Bal Thackeray

{{Main|Thackeray family}}

Thackeray was born on 23 January 1926 in Pune, the son of Prabodhankar Thackeray and his wife Ramabai Thackeray. The family belongs to the Marathi Hindu Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu community.{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai/milestones-in-the-life-of-sena-chief-bal-thackeray/article1-960556.aspx |title=Milestones in the life of Sena chief Bal Thackeray |website=Hindustan Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120120712/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Milestones-in-the-life-of-Sena-chief-Bal-Thackeray/Article1-960556.aspx |archive-date=20 November 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 November 2014}}{{cite journal |title=Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East |journal=South Asia Bulletin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-AUAQAAIAAJ |volume=16 |issue=2 |page=116 |year=1996 |publisher=University of California, Los Angeles |access-date=15 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502032613/http://books.google.com/books?id=3-AUAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=2 May 2014 |url-status=live }} His father Keshav was an admirer of India-born British writer William Makepeace Thackeray, and changed his own surname from Panvelkar to "Thackeray" an Anglicised version of their ancestral surname "Thakre".{{Cite web |title=The story of Thackerays: Roots and an anglicised surname |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/the-story-of-thackerays-roots-and-an-anglicised-surname-1623344-2019-11-28 |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=India Today |date=28 November 2019 |language=en}}

Bal's father was a journalist and cartoonist by profession; he was also a social activist and a writer who was involved in a Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, which advocated the creation of a separate linguistic state for Marathi speakers.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-17 |title=Remembering Prabodhankar Thackeray on his 137th Birth Anniversary |url=https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/remembering-prabodhankar-thackeray-on-his-137th-birth-anniversary-5973469.html |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=News18 |language=en}} He also started a magazine named Prabodhan, where he promoted Hindu philosophies and nationalistic ideals to revive Hindutva in society. This proved to be highly influential in shaping Bal Thackeray's political views.{{Cite web |last=Thube |first=Surajkumar |date=2020-12-30 |title=How Prabodhankar Thackeray contributed to the rise of Hindutva in 20th-century Maharashtra |url=https://scroll.in/article/982665/how-prabodhankar-thackeray-contributed-to-the-rise-of-hindutva-in-20th-century-maharashtra |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}

Bal was the eldest of eight siblings, with brothers Shrikant Thackeray (father of Raj Thackeray) and Ramesh Thackeray, and five sisters (Sanjeevani Karandikar,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JS1hBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT26 |page=26 |title=Bal Thackeray and the rise of Shiv Sena |author=Vaibhav Purandare |year=2012 |publisher=Roli Books Private Limited |isbn=9788174369918}} Prabhavati (Pama) Tipnis, Malati (Sudha) Sule, Sarla Gadkari and Susheela Gupte).

Raj in 2006 broke away from Shiv Sena to form his own political party called the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.{{Cite web |date=2012-10-10 |title=Raj Thackeray launches new party - Express India |url=http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=64115 |access-date=2023-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010223148/http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=64115 |archive-date=10 October 2012 }} Despite Raj's breakaway from the main party, he continues to maintain that Thackeray was his ideologue and relations between them improved during Thackeray's final years.

Thackeray began his career as a cartoonist in the Free Press Journal in Mumbai. His cartoons were also published in the Sunday edition of The Times of India. After Thackeray's differences with the Free Press Journal, he and four or five people, including politician George Fernandes, left the paper and started their own daily, News Day. The paper survived for one or two months.Jerry Pinto, Naresh Fernandes. Bombay, Meri Jaan: Writings on Mumbai, p. 238 In 1960, he launched the cartoon weekly Marmik with his brother Srikant. It focused on issues of common "Marathi Manoos" (Marathi, or Marathi-speaking, people) including unemployment, immigration and the retrenchment of Marathi workers. Its office in Ranade Road became the rallying point for Marathi youth.{{cite book |author=Vaibhav Purandare |title=Bal Thackeray and the rise of Shiv Sena |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JS1hBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT35 |date=27 February 2013 |publisher=Roli Books Private Limited |isbn=978-81-7436-991-8 |pages=35–36 |access-date=31 March 2020 }} Bal Thackeray later stated that it was "not just a cartoon weekly but also the prime reason for the birth and growth of the Sena". It was the issue of Marmik on 5 June 1966 which first announced the launch of membership for the Shiv Sena.{{cite news |url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/bal-thackerays-launch-pad-marmik/1032479/ |title=Bal Thackeray's launch pad: Marmik |work=The Indian Express |author=Sruti Shukla |date=17 November 2012 |access-date=31 March 2020}}{{cite book |author=Jñāneśa Mahārāva |title=Thackeray, life & style |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWduAAAAMAAJ |year=2002|publisher=Pushpa Prakashan |isbn=978-81-7448-092-7 |page=65 |access-date=31 March 2020 }}

Thackeray drew cartoons for the Free Press Journal, the Times of India and Marmik besides contributing to Saamna till 2012. He cited the New Zealander cartoonist David Low as his inspiration.

{{Further|Shiv Sena}}

The success of Marmik prompted Thackeray to form the Shiv Sena on 19 June 1966. The name Shiv Sena (Shivaji's Army) is a reference to the 17th century Maratha Emperor Shivaji. Initially, Thackeray said it was not a political party but an army of Shivaji Maharaj, inclined to fight for the Marathi maanus (person).{{cite book |author=Gyan Prakash |title=Mumbai Fables |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TeRWxaJLoDUC&pg=PA232 |date=21 September 2010 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-15317-9 |pages=228–237 |access-date=4 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205073008/https://books.google.com/books?id=TeRWxaJLoDUC&pg=PA232 |archive-date=5 February 2016 |url-status=live}} It demanded that native speakers of the state's local language Marathi (the "sons of the soil" movement) be given preferential treatment in private and public sector jobs. The early objective of the Shiv Sena was to ensure their job security competing against South Indians and Gujaratis. In its 1966 party manifesto, Thackeray primarily blamed south Indians.{{cite news |title=Why no one dared to mess with Shiv Sena? : Special Report |website=India Today |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bal-thackeray-death-shiv-sena-harvester-of-fear/1/234428.html |access-date=9 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216185141/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bal-thackeray-death-shiv-sena-harvester-of-fear/1/234428.html |archive-date=16 February 2016 |url-status=live}} In Marmik, Thackeray published a list of corporate officials from a local directory, many being south Indians, citing it as proof that Maharashtrians were being discriminated against.

