Bal Thackeray created 'fear of Hindus' in national interest: Sena

Shiv Sena on Tuesday hit out at Tehelka magazine for its article against against late party supremo Bal Thackeray and defended its founder's ideology saying he created 'a fear of Hindus' solely in 'national interest'.

Shiv Sena on Tuesday hit out at Tehelka magazine for its article against against late party supremo Bal Thackeray and defended its founder's ideology saying he created 'a fear of Hindus' solely in 'national interest'.

Shiv-Sena-Bhavan-in-the-morning-during-counting-at-182-Mahim-Assembly-Constituency-D-Silva-School-in-Dadar-Mumbai-India--on-October-19-2014-HT-Photo

An editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana said, "People have lot of love and respect for Balasaheb Thackeray and feel proud of his nationalist ideals. He surely instilled the fear of Hindus among people," rubbishing the contents of an article published in the magazine.

Sena workers on Monday had staged protest at Nariman Point area in south Mumbai against the magazine, tearing and torching its copies. A case was also filed in adjoining Thane district in connection with the article.

Read: Shiv Sena files an FIR against Tehelka

Sena workers had protested against Tehelka magazine, in Mumbai. (Photo: Bhushan Koyande)

The outfit on Tuesday said, "Hindus should be able to live in this country with pride and his (a Hindu's) voice should roar like that of a lion. If an answer has to be given to Pakistan extremists, Hindus will also to become highly religious."

"To answer Pakistan, Hindus need to become human bombs and invade their country," it said in controversial remarks.

Defending the thoughts and ideology of Thackeray, the Sena said, "If his stand that Pakistani extremists should be responded in their own terms can be called as terrorism, then this kind of terrorism was in the national interest."

Thackeray considered all religions equal and so, after the then prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984, he appealed for calm in the state, the party said.

"It was because of him that the Sikh community could live in peace in Mumbai and other parts of the state," it said.

"Today, even if we don't want a magazine to gain unnecessary publicity by publishing false information on Balasaheb, but if people's anger rises then the already dead magazine will be further crushed by them in the market," the Sena said.