As part of India’s 60th anniversary celebrations, Outlook magazine published a list of villians in post-Independence history.

The controversial Thackeray cartoon
img: via Outlook

Among the listed elite were Bhindranwale, Sanjay Gandhi, Narendra Modi, Dawood Ibrahim and Bal Thackeray.

The blurb on Bal Thackeray is on page 2 of the article.

Among other things it critcizes his demoguguery, his open disdain for minorities in Mumbai namely South Indians and Muslims, his hand in the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and above all, his fascination with Adolf Hitler. Outlook goes on to draw a caricature of Thackeray complete with a Hitler moustache and uniform.

On cue, the Outlook office was attacked and ransacked by Shiv Sainiks.

Honestly, given the penchant for mob rule in India, it would truly be against our culture if this attack had not happened. As for the attack, it is not clear if it happened because Thackeray was termed a villian or was it because of the company Thackeray was put in (Dawood, Godse) or was it because of the cartoon and Hitler reference.

The complete list as published by Outlook:
1. Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse
2. Gaya Ram who changed 3 parties in 24 hours, hence “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram”
3. The faceless terrorist
4. Bhindranwale
5. Sanjay Gandhi
6. Narendra Modi
7. Former India cricket captain and great gambler, Mohammed Azharuddin
8. In case you missed it, Bal Thackeray
9. HKL Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler of the 1984 Sikh massacre infamy
10. Underworld don and 1993 Mumbai blast architect, Dawood Ibrahim
11. Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, Indira Gandhi’s bodyguards and assassins

By virtue of not indulging directly in activities that cost human lives, Azharuddin should be excluded from this list. Pop-culture villian, affirmative, morally vacant, most definitely, but including him in a list of villians from India’s post-Independence history, were involved in major or multiple killings, is a tad much. Everyone else deserves and earned their places on that list.

My nominations for the list:
1. Indira Gandhi, herself, for nurturing the culture of political corruption and the Emergency of 1975.
2. Indira Gandhi’s other son, Rajiv Gandhi, for, again, nurturing the culture of political corruption and his Delhi Boat Club speech.
3. L.K. Advani (and cronies) for work leading upto the subsequent demolition of Babri Masjid and its aftermath.
4. V.P.Singh (and cronies) for bringing to life the Mandal Commission in 1990.
5. And finally, in humor, Chetan Sharma, for that full-toss to Javed Miandad in Sharjah in 1986. If we can include a match fixer, why not a choker?

Who else would you nominate for inclusion in this “esteemed” list?

Other posts on Bal Thackeray and Shiv Sena (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

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