His party grew in the next ten years. Senior leaders such as Babasaheb Purandare, chief attorney for Trade Union of Maharashtra Madhav Mehere joined the party and chartered accountant Madhav Gajanan Deshpande backed various aspects of the party operations. In 1969, Thackeray and Manohar Joshi were jailed after participating in a protest demanding the merger of Karwar, Belgaum and Nipani regions in Maharashtra.{{cite news |title=Obituary: Bal Thackeray-the tiger who ruled Mumbai : Bal Thackeray, News |website=India Today |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bal-keshav-thackeray-obituary/1/229596.html |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216190808/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bal-keshav-thackeray-obituary/1/229596.html |archive-date=16 February 2016 |url-status=live}} During the 1970s, it did not succeed in the local elections and it was active mainly in Mumbai, compared to the rest of the state. The party set up local branch offices and settled disputes, complaints against the government. It later started violent tactics with attacks against rival parties, migrants and the media; the party agitated by destroying public and private property.{{cite news |title=Bal Thackeray's political career |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-20180376 |language=en-GB |access-date=29 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808193457/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-20180376 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |first=Megha |last=Bahree |title=Thackeray Controlled Mumbai for Four Decades |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324556304578124701259492508 |newspaper =The Wall Street Journal |access-date=8 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026173639/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324556304578124701259492508 |archive-date=26 October 2017 |url-status=live}} Thackeray publicly supported Indira Gandhi during the 1975 Emergency; Thackeray supported the Congress party numerous times.

Dr. Hemchandra Gupte, Mayor of Mumbai and the former family physician and confidant of Thackeray, left Shiv Sena in 1976 citing the emphasis given to money, violence committed by the Shiv Sena members, and Thackeray's support for Indira Gandhi and the 1975 emergency.{{cite book |title=Wages of Violence : Naming and identity in postcolonial Bombay |author=Thomas Blom Hansen |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2001 |page=238 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-y3iNt0djbQC&pg=PA238|quote=18: According to Hemchandra Gupte, a former confidante of Thackeray, his major reason for leaving the party for his growing disgust with the prominence of money and the "goonda'ization" of the party (interview, 5th October 1992). 21. Interview, 3 October 1992, with Hemchandra Gupte, physician, formerly Bal Thackeray's family doctor, and Shiv Sena's mayor of Bombay from 1971 to 1972. Dr. Gupte left Shiv Sena in 1976 because of Thackerey's support for Mrs. Gandhi and the emergency. |isbn=0691088403}}

Politically, the Shiv Sena was anti-communist, and wrested control of trade unions in Mumbai from the Communist Party of India (CPI). Local unemployed youth from the declining textile industry joined the party and it further expanded because of Maharashtrians from the Konkan region.{{Cite news |title=Leader who brought ethnic politics to Mumbai melting pot |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bal-thackeray-leader-who-brought-ethnic-politics-to-mumbai-melting-pot/article4105715.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |date=17 November 2012 |issn=0971-751X |language=en-IN |access-date=30 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119195350/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bal-thackeray-leader-who-brought-ethnic-politics-to-mumbai-melting-pot/article4105715.ece |archive-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=live}} By the 1980s, it became a threat to the ruling Congress party which had initially encouraged it because of it rivalling the CPI. In 1989, the Sena's newspaper Saamna was launched by Thackeray.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/How-Sena-got-the-title-Saamna-for-mouthpiece/articleshow/17273297.cms |title=How Sena got the title 'Saamna' for mouthpiece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029212840/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-19/pune/35204806_1_bal-thackeray-saamna-sena-leader |archive-date=29 October 2013 |work=The Times of India |date=19 November 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=5 December 2012}} Because of Thackeray being against the Mandal Commission report, his close aide Chhagan Bhujbal left the party in 1991. Following the 1992 Bombay riots, Thackeray took stances viewed as anti-Muslim and based on Hindutva. Shiv Sena later allied itself with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won the 1995 Maharashtra State Assembly elections and were in power from 1995 to 1999. Thackeray declared himself to be the "remote control" chief minister.{{cite book |author=Madhav Godbole |title=Unfinished Innings: Recollections and Reflections of a Civil Servant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ItQF4g08KbwC&pg=PA414 |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-0883-5 |page=414 |access-date=4 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101092636/http://books.google.com/books?id=ItQF4g08KbwC&pg=PA414 |archive-date=1 January 2014 |url-status=live}}

Thackeray and the Chief Minister Manohar Joshi were explicitly named for inciting the Shivsainiks for violence against Muslims during the 1992–1993 riots in an inquiry ordered by the government of India, the Srikrishna Commission Report.{{cite web |url=http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1517/15170200.htm |title=The Shiv Sena indicted |publisher=Frontlineonnet.com |access-date=14 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328163323/http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1517/15170200.htm |archive-date=28 March 2013|quote=The Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party Government in Maharashtra has rejected the core of the report, which was presented before the two Houses of the legislature on August 6 along with a memorandum of action to be taken thereon. The Action Taken Report (ATR), seeks to establish that the report is one-sided. Going further, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi termed the report "anti-Hindu, pro-Muslim and biased." }}{{cite book |title=Broken People: Caste Violence Against India's "untouchables" |author=Smita Narula |publisher=Human Rights Watch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kd28Ay09adgC&pg=PA124 |year=1999 |isbn=1564322289|quote=The reports findings were presented to the government of Maharashtra on February 16, 1998, more than five years after the riots took place. The report determined that the riots were the result of a deliberate and systematic effort to incite violence against Muslims and singled out Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray and Chief Minister Manohar Joshi as responsible. The Shiv Sena-BJP government, however, refused to adopt the commission's recommendations and instead labeled the report anti-Hindu.}}

Thackeray had influence in the film industry. His party workers agitated against films he found controversial and would disrupt film screenings, causing losses. Bombay, a 1995 film on the riots, was opposed by them.

