Suppose we kannadigas drove away all maharashtrians …will he able to house them in Maharashra ?
When Sardar Patel told Pakistanis to either get back infiltrators in Jammu, or Forego the treasury split – he had reason to back him. It was Pakistan which wanted partition and it was based on a separate homeland for muslims. It was Gandhiji who spoiled the whole game by asking the Govt. to split the fund and give it to them.
When Advaniji wanted support the Ram movement he had the simple goal of consolidating hindus on one platform. Did we not see how the Ram was ridiculed by Karunanidhi ? It is precisely this ultra laid back nature of our nation which drew wide public support.
Just because it draws some support do not equate your selfish goals to other movements. India is one. This is something which you nor your mama can do anything about.
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Anonymous Mysorean:
But the violence of the KA RA VE-that is of course FULLY jusified right?
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Chamundi Hill:
You have conveniently forgotten the Gujarat Gaurav yatra under taken by Narendra Modi. Was that also justitifed in your opinion? In what way, was that justified and not this? In what way, is Modi’s Gujarat Gaurav yatra better than what Thackeray proposes to do?
Oh and keep in mind: Maharashtra never had a riot as severe as the 1991 anti-Tamil riots. 20,000 Tamils had to leave Bangalore and some 20 people died, hundreds were injured.
People who complain that about the MNS must understand:
For the British, Bhagat Singh was nothing but a Raj Thackeray
For the Whites of the USA, Martin Luther King was nothing but a Raj Thackeray
For the Whites of south africa, Nelson Mandela was nothing but a Raj Thackeray
For the British, Gandhiji was nothing but a Raj Thackeray
Understand this.
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When Raj’s uncle was building his platfotm tagetting ‘Madrasis’ did the any of the northy community in Mumbai or the bollywood biggies tried to stop him ? I guess then they watched the fun from the sidelines and now when they are the targets of his Nephew in a twisted political game they all come together to protest !
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All NEED to obey the law. But yes, political uprisings, movements and activities sometimes cross the line. It is not always justified, but it is a reality. Sometimes it is deliberately done and sometimes things gather momentum on their own. When history looks back, it judges the violence in the context of the final outcome of the agitation. For instance, if it leads to a mass movement and causes change, historians come up with adulatory terms like freedom fighters and martyrs for those who may have been victims. If the revolt turns sour and does not capture public support, the leaders are labelled villains and the violence a shame.
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Raj Thackeray is an oaf “cut from the same tattered cloth” as his hypocrite uncle. This discussion may somehow lends legitimacy to Raj’s leadership, but it is a necessary discussion.
Voters are smart enough to recognize wicked/irresponsible leaders, but Maharashtra needs to effectively apply the laws to illegal conduct.
Individuals who destroy public property and discriminate against linguistic minorities should be promptly prosecuted.
In addition to receiving tough sentences, those found guilty should be made to compensate the state for lost public property. They should also be ordered to perform community service for the linguistic minorities they targeted.
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The Shetty Hot owner Says:
KA RA VE violence? Leaving out the names of multitude of ‘single cell violent groups’ doesn’t mean their actions are justified.
For Vikas: Raj Thackerey is Bhagat Singh, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Gandhiji all rolled into one. Could you explain more please? All these greats were fighting against enslavement? Is Raj Thackeray also?
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It is sad that when Raj Thackeray talks in such uncivilized langauage, our news papers are allocating so much space to that non sense because he is a “leader”. Don’t they have the responsibility or good sense also to publish even longer articles which are critical of his non-sense?
We live in a democratic country and any disputes should be solved in a democratic manner and not through force which will result in innocent killings. But that does not appeal to our leaders who use their brute force consisting of unemployed youth. This is a new kind of youth force used by each and every political party without exception.
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Individuals who destroy public property and discriminate against linguistic minorities should be promptly prosecuted.
What about those individuals who discriminate against linguistic majorities? What punishment should be handed out to them? Or is discrimination against linguistic majorities part of the constitution? Please show me that article in the constitution which sanctifies discrimination against lingusistic majorities. Is there any article which deals with this?
Community service should be handed out to those people who discriminate against those linguistic minorities by making them render community service to those very linguistic minorities…
What about community service to the linguisitic majority? Shall we ask linguistic majorities to render service to the linguistic majority whom they have dscriminated against in countless ways?
