New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tribute to the founder of Shiv Sena Bal Thackeray on his birth anniversary.
“Tributes to the great Balasaheb Thackeray on his Jayanti. Courageous and indomitable, he never hesitated from raising issues of public welfare. He always remained proud of Indian ethos and values. He continues to inspire millions,” Modi tweeted.
Thackeray, who had been an influential figure in Maharashtra, began his professional career as a cartoonist with the English language daily ‘The Free Press Journal’ in Mumbai, but left it in 1960 to form his own political weekly ‘Marmik’.
His political philosophy was largely shaped by his father Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, a leading figure in the Samyukta Maharashtra (United Maharashtra) movement, which advocated the creation of a separate semantic state.
Through Marmik, Thackeray campaigned against the growing influence of non-Marathis in Mumbai. In 1966, Thackeray formed the Shiv Sena party to fight for the interests of Maharashtrians in Mumbai’s political and professional landscape.
Thackeray died in Mumbai in 2012 due to cardiac arrest.