On 28 July 1999, Thackeray was banned from voting and contesting in any election for six years from 11 December 1999 till 10 December 2005 on the recommendations of the Election Commission for indulging in corrupt practice by seeking votes in the name of religion.{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/NM1/Thackeray-votes-after-expiry-of-ban/Article1-16731.aspx |title=Thackeray votes after expiry of ban |newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=26 April 2004 |access-date=14 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111201658/http://www.hindustantimes.com/news-feed/archives/thackeray-votes-after-expiry-of-ban/article1-16731.aspx |archive-date=11 January 2014}}{{cite news |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/revents/01/19990199.htm#jul |title=Banned from voting |work=The Hindu |date=28 July 1999 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030425223423/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/revents/01/19990199.htm |archive-date=25 April 2003 }} In 2000, he was arrested for his role in the riots but was released because the statute of limitations expired. In 2002, Thackeray issued a call to form Hindu suicide bomber squads to take on the menace of terrorism.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Thackeray-for-Hindu-suicide-squads/articleshow/25248436.cms |title=Thackeray for Hindu suicide squads |newspaper=The Times of India |date=15 October 2002 |access-date=27 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214152601/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2002-10-15/india/27292201_1_suicide-squads-annual-dussehra-rally-state-and-central-govenments |archive-date=14 December 2013 |url-status=live}} In response, the Maharashtra government registered a case against him for inciting enmity between different groups.{{cite news |url=http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=15895 |title=Case filed against Thackeray for urging anti-terror suicide-squads |newspaper=The Indian Express |access-date=25 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181915/http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=15895 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=live}} At least two organisations founded and managed by retired Indian Army officers, Lt Col Jayant Rao Chitale and Lt Gen. P.N. Hoon (former commander-in-chief of the Western Command), responded to the call with such statements as not allowing Pakistanis to work in India due to accusations against Pakistan for supporting attacks in India by militants.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Despite-Sena-threat-MNIK-opens-to-packed-theatres-across-country/articleshow/5564410.cms |access-date=28 February 2010 |title=Despite Sena threat, 'MNIK' opens to packed theatres across country |date=12 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811045755/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-02-12/india/28114312_1_multiplex-owners-inclusion-of-pakistani-players-single-screen-theatres |archive-date=11 August 2011 |work=The Times of India |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/61523/an-open-letter-to-uddhav-thackeray.html |title=An open letter to Uddhav Thackeray |date=12 February 2010 |publisher=IBN |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006062409/http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/61523/an-open-letter-to-uddhav-thackeray.html |archive-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead }} After the six-year voting ban on Thackeray was lifted in 2005, he voted for the first time in the 2007 BMC elections.{{cite news |url=http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/oct/141009-Bal-Thackeray-Uddhav-Aditya-polling-booth-Election.htm |title=Thackeray ke Bal par... |newspaper=Mid-Day |access-date=14 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018072453/http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/oct/141009-Bal-Thackeray-Uddhav-Aditya-polling-booth-Election.htm |archive-date=18 October 2009 |url-status=live}} Eight or nine cases against Thackeray and Saamna for inflammatory writings were not investigated by the government.

Thackeray said that the Shiv Sena had helped the Marathi people in Mumbai, especially in the public sector.{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Sena-fate-From-roar-to-meow/articleshow/1311115.cms |title=Sena fate: From roar to meow |newspaper=The Times of India |access-date=11 August 2006 |date=29 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016033917/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Sena-fate-From-roar-to-meow/articleshow/1311115.cms |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live}} Thackeray believed that Hindus must be organised to struggle against those who oppose their identity and religion.{{cite news |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/11/24/stories/2003112400851000.htm |title=On the wrong track |newspaper=The Hindu |access-date=11 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114142108/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/11/24/stories/2003112400851000.htm |archive-date=14 November 2007 |url-status=usurped}} Opposition leftist parties alleged that the Shiv Sena has done little to solve the problem of unemployment facing a large proportion of Maharashtrian youth during its tenure, in contradiction to its ideological foundation of 'sons of the soil.'{{cite news |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2025/stories/20031219008601500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114142151/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2025/stories/20031219008601500.htm |archive-date=14 November 2007 |title=Diversionary tactics |work=Frontline |access-date=8 August 2008 |url-status=usurped }}

In 2006, Thackeray's nephew Raj Thackeray broke away from Shiv Sena to form the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) during Thackeray's retirement and appointment of his son, Uddhav rather than Raj as the leader of Shiv Sena. Narayan Rane also quit around that time.{{cite news |last=Mishra |first=Ambarish |script-title=hi:राज महायात्रेत अलिप्त होते, कारण... |url=http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/17276242.cms |language=mr |newspaper=Maharashtra Times |date=19 November 2012 |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122014303/http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/17276242.cms |archive-date=22 November 2012 |url-status=live}}

The Sena acted as a "moral police" and opposed Valentine's Day celebrations. On 14 February 2006, Thackeray condemned and apologised for the violent attacks by its Shiv Sainiks on a private celebration in Mumbai. "It is said that women were beaten up in the Nallasopara incident. If that really happened, then it is a symbol of cowardice. I have always instructed Shiv Sainiks that in any situation women should not be humiliated and harassed."{{cite news |agency=PTI |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Thackeray-condemns-V-Day-attacks-by-Sainiks/articleshow/1419743.cms |title=Thackeray condemns V-Day attacks by Sainiks |newspaper=The Times of India |date=18 February 2006 |location=Mumbai |access-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811045804/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-02-18/india/27813894_1_sena-mouthpiece-saamna-sena-chief-bal-thackeray-shiv-sainiks |archive-date=11 August 2011 |url-status=live}} Thackeray and the Shiv Sena remained opposed to it, although they indicated support for an Indian alternative.{{cite news |agency=Press Trust of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Thackeray-suggests-Indian-version-of-V-Day/articleshow/1413273.cms |title=Thackeray suggests Indian version of V-Day |date=13 February 2006 |access-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811045812/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-02-13/india/27806760_1_sena-chief-bal-thackeray-valentine-s-day-saamna |archive-date=11 August 2011 |newspaper=The Times of India |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/right-wing-to-go-easy-on-couples-this-valentine-s-day-175815 |title=Right-wing to go easy on couples this Valentine's Day |work=NDTV.com |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217061835/http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/right-wing-to-go-easy-on-couples-this-valentine-s-day-175815 |archive-date=17 February 2012 |url-status=live}}

In 2007, he was briefly arrested and let out on bail after referring to Muslims as 'Green Poison' during a Shiv Sena rally.

