21 January,2023 06:11 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Bal Thackeray. File Photo.
Bal Thackeray, popularly known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded Shiv Sena, a political party exhibiting right-wing pro-Marathi and Hindu Nationalist ideology, majorly active in India's second-most populous state - Maharashtra.
Bal Thackeray was born on 23 January 1996 in Pune. On 23 January 2023, it will be Thackeray's 97th birth anniversary.
History and achievements: From a cartoonist to a political leader
Thackeray began his professional career as a cartoonist with the Free Press Journal - an English-language daily. In 1960, Thackeray left the Free Press Journal and launched his own political weekly - Marmik. Through the political weekly, Thackeray continued to campaign against the "increasing influence of non-Marathis in Mumbai".
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After nearly six decades of founding Marmik, Bal Thackeray launched the political party Shiv Sena to advocate for the issues of Maharashtra. Shiv Sena stood as a party that focused on the concerns related to Marathi population and it also came up with Hindu Nationalist stance. Shiv Sena's one of the major aims was to provide employment stability to the Marathi population in the state. Amid this, Thackeray gradually became an influential face in the state's social and political stances.
Also read: Back to Balasaheb's basics
Balasaheb Thackeray also founded the Marathi-language newspaper - Saamana. In 1996, he was "banned from voting and contesting in any election for six years" on the recommendations of the Election Commission for his involvement in "seeking votes in the name of religion".
Thackeray's political influence was never limited to Maharashtra, it was also beyond the state. He was known for his strong advocacy of the Marathi population, and this one of the major reasons that still keeps Thackeray's stances relevant among the common public. Under Thackeray's leadership Shiv Sena saw its growing reputation and acceptance among the commoners.
After suffering a cardiac arrest, Thackeray passed away on November 17, 2012 at the age of 86.
