Sena everywhere

It does not take the Shiv Sena — or its offshoot, Raj Thackeray’s MNS — much provocation to whip up hysterics over a perceived insult to regional pride. But even by the party’s phenomenal capacity for chauvinism, this has been a particularly fertile period. After establishing its muscle strength to get Rohinton Mistry’s Such a Long Journey scrapped from the syllabus at Mumbai University, and then demanding a ban on the burqa, the Sena is now channelling the energies of cadres for a signature campaign against Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. They have taken exception to his reported remark about Biharis having contributed to Maharashtra’s development.The two Senas’ recent history of anti-outsider agitations (primarily targeting low-skilled workers from north India) had been ugly and much publicised. Whether Gandhi made that remark or not is not the issue: the point about the contribution of Biharis is unexceptionable. Maharashtra, like any other part of this country, has obviously benefited from the contributions of people from elsewhere. That is common sense. The worry is that along with small-minded political theatre, the Shiv Sena’s signature campaign could once again create an atmosphere of intimidation in the state, especially in Mumbai. It’s the kind of campaign that primarily needs to be combated politically. For the Congress, especially, it should serve as a notice on the dangers of its state unit’s readiness to fall in line with the Sena’s agenda. Look how meekly Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who belongs to the Congress, appeared to echo the Sena scion on Mistry’s book. If chauvinism and paranoia about wounded pride are settling over the state’s politics, it’s not just because of the Sena’s exertions. It is, even more dangerously, also because other political parties are not willing to counter the Sena’s agenda.