On 27 March 2008, in protest to Thackeray's editorial, leaders of Shiv Sena in Delhi resigned, citing its outrageous conduct towards non-Marathis in Maharashtra and announced that they would form a separate party. Addressing a press conference, Shiv Sena's North India chief Jai Bhagwan Goyal said the decision to leave the party was taken because of the partial attitude of the party high command towards Maharashtrians. Goyal further said that Shiv Sena is no different from Khalistan and Jammu and Kashmir militant groups which are trying to create a rift between people along regional lines. The main aim of these forces is to split our country. Like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the Shiv Sena too has demeaned North Indians and treated them inhumanely.{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Shiv-Senas-north-Indian-leaders-quit/articleshow/2902796.cms |newspaper=The Times of India |title=Shiv Sena's North Indian leaders quit |date=27 March 2008 |access-date=4 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811045731/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-03-27/india/27771941_1_shiv-sena-jai-bhagwan-goyal-marathis |archive-date=11 August 2011 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/28/stories/2008032851310300.htm |newspaper=The Hindu |title=Delhi Shiv Sena chief resigns |location=Chennai, India |date=28 March 2008 |access-date=4 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402101931/http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/28/stories/2008032851310300.htm |archive-date=2 April 2008 |url-status=dead}}

Thackeray declared that he was not against every Muslim, but only those who reside in this country but do not obey the laws of the land, considering such people to be traitors.{{cite web |author=Sherman Hollar |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1090091/Bal-Thackeray |title=Bal Thackeray (Indian journalist and politician) |publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopedia |date=23 January 1927 |access-date=15 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118050232/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1090091/Bal-Thackeray |archive-date=18 November 2012 |url-status=live }} The Shiv Sena is viewed by the media as being Islamophobic, though Shiv Sena members officially reject this accusation.{{cite web |url=http://in.rediff.com/election/2004/apr/23espec3.htm |title=Know your party: Shiv Sena — Lok Sabha Election 2009 |work=Rediff.com |date=23 April 2004 |access-date=31 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321204106/http://in.rediff.com/election/2004/apr/23espec3.htm |archive-date=21 March 2012 |url-status=live }} When explaining his views on Hindutva, he equated Islam with violence and called on Hindus to fight terrorism and fight Islam.{{cite web |url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/thackeray-rants-after-tiger-win/top/32673-4.html|title=Thackeray lashes out at Prez again |publisher=CNN-IBN |date=3 February 2007 |access-date=15 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611133616/http://www.ibnlive.com/news/thackeray-rants-after-tiger-win/top/32673-4.html?xml |archive-date=11 June 2008 |url-status=live }} In an interview with Suketu Mehta, he called for the mass expulsion of illegal Bangladeshi Muslim migrants from India and for a visa system to enter Mumbai, the Indian National Congress state government had earlier during the Indira Gandhi declared national emergency considered a similar measure.{{cite book |author=Mihir Bose |title=The Magic of Indian Cricket: Cricket And Society in India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8HQiMvK-bYC&pg=PA88 |year=2006 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-0-415-35691-6 |page=88 |access-date=4 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704023904/http://books.google.com/books?id=X8HQiMvK-bYC&pg=PA88 |archive-date=4 July 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |author=Suketu Mehta |title=Maximum City |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ywp765kPKhYC&pg=PA101 |date=27 September 2005 |publisher=Random House Digital, Inc. |isbn=978-0-375-70340-9 |page=101 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704023806/http://books.google.com/books?id=Ywp765kPKhYC&pg=PA101 |archive-date=4 July 2014 |url-status=live }}

He told India Today "[Muslims] are spreading like a cancer and should be operated on like a cancer. The country...should be saved from the Muslims and the police should support them [Hindu Maha Sangh] in their struggle just like the police in Punjab were sympathetic to the Khalistanis."{{cite web |last1=Kapoor |first1=Coomi |title=Fury of communal violence burns 80 km stretch from tip of south Bombay to Bhiwandi town |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19840615-fury-of-communal-violence-burns-80-km-stretch-from-tip-of-south-bombay-to-bhiwandi-town-803038-1984-06-15 |work=India Today |date=15 June 1984|access-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111210101/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19840615-fury-of-communal-violence-burns-80-km-stretch-from-tip-of-south-bombay-to-bhiwandi-town-803038-1984-06-15 |archive-date=11 November 2020 |language=en |quote=The Maha Sangh's meeting at Chowpatty on April 21 was billed as a gathering to obtain the blessings of the Shankaracharya of Sringeri. But Thackeray used the opportunity to deliver a highly-inflammatory speech. By his own admission he used the derogatory Marathi term of 'Landiya' to describe Muslims, and declared that they were spreading like cancer and should be operated upon like a cancer. The country, he said, should be saved from the Muslims and the police should support them (the Maha Sangh) in their struggle just like the police in Punjab were sympathetic to the Khalistanis. |url-status=live}} However, in an interview in 1998, he said that his stance had changed on many issues that the Shiv Sena had with Muslims, particularly regarding the Babri Mosque or Ram Janmabhoomi issue:{{cite web |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/21nandy.htm |title=The Rediff Interview/ Bal Thackeray |work=Rediff.com |date=21 January 1998 |access-date=15 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120022824/http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/21nandy.htm |archive-date=20 November 2012 |url-status=live }} "We must look after the Muslims and treat them as part of us." He also expressed admiration for Muslims in Mumbai in the wake of the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings perpetrated by Islamic fundamentalists. In response to threats made by Abu Azmi, a leader of the Samajwadi Party, that accusations of terrorism directed at Indian Muslims would bring about communal strife, Thackeray said that the unity of Mumbaikars (residents of Mumbai) in the wake of the attacks was a slap to fanatics of Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi and that Thackeray salute[s] those Muslims who participated in the two minutes' silence on 18 July to mourn the blast victims.{{cite news |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-07-20/india/27814176_1_blast-victims-serial-blasts-sena-chief-bal-thackeray |title=Mumbai's unity a slap to fanatics: Thackeray |date=20 July 2006 |access-date=30 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102191928/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-07-20/india/27814176_1_blast-victims-serial-blasts-sena-chief-bal-thackeray |archive-date=2 January 2014 |work=The Times of India |url-status=dead }} Again in 2008 he wrote: "Islamic terrorism is growing and Hindu terrorism is the only way to counter it. We need suicide bomb squads to protect India and Hindus."[http://ibnlive.in.com/news/politicians-indulge-in-hate-speech-with-impunity/89623-37-64.html Leaders deliver hate speech with impunity] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006141311/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/politicians-indulge-in-hate-speech-with-impunity/89623-37-64.html |date=6 October 2012 }}. CNN-IBN, 7 April 2009. He also reiterated a desire for Hindus to unite across linguistic barriers to see a Hindustan for Hindus and to bring Islam in this country down to its knees.{{cite news |url=http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=80435 |title=Hindustan of Hindus my dream: Thackeray |date=29 January 2007 |newspaper=The Indian Express |access-date=20 November 2012 }}