Is Raj Thackeray fighting against enslavement? The answer is as follows:
Those who say Raj Thackeray/MNS is/are doing illegal things or is/are breaking the law need to understand:
Mahatma Gandhiji broke the laws
Bhagat Singh broke the laws
Martin Luther King broke the laws
Nelson Mandela broke the laws
Che Guevera broke the laws
The French Revolutionaries broke the laws
All these people break the laws and plead guilty. The MNS also breaks the law and pleads guilty. But the aim is not to merely break the law for the sake of breaking the law but to show by breaking the law that the law itself is an unjust law and deserves to be broken. And that the system which produces these faulty laws is itself a faulty system of governance. Albeit that those faulty laws are acceptable to a certain section of the population; albeit that the faulty systems of governance which produced those laws are acceptable to a certain section of the population.
Gandhiji broke the laws and did illegal things not for their own sake but the for the purpose of showing that the system of governance which prevailed in India and the laws that system produced at that time discriminated against Indians in their own country of India. Albeit that the system of governance and the laws produced by that system were acceptable to a certain number of people.
Nelson Mandela broke the law not for its own sake but for the purpose of showing that the system of governance and the laws they produced in South Africa at the time discriminated against Black South Africans in their own country. Albeit that the system of governance and the laws produced by that system were acceptable to a certain number of people.
Martin Luther King broke the laws not for its own sake but for the purpose of showing that the system of governance and the laws this system produced in the United States at the time discriminated against Black Americans in their own country. Albeit that the system of governance and the laws produced by that system were acceptable to a certain number of people.
Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj broke the laws not for the sake of it but for the purpose of showing that the system of governance and the laws produced by that system discriminated against Hindus in their own country. Albeit that the system of governance and the laws produced by that system are acceptable to a certain number of people.
In the same way, the MNS breaks the laws not for the point of breaking the laws but for showing that the system of governance and the laws produced by that system discriminate against Marathi and Maharashtrians in their own state. Those who say that the MNS does illegal things, need understand that the above people also did illegal things. They plead guilty to it. The MNS also pleads guilty.
But in pleading guilty, the MNS does its duty of breaking an unjust law. Because if there is a law which does not protect the interests of the Marathi speaking people in Maharashtra, throw away that law. Such a law is to be broken, nay, should be broken. The MNS by breaking that law does that duty. If the system of governance in Maharashtra does not protect the interests of the Marathi speaking people in Maharashtra, then throw away that system. Fie on such a system. It must be broken and destroyed. The MNS by breaking these laws is showing that this system of governance which produced these laws has to be destroyed. In this they are doing their duty.
In breaking these laws, Nelson Mandela showed his fellow Black South Africans that the laws needed to be changed and the system that produced those laws needed to be changed. He created awareness and sent a message to those who made and supported those laws that the laws had to be changed.
In breaking these laws, Martin Luther King showed his fellow Black Americans that the laws needed to be changed and the system that produced those laws needed to be changed. He created awareness and sent a message to those who made and supported those laws that these laws had to be changed .
In breaking these laws, Gandhiji showed his fellow Indians that the laws needed to be changed and the system that produced those laws needed to be changed. He created awareness and sent a message to those who made and supported those laws that these laws had to be changed .
In breaking these laws, Shivaji Maharaj showed his fellow Hindus that the laws needed to be changed and the system that produced those laws needed to be changed. He created awareness and sent a message to those who made and supported those laws that these laws had to be changed.
MNS has welcomed punishment following agitations. Breaking the law is not their intention. Nobody wants to break the laws.
The brave men of MNS willingly draw upon themselves the wrath of laws which are better broken for the cause of Maharashtrians. Armchair philosophers, on the other hand, either wish someone else broke those laws, or limiting themselves to laws forget the cause of Maharashtrians and Marathi in Maharashtra. Or try to bury their heads in the sand and avoid answering the unanswerable questions, try to avoid the uncomfortable truth by evading the issue and taking recourse in motherhood statements.
In breaking these laws, the MNS seeks to create awareness as well as send a message to those who created, nurtured and support those laws-whoever and wherever they may be. In the whole process of breaking those laws, those who wish to render service to this land and this people make progress in that service.
Lastly, those who talk of the system/laws/ must remember; the law is meant for the people. Not the people for the law. The law is meant for the safety, security, peace and well being of the people. Not the other way around. Keep it in mind.
In the battle of Kurukshetra, Arjun asks himself how he can fight his own kith and kin. In the same way, Maharashtrians ask themselves how they can oppose their own countrymen. Krishna tells him: “It is your duty.” The MNS accepts this duty and takes it on while armchair philosphers look on and commend or condemn as suits them. The MNS understands that the system is acceptable as long as it safeguards your interests and their people. Not otherwise. One cannot stay in a system which endangers your interests and your people. The MNS understands this and it also understands that the system is for the people.
