The Aftermath - Why the imminent demise of Sena should worry all Hindus

As we observe Balasaheb’s 2^nd death anniversary all right wing Indians must also mourn the imminent demise of Shiv Sena.

Here’s why.

Mumbai of the late 80s and early 90s was witness to a fierce battle between India’s most well-funded and organized criminal gangs.  Mumbai’s phenomenal growth had turned it into a city of gold, a beacon for starry eyed gunslingers willing to sacrifice life and limb to earn their place in Mumbai’s sun.

Around this time Subhash Ghai released his mega hit ‘Saudagar’.  The much awaited opus broke box office records.  Arun Gawli issued the following diktat: any individual doing business with D Company would have to pay his gang a ransom of Rs. 1 crore; The collections to be used to construct a replica from the movie at one of his Ganapati pandals.

The stratagem was designed to achieve a slew of goals.  Put D on the back foot, Established Gawli as Mumbai’s top underworld boss and humiliate the D company.

Success of this strategy was illustrated by a story doing the rounds in those days.  Gawli’s men walked into the heart of Bhendi Baazar (D’s home turf) to collect the ransom from Tiger Memon (who would later become one of the chief perpetrators behind bomb blasts of 1993). 

For members of a rival gang to waltz into your den and walk away with several suitcases worth of cash, in broad daylight was unheard of.  The D company, despite its enormous resources was hemmed in by Mumbai’s two ‘Hindu’ gangs.  Gawli and Amar Naik.  And they were humiliated.

When the Shiv Sena took office in 1995 it declared elimination of these 3 gangs as job #1.  By this time, D was safely ensconced in ISI’s lap i.e. beyond reach.  Using a combination of encounter killings and brute political force, Sena was able to eliminate the Gawli/Amar Naik outfits and usurp their fiefdoms.

The same strategy did not work against Dawood.  Partly due to geographical limitations and partly due to the tremendous force multipliers Dawood had acquired via ISI’s terror network.

Mumbai settled into an uneasy detente between Sena and D company.

Both had their respective turfs with an unwritten agreement not to trample on each other’s territories.

By eliminating the ‘Hindu’ underworld, Sena had shot itself in the foot.  State and political outfits could  never attract or safely nurture the type of individuals needed to counter a D company or ISI.  The only remaining ‘Hindu’ outfit of Chota Rajan was too weak to take on Dawood.

Once Sena lost power in 2000, D took over as Mumbai’s de facto king and has remained so ever since.

There’s a lesson in this for the BJP.  When (it is no longer a matter of ‘if’) extremist Muslim elements rear their ugly head (as witnessed at Azad Maidan last year) only a Sena type of organization can counter them.

An Owaisi cannot be countered by a Suresh Prabhu or Venkahiah Naidu.  You need an Anand Dighe or Sartpodar to counter them.

The ordinary Shiv Sainik is a bulwark against marauding muslim thugs.  Only he is willing to grab that sword and charge up a hill….full speed ahead…damn the torpedoes.

By eliminating Sena, BJP may be winning a political battle, but it may render Hindus vulnerable to a much bigger threat. 

One which Hindus may find increasingly difficult to counter.