Thackeray was criticised for his praiseP. 90 India and the International System By Gupta, Mannaraswamighala Sreeranga Rajan, Shivaji GangulyP. 201 J.L Nehru on Communalism By Nand Lal Gupta of Adolf Hitler. He was quoted by Asiaweek as saying: "I am a great admirer of Hitler, and I am not ashamed to say so! I do not say that I agree with all the methods he employed, but he was a wonderful organiser and orator, and I feel that he and I have several things in common...What India really needs is a dictator who will rule benevolently, but with an iron hand."{{cite news |url=http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/95/0922/nat5.html |title=Portrait of a Demagogue |work=AsianWeek |access-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010709213551/http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/95/0922/nat5.html |archive-date=9 July 2001 |url-status=dead}} In a 1993 interview, Thackeray stated, "There is nothing wrong if Muslims are treated as Jews were in Nazi Germany." In another 1992 interview, Thackeray stated, "If you take Mein Kampf and if you remove the word 'Jew' and put in the word 'Muslim', that is what I believe in".{{cite news |last=D’Souza |first=Dilip |title=Hitler's Strange Afterlife in India |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/hitlers-strange-afterlife-in-india |work=The Daily Beast |date=30 November 2012 |access-date=16 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317234038/https://www.thedailybeast.com/hitlers-strange-afterlife-in-india |archive-date=17 March 2018 |url-status=live}} Indian Express published an interview on 29 January 2007: "Hitler did very cruel and ugly things. But he was an artist, I love him [for that]. He had the power to carry the whole nation, the mob with him. You have to think what magic he had. He was a miracle...The killing of Jews was wrong. But the good part about Hitler was that he was an artist. He was a daredevil. He had good qualities and bad. I may also have good qualities and bad ones."{{cite news |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/story/21977-3.html |title=Sorry |work=The Indian Express |access-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611224627/http://www.indianexpress.com/story/21977-3.html |archive-date=11 June 2008 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Balasaheb Thakre |date=24 November 2012 |website=Maharashtra Information |url=http://maharashtrainformation.com/page.php?id=232 |access-date=10 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212090521/http://maharashtrainformation.com/page.php?id=232 |archive-date=12 December 2013 }}] Thackeray also praised Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/shiv-sena-wanted-secular-dropped-had-hailed-godse/articleshow/72287237.cms |title=Shiv Sena wanted 'secular' dropped, had hailed Godse |newspaper=The Times of India |date=29 November 2019 }}

In 2008, following agitation against Biharis and other north Indians travelling to Maharashtra to take civil service examinations for the Indian Railways due to an overlimit of the quota in their home provinces, Thackeray also said of Bihari MPs that they were spitting in the same plate from which they ate when they criticised Mumbaikars and Maharashtrians. He wrote: "They are trying to add fuel to the fire that has been extinguished, by saying that Mumbaikars have rotten brains." He also criticised Chhath Puja, a holiday celebrated by Biharis and those from eastern Uttar Pradesh, which occurs on six days of the Hindu month of Kartik. He said that it was not a real holiday. This was reportedly a response to MPs from Bihar who had disrupted the proceedings of the Lok Sabha in protest to the attacks on North Indians.{{cite news |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/story/281062.html |title=Rattled by Raj, Thackeray abuses Biharis news |newspaper=The Indian Express |access-date=2 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308184815/http://www.indianexpress.com/story/281062.html |archive-date=8 March 2008 |url-status=live}} Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, upset with the remarks, called on the prime minister and the central government to intervene in the matter. A Saamna editorial prompted at least 16 MPs from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, belonging to the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United), Samajwadi Party and the Indian National Congress, to give notice for breach of privilege proceedings against Thackeray. After the matter was raised in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said: "If anybody has made any comment on our members' functioning in the conduct of business in the House, not only do we treat that with the contempt that it deserves, but also any action that may be necessary will be taken according to procedure and well established norms. Nobody will be spared.'"

In 2009, he criticised Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, a "Marathi icon", for saying he was an Indian before he was a Maharashtrian.

Thackeray firmly opposed caste based reservation and said, "There are only two castes in the world, the rich are rich and the poor is poor, make the poor rich but don't make the rich poor. Besides these two castes I don't believe in any other casteism."

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) supported caste-based reservations based on the Mandal commission. Thackarey, despite being warned that opposition to the reservations would be politically suicidal for the Shiv Sena party, opposed the BJP over this issue and said he would initiate proceedings against the BJP if the BJP supported caste-based reservations. This also led to his conflict with Chhagan Bhujbal, an OBC, who later left the Shiv Sena.{{cite book |title=Bal Thackeray and the rise of Shiv Sena |publisher=Roli Books |author=Vaibhav Purandare |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JS1hBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT178 |page=178 |isbn=9788174369918}}{{cite news |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-images-bal-thackeray-s-portraits-from-the-past/20121117.htm |title=Bal Thackeray on casteism |publisher=rediff news |year=2012 |access-date=24 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124152351/https://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-images-bal-thackeray-s-portraits-from-the-past/20121117.htm |archive-date=24 January 2019 |url-status=live}}