In the battle for Kurukshetra, Krishna had to resort to so many things. But we accept and understand these things because adharma has to be done to restore dharma.
So, if Krishna himself had to do things which we all know. We do not question why Krishna did what he did. We know why, the deeper reasons behind it.
In the same way, before condemning the MNS and Raj Thackeray and his ilk elsewhere in Maharashtra, India and the world-understand the reason why they are doing what they are doing. While you’re obsessed with MNS breaking the laws/doing illegal things, you’ve stopped yourself or made yourself incapable of asking why the MNS does what it does. You have made yourself incapable of asking why the MNS is doing what it is doing, of doing what it may do. First ask yourself that question.
***
For the Whites of the USA, Martin Luther King was nothing but a Raj Thackeray
For the Whites of south africa, Nelson Mandela was nothing but a Raj Thackeray
**
The MNS is an anti-national party.
Far from it.
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What about the two innocent women who were burnt to death by Rambakhths in bangalore due to MK karunanidhi’s verbal insult to Lor Ram.Two young college girls burnt to death by Ammas supporters who could not stomach a court verdict. When matnee idol Rajkumar died a natural death, it resulted in killing of 4 innnocent police men doing traffic duty.
we are a VIOLENT NATION in the guise of Gandhi followers.Atleast naxalites and jehadies are honest killers
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None of those great leaders of our era were looking for silly political mileage or instant leadership by indulging in crimes. They only suffered on behalf of the people whom they represented. Only Raj Thackeray’s gullible followers can compare his criminal activity to the civil disobedience movement of those great souls. What is next, Raj Thackeray declares himself as ‘Matrathi Gandhi’ or something? Come on give us a break.
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We should stop referring the name of Gandhi. Any protest start below the Gandhiji’s statue in Bangalore. Since none of these protests have genuine reasons it is an open insult to the statue itself. AS everybodyknows the entire road named after him has been polluted in all senses. There is another statue near Race course where luckily his back is facing that gambling arena. Why I am telling all these things is that we are referring Gandhiji for every crimes committed by us. Our political leaders should stop referring his name. Twice in a year we see the drama of garlanding his statue by using a long stick. One feels sickened when his name is referred by all these unscruplous political leaders.
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Its senseless and stupid to compare Raj Thackaray to Gandhi, Bhagat Singh or anyone else that are mentioned..If breaking the law is acceptable in a protest, Osama Bin Laden, the Pak militants, the LTTE etc. are all justified! – their protest is of a different kind!!
Mahatma Gandhi broke the law in a peaceful way; Bhagat Singh wasn’t responsible for any innocent deaths!
There’s a fundamental flaw in Raj Thackaray’s thinking (that all north Indians have to be removed from MH)..the violence that results from it and follows it is unacceptable (just like Gujarat riots, anti-Tamil riots etc.). To justify the violence as a form of protest is inhuman, sick and disheartening.
A couple of days back, there was a report of Bal Thackaray saying the IPL isn’t cricket! (what with all the ‘auctioning’ of players, the money involved etc). He may well have that opinion – absolutely not a problem. But what he needs to really think is if what he and Raj practice is leadership or politics.. ??
We all travel to different regions, countries. What if we are the ones who become victims of the the ‘most noble way of protests’?
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Here’s what our Lord Krishna has to say about the quesiton:
saktAh karmaNyavidvAMsO yathA kurvaMti bhArata |
kuryAdvidvAMstathAsaktaschikIrshurlOkasaMgrahaM ||
That which the avidvaMsa (one who is not learned; learning being learning of the vedas and upanishads) does out of attachment to the fruit of karma should be repeated by the vidvAn without attachment to the fruit of karma for the sake of lOkasaMgraha (the bringing together of the world).
These are sayings from the rAjavidyA rAjaguhyaM – a science which is not for the consumption of fools and laymen. Those who understand it, understand it. Those who do not, do not. And as such they are doomed for life.
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Unless the local unemployed are provided with jobs by the union government departments and the multinationals, several such outfits like Ka Ra Ve will have a mushroom growth vowing to fight for the benefit of the locals. They may turn violent out of frustration. It is time that both the multinationals and the Union government dpartments correct this lacunae and provide jobs to locals.
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Namosthuthe Aanada Theerthe. “Devil take the hindmost” doesn’t sound good even when we say it in Sanskrit. The cognoscenti surely know that. The least amongst us should be looked to because that is dharma.
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