Shiv Sena's Thackeray urges Hindus to form suicide squads to tackle Islamic fundamentalism, receives flak

In an editorial in Saamna, Shiv Sena's mouthpiece, Thackeray said a "Hindu bomb" was needed to counter the "Muslim bomb." Thackeray's rhetorics was related to the bomb attacks in theaters in Thane, Vashi and Panvel earlier this month and the subsequent arrests of those suspected to be involved in planting the bombs. While the police managed to defuse the bomb planted in Vashi in time, bombs exploded in Thane and Panvel, injuring several people.

Initial police investigations revealed that the suspects belonged to the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Jana Jagriti Samiti outfits.

Though the Hindu radical outfits have denied having any hand in the bomb attacks, yet, investigations revealed that the attacks were targeted against a controversial Marathi play Aamhi Pachpute, which was being staged in Thane and Vashi and was ridiculing Hindu deities. The attack on the Panvel theater was targeted at the screening of the movie Jodhaa Akbar, which, some Hindu hardliners claimed, portrayed the Hindu community in poor light.

Criticizing the two outfits, Thackeray said the two Hindu bodies should have "held talks with the playwright or the director on the vexed points" instead of orchestrating "ridiculous and stupid" bomb attacks that left several Hindus injured.

Thackeray said he was "happy" that the bombs were made by Hindus, but was saddened by the fact that innocent Hindus were injured. He also criticized the attackers for planting such a weak bomb. "No one but a Hindu could be responsible for a bomb that caused such little injury and was such a wasteful enterprise," he said.

"Think big," the Shiv Sena chief said. "[You] should prepare to meet the bigger task of combating Islamic fundamentalism."

"A Marathi bank clerk will lose his job by indulging in small-time misappropriation. If you want to practice corruption, then be a Ketan Parekh or a Harshad Mehta," he said.

"The need of the hour is to plant a strong bomb in Bangladeshi bastis (slums) that have mushroomed in Thane and elsewhere in Maharashtra," Thackeray said.

"The threat of Islamic terror in India is rising. The only way Islamic terror can be tackled was by unleashing Hindu terror. It is time to set up Hindu suicide squads to ensure safety of the Hindu society and to protect the nation," the firebrand leader said, quoting Manusmriti to prove his point: "Retaliate if under attack. Whether your father or a learned Brahmin attacks you, an attack is an attack."