Thackeray defended Vinayak Damodar Savarkar against criticism and praised him as a great leader. In 2002, when President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam unveiled a portrait of Savarkar in the presence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Indian National Congress opposed the unveiling of the portrait and boycotted the function. Thackeray criticised the opposition and said, "Who is [Congress president and Leader of the Opposition] Sonia Gandhi to object to the portrait? What relation does she have with the country? How much does she know about the history and culture of India?". Years later, when Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh made a statement that Savarkar was allegedly the first one to suggest the two-nation theory that led to the partition, Thackeray rejected the statement of Singh.{{cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/thackeray-defends-savarkar-over-digvijays-statement/articleshow/7396685.cms |title=Thackeray defends Savarkar over Digvijay's statement |date=31 January 2011|work=The Economic Times |access-date=25 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925142133/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/thackeray-defends-savarkar-over-digvijays-statement/articleshow/7396685.cms |archive-date=25 September 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/05bal.htm |title=Savarkar was a great leader: Thackeray |work=Rediff.com |access-date=24 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021170309/http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/mar/05bal.htm |archive-date=21 October 2018 |url-status=live}}

In 1990, Bal Thackeray got seats reserved in engineering colleges for the children of Kashmiri Pandits in Maharashtra.{{Cite news|last=Modi|first=Chintan Girish|date=2016-02-05|title=Notes from an exile's diary|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/notes-from-an-exiles-diary/article8196537.ece|url-status=live|access-date=2020-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108144859/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/entertainment/notes-from-an-exiles-diary/article8196537.ece|archive-date=2020-11-08|issn=0971-751X}} At a meeting with them he supported the idea that Kashmiri Pandits could be armed for their self-defence against Jihadis.{{cite book |author=Navnita Behera |title=State, Identity & Violence: Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh |year=2000 |publisher=Manohar Publishers & Distributors |page=232}}{{cite book |author=Ajit Chak |title=Kashmir storm |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4HdKBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT62 |isbn=9781482844351}}{{cite book |author=Arvind Gigoo |title=The Ugly Kashmiri: (Cameos in exile) |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sudhBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT97 |isbn=9798184240367}}

Thackeray was married to Meena Thackeray (née Sarla Vaidya) on 13 June 1948{{cite book |title=Bal Thackeray and the rise of Shiv Sena |page=62 |publisher=Roli Books |author=Vaibhav Purandare |year=2013|quote=One more aspect of his personality, largely unknown, has been his love for the number 13, considered inauspicious by many. Thackeray said it is his lucky number. He married Sarla Vaidya, who became Meena Thackeray after marriage on 13 June 1948 and he launched Marmik weekly on 13 August 1960.}} and had three sons, oldest son Bindumadhav, middle son Jaidev, and youngest son Uddhav.{{cite news |title=A political saga of a cartoonist |url=http://www.andhrawishesh.com/home/hot-buzz/34781-a-political-saga-of-a-cartoonist.html |newspaper=Andhra Wishesh |date=15 November 2012 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119075523/http://www.andhrawishesh.com/home/hot-buzz/34781-a-political-saga-of-a-cartoonist.html |archive-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=live}} Meena died in 1995 and Bindumadhav died the following year in a car accident.{{cite news |last=IANS |title=Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray passes away |url=http://www.ianslive.in/index.php?param=news/Thackerays_health_improving_Shiv_Sena-390666/TopStory/30 |agency=Indo-Asian News Service |date=17 November 2012 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203055045/http://www.ianslive.in/index.php?param=news%2FThackerays_health_improving_Shiv_Sena-390666%2FTopStory%2F30 |archive-date=3 December 2014 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.oneindia.com/2012/11/18/why-bal-thackeray-had-an-english-surname-1100587.html |title=Why Bal Thackeray had an English surname |author=Sreekumar |publisher=One India |date=18 November 2012 }}

File:Bal Thackeray and Madhuri Dixit at 70th Master Dinanath Mangeshkar Awards (4).jpg in 2012 shortly before his death]]

Thackeray died on 17 November 2012, of cardiac arrest.{{cite news |author=Mumbai Bureau |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/bal-thackeray-passes-away/article4105003.ece |title=States / Other States : Bal Thackeray passes away; funeral on Sunday |newspaper=The Hindu |date=15 November 2012 |location=Chennai, India |access-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116010611/http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/bal-thackeray-passes-away/article4105003.ece |archive-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=dead }} Mumbai came to a virtual halt immediately as news about his death broke out, with shops and commercial establishments shutting down.{{cite news |last1=Mankikar |first1=Sayli Udas |last2=Ghoge |first2=Ketaki |title=Mumbai shuts down as Bal Thackeray makes final journey today |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Mumbai-shuts-down-as-Bal-Thackeray-makes-final-journey-today/Article1-960828.aspx |newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=18 November 2012 |location=Mumbai, India |access-date=18 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118024629/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Mumbai-shuts-down-as-Bal-Thackeray-makes-final-journey-today/Article1-960828.aspx |archive-date=18 November 2012 }} The entire state of Maharashtra was put on high alert. The police appealed for calm and 20,000 Mumbai police officers, 15 units of the State Reserve Police Force and three contingents of the Rapid Action Force were deployed.{{cite news |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_security-beefed-up-across-maharashtra_1765851 |title=Security beefed up across Maharashtra |agency=Press Trust of India |newspaper=DNA India |access-date=17 November 2012}} It was reported that Shiv Sena workers forced shops to close down in some areas. Then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for calm in the city and praised Thackeray's "strong leadership", while there were also statements of praise and condolences from other senior politicians such as the then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leader and MP (Former Deputy Prime Minister of India), L. K. Advani.{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Traders-bandh-in-Maharashtra-tomorrow-to-pay-homage-to-Bal-Thackeray/Article1-960974.aspx |title=Traders bandh in Maharashtra tomorrow to pay homage to Bal Thackeray |newspaper=Hindustan Times |date=18 November 2012 |agency=Press Trust of India |access-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118125642/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Traders-bandh-in-Maharashtra-tomorrow-to-pay-homage-to-Bal-Thackeray/Article1-960974.aspx |archive-date=18 November 2012 }}

