Up To 20 Lakh Join the Funeral Procession of Balasaheb Thackeray in India
The Hindu extremist, Balasaheb Thackeray, died on Saturday in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. He was 86. Police said around 200,000 people were traveling with the procession, and many others were joining it from connecting roads, with ocean of humanity stretching for several kilometers. Nevertheless, the procession was moving extremely slowly with police trying to avoid a stampede.
Over 20,000 policemen, 15 companies of State Reserve Police Force and three contingents of Rapid Action Force had been deployed on the procession route. Shops, government offices and other premises remained closed. About 100,000 auto rickshaws and over 60,000 taxis were also off the roads.
Thackeray began his professional career as cartoonist. Later taking inspiration from their father Keshav Thackeray, they jumped into politics in 1966 by forming their own political party "Shiv Sena". Thackeray was also the founder of two newspapers. He was the subject of numerous controversies. In fact, he never had any political position. Not that he could have achieved it; but the point is he never tried for any post. In other words,Thackeray was nicknamed ‘remote control’ since they played a major role in government policies and decisions from behind the scenes.
Follow Technorati