He was accorded a state funeral{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/State-funeral-CM-went-by-peoples-sentiments/articleshow/17286438.cms |title=State funeral: CM went by people's sentiments |first=Bharti |last=Jain |date=20 November 2012 |access-date=3 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210204608/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-20/mumbai/35227624_1_public-holiday-state-funerals-minister |archive-date=10 December 2013 |newspaper=The Times of India |url-status=live }} at Shivaji Park, which generated some controversy{{cite news |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_thackeray-funeral-at-public-ground-shivaji-park-sparks-debate_1766308 |title=Thackeray funeral at 'public ground' Shivaji Park sparks debate |date=19 November 2012 |newspaper=DNA India |access-date=7 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127223552/http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_thackeray-funeral-at-public-ground-shivaji-park-sparks-debate_1766308 |archive-date=27 November 2012 |url-status=live}} and resulted from demands made by Shiv Sena.{{cite news |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Demand-for-Thackeray-memorial-at-Shivaji-Park/Article1-961196.aspx |title=Demand for Thackeray memorial at Shivaji Park |newspaper=Hindustan Times |first=Sayli Udas |last=Mankikar |date=19 November 2012 |access-date=7 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128221906/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Demand-for-Thackeray-memorial-at-Shivaji-Park/Article1-961196.aspx |archive-date=28 November 2012 }} It was the first public funeral in the city since that of Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1920.{{cite news |title=State funeral for Bal Thackeray, calm city lines up |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/state-funeral-for-bal-thackeray-calm-city-lines-up/1032864 |work=The Financial Express |access-date=29 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202922/https://www.financialexpress.com/news/state-funeral-for-bal-thackeray-calm-city-lines-up/1032864 |archive-date=29 October 2013 }} Thackeray's body was moved to the park on 18 November.{{cite news |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/bal-thackeray-passes-away-mumbai-remains-shut/articleshow/17265776.cms |title=Bal Thackeray passes away: Mumbai remains shut |newspaper=The Economic Times |date=18 November 2012 |access-date=19 November 2012}} Many mourners attended his funeral, although there were no official figures. The range reported in media sources varied from around 1 million,{{cite news |date=19 November 2012 |url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/121119/news-current-affairs/article/maha-end-tiger-journey |title=Maha end to Tiger journey |newspaper=Deccan Chronicle |access-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111171028/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/121119/news-current-affairs/article/maha-end-tiger-journey |archive-date=11 January 2013 }} to 1.5 million{{cite news |date=19 November 2012 |title=Mumbai returns to normal after Bal Thackeray funeral |work=BBC News |access-date=30 November 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-20390081}} and as many as nearly 2 million.{{cite magazine |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/video/nearly-20-lakh-people-join-the-funeral-procession-of-shiv-sena-supremo-bal-thackeray-as-mumbai-comes-to-a-standstill/1/229716.html |title=Nearly 20 lakh people join the funeral procession of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray as Mumbai comes to a standstill |magazine=India Today |date=18 November 2012 |access-date=19 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119095529/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/video/nearly-20-lakh-people-join-the-funeral-procession-of-shiv-sena-supremo-bal-thackeray-as-mumbai-comes-to-a-standstill/1/229716.html |archive-date=19 November 2012 |url-status=live }} His cremation took place the next day, where his son Uddhav lit the pyre.{{cite news |url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/bal-thackerays-funeral-cortege-leaves-for-shivaji-park_811455.html |title=Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray cremated, Uddhav lights funeral pyre |publisher=Zee News |date=19 November 2012 |access-date=7 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221222054/http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/bal-thackerays-funeral-cortege-leaves-for-shivaji-park_811455.html |archive-date=21 December 2012 |url-status=live }} Among those present at his cremation were senior representatives of the Maharashtra government and the event was broadcast live on national television channels.{{cite news |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-18/india/35185749_1_funeral-procession-uddhav-bal-thackeray |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103072152/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-18/india/35185749_1_funeral-procession-uddhav-bal-thackeray |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 January 2013 |title=Bal Thackeray's funeral procession gets massive live TV coverage |newspaper=The Times of India |date=19 November 2012 |access-date=7 December 2012}} The Parliament of India opened for its winter session on 21 November 2012. Thackeray was the only non-member to be noted in its traditional list of obituaries. He is one of few people to have been recorded thus without being a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.{{cite news |newspaper=DNA India |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_bal-thackeray-only-non-mp-to-get-obituary-reference-in-parliament_1768110 |title=Bal Thackeray only non-MP to get obituary reference in Parliament |date=22 November 2012|agency=Indo-Asian News Service |access-date=7 December 2012}} Despite having not held any official position, he was given the 21-gun salute, which was again a rare honour.{{cite news |title=Shiv Sena pays Rs 5 lakh for Bal Thackeray's funeral expenses |url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/maharashtra/shiv-sena-pays-rs-5-lakh-for-bal-thackeray-s-funeral-expenses_850513.html |publisher=24 May 2013. Zee Media Bureau |access-date=29 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619020704/http://zeenews.india.com/news/maharashtra/shiv-sena-pays-rs-5-lakh-for-bal-thackeray-s-funeral-expenses_850513.html |archive-date=19 June 2013 |url-status=live}} Both houses of Bihar Assembly also paid tribute.{{cite news |url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/bihar-assembly-pays-tribute-to-bal-thackeray_813570.html |title=Bihar Assembly pays tribute to Bal Thackeray |publisher=Zeenews.india.com |date=29 November 2012 |access-date=14 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202222/http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/bihar-assembly-pays-tribute-to-bal-thackeray_813570.html |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |agency=Press Trust of India |url=http://news.in.msn.com/national/bihar-assembly-pays-tribute-to-sena-chief-bal-thackeray |title=Bihar assembly pays tribute to Sena chief Bal Thackeray |publisher=MSN |date=29 November 2012 |access-date=14 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201161152/http://news.in.msn.com/national/bihar-assembly-pays-tribute-to-sena-chief-bal-thackeray |archive-date=1 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bihar-assembly-pays-tribute-to-shiv-sena-chief-bal-thackeray/308027-3.html |title=Bihar Assembly pays tribute to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray |publisher=Ibnlive.in.com |access-date=14 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206144000/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bihar-assembly-pays-tribute-to-shiv-sena-chief-bal-thackeray/308027-3.html |archive-date=6 December 2013 |url-status=dead }} The funeral expenses created further controversies when media reports claimed that the BMC had used taxpayers' money. In response to these reports, the party later sent a cheque of Rs. 500,000 to the corporation.

The Hindu, in an editorial, said regarding the shutdown that "Thackeray’s legion of followers raised him to the status of a demigod who could force an entire State to shut down with the mere threat of violence".{{Cite news |title=A troubling legacy |url=http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/a-troubling-legacy/article4108876.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |date=19 November 2012 |issn=0971-751X |language=en-IN |access-date=7 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520103655/http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/a-troubling-legacy/article4108876.ece |archive-date=20 May 2014 |url-status=live}} Following his death, police arrested a 21-year-old woman who posted a Facebook comment against him, as well as her friend who "liked" the comment. Shiv Sena members also vandalised the clinic owned by the woman's relative.{{Cite news |first=Anup |last=Kaphle |title=Who was Bal Thackeray and why did Mumbai come to a standstill this weekend? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/11/19/who-is-bal-thackeray-and-why-did-mumbai-come-to-a-standstill-this-weekend/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=19 November 2012 |issn=0190-8286 |language=en-US |access-date=7 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223062700/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/11/19/who-is-bal-thackeray-and-why-did-mumbai-come-to-a-standstill-this-weekend/ |archive-date=23 February 2016 |url-status=live}}

Thackeray was called Hindū Hṛdaya Samrāṭa ({{Lit|Emperor of Hindu Hearts}}) by his supporters.{{cite book |title=Hindu Nationalism and Governance |author=John McGuire, Ian Copland |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007|quote=described as the 'Supremo' of the Shiv Sena, goes by the nickname 'Hindu Hriday Samrat' or 'Emperor of the Hindu Heart'}} His yearly address at Shivaji Park was popular among his followers. In 2012, he instead gave a video-taped speech and urged his followers "to give the same love and affection to his son and political heir Uddhav as they had given him". Thackeray was known to convert popular sentiment into votes, getting into controversies and making no apologies for it though his son has tried to tone down the party's stance after his death. He was known for his inflammatory writings, was seen as a good orator who used cruel humour to engage his audience. He had a large political influence throughout the state, especially in Mumbai. His party never had any formal internal elections nor was he ever formally elected as its chief at any point. Gyan Prakash said, "Of course, the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement had mobilized Marathi speakers as a political entity, but it was Thackeray who successfully deployed it as an anti-immigrant, populist force."

He inspired Baliram Kashyap the leader of Bastar who often regarded as the Thackeray of Bastar.

A memorial for him was proposed at Shivaji Park but legal issues and opposition from local residents continue to delay it.{{Cite book

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JS1hBAAAQBAJ

| title = Bal Thackeray and the rise of Shiv Sena

| last = Purandare

| first = Vaibhav

| date = 27 February 2013

| publisher = Roli Books Private Limited

| isbn = 9788174369918

| pages = 23–27

| language = en

}}

Thackeray is satirised in Salman Rushdie's 1995 novel The Moor's Last Sigh as 'Raman Fielding'. The book was banned by the Maharashtra state government.{{cite news |last=Burns |first=John F. |author-link=John F. Burns |title=New Delhi Journal; Another Rushdie Novel, Another Bitter Epilogue |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/02/world/new-delhi-journal-another-rushdie-novel-another-bitter-epilogue.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2 December 1995 |access-date=17 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808185219/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/02/world/new-delhi-journal-another-rushdie-novel-another-bitter-epilogue.html |archive-date=8 August 2014 |url-status=live}} Suketu Mehta interviewed Thackeray in his critically acclaimed, Pulitzer-nominated, non-fiction 2004 book Maximum City.

In 2005, Ram Gopal Varma directed the Godfatheresque-Sarkar, a super-hit thriller was inspired by the life of Bal Thackeray and North Indian politics. In this film, Amitabh Bachchan's character was inspired by Thackeray.

The 2011 documentary Jai Bhim Comrade depicted a speech by Thackeray at a public rally, in which he articulated "genocidal sentiments" about Muslims, stating that they were the "species to be exterminated." The documentary followed this by showing several Dalit leaders criticising Thackeray for his beliefs.{{cite journal |last1=Matzner |first1=Deborah |title=Jai Bhim Comrade and the Politics of Sound in Urban Indian Visual Culture |journal=Visual Anthropology Review |date=Fall 2014 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=127–138 |doi=10.1111/var.12043}}

Balkadu, a 2015 Marathi film is loosely based on the ideologies of Bal Thackeray and contains voice clippings of Thackeray's political career.

A Bollywood biopic titled Thackeray, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and written by Shiv Sena politician Sanjay Raut, was released on 25 January 2019.{{Cite news |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-nawazuddin-siddiqui-s-bal-thackeray-biopic-to-release-on-this-date-2596489 |title=Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Bal Thackeray biopic to release on THIS date |date=22 March 2018 |work=DNA India |language=en-US |access-date=25 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826043956/https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-nawazuddin-siddiqui-s-bal-thackeray-biopic-to-release-on-this-date-2596489 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/thackeray-nawazuddin-siddiqui-nails-the-look-of-the-supremo-balasaheb-thackeray/articleshow/64539032.cms |title=Thackeray: Nawazuddin Siddiqui nails the look of the supremo Balasaheb Thackeray |work=The Times of India |access-date=25 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915074119/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/thackeray-nawazuddin-siddiqui-nails-the-look-of-the-supremo-balasaheb-thackeray/articleshow/64539032.cms |archive-date=15 September 2018 |url-status=live}}

Makarand Padhye played Balasaheb Thakeray in the 2022 Marathi film Dharmaveer and its sequel based on the life of Shiv Sena politician Anand Dighe.

Dushyant Wagh played Thackeray in the 2023 Marathi film Maharashtra Shahir based on the life of Krishnarao Sable.

{{Portal|Biography|Politics|India|Conservatism

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• Thackeray family
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• {{cite book |last=Mahārāva |first=Jñāneśa |title=Thackeray, life & style |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZWduAAAAMAAJ |year=2001 |publisher=Pushpa Prakashan |isbn=978-81-7448-092-7}}

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• {{URL|https://news.abplive.com/news/india/indira-gandhi-karim-lala-controversy-sanjay-raut-claim-bal-thackeray-underworld-don-picture-1143764|Bal Thackeray with Karim Lala}}
• {{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/841488.stm|title=Profile: Bombay's militant voice|publisher=BBC|date=19 July 2000}}
• {{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/photogallery/7880-15.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121121203544/http://ibnlive.in.com/photogallery/7880-15.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-11-21|title=Funeral pictures|publisher=CNN-IBN}}
• {{cite web|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/gallery/shiv-sena-leader-bal-thackeray-controversial-remarks/1/8192.html#photo1|title=Bal Thackeray and his controversial legacy|website=India Today|date=15 November 2012 }}

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