Raj Thackeray facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Raj Thackeray
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| President of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena | |
| Assumed office 9 March 2006 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Swararaj Shrikant Thackeray
14 June 1968 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Political party | Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (2006–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Shiv Sena (before 2006) |
| Spouse | Sharmila Thackeray |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Thackeray family |
| Residences | Shivaji Park, Dadar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Alma mater |
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| Profession | Politician, cartoonist, orator |
Raj Shrikant Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: [ɾaːd͡ʒ ʈʰaːkɾeː], born Swararaj Shrikant Thackeray; 14 June 1968) is an Indian politician and the founding chairperson of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a regional political party. Raj was a former member of Shiv Sena till he founded MNS in 2006. He is the nephew of Balasaheb Thackeray.
Contents
Early life
Raj Thackeray's given name is a hypocorism of Swararaj. His parents were Shrikant Thackeray (younger brother of Bal Thackeray) and Kunda Thackeray (younger sister of Bal Thackeray's wife Meena Thackeray). As a child he learnt tabla, guitar and violin. Thackeray is a graduate of Mumbai's Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art. Upon graduation he joined Marmik, the weekly magazine of Bal Thackeray, as a cartoonist.
Political career
Early years in Shiv Sena
Thackeray started his political career by launching the student wing of Shiv Sena called Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena. He came to prominence during the campaign for 1990 Maharashtra assembly elections. During the 1990s, Raj believed himself to be heir of his uncle, Balasaheb. However, Balasaheb showed strong preference for his own son, Uddhav.
Years after being sidelined by Bal Thackeray's other leaders working for him, Raj Thackeray resigned from Shiv Sena on 27 November 2005 and announced his intention to start a new political party. On 9 March 2006 in Mumbai, Thackeray founded Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
Views
Raj Thackeray and his party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, state that Maharashtra State, Marathi language and Marathi Manoos are subverted by the influence of Marathi politicians. He has opposed migration into Maharashtra from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Raj reproached North Indian leaders for politicising Chhath Puja, a festival popular in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand calling it a "drama" and a "show of numerical strength". He stated that the Chhath Puja was a political gimmick by some parties to attract the north Indian vote. A petition was filed in the Patna civil court on 8 February against him for his remarks. His statements were criticised from political leaders, especially those from the North Indian states. He accused migrants of swamping Maharashtra, India's most industrialised state, in search of jobs. The MNS chief also accused migrants of disrespecting the local culture. In 2008, expressing his stance on new migrants settling in Mumbai, Raj said, "New immigrants to the city should be denied entry into the city, while those already staying here should show respect to the Marathi 'manoos' and his culture".
Thackeray and his party have been criticised for use of violence during their agitations, especially directed towards immigrants from UP and Bihar. On use of violence, Thackeray says that violence is a part of all agitations in Indian politics, and there are several cases of much more violence carried out by other parties and organisations. According to him, the incidents of violence involving members of his party have been unduly highlighted by North Indian politicians and journalists.
Thackeray had initially praised former Chief Minister of Gujarat and incumbent Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi for his governance, and the development of Gujarat during his tenure as chief minister. He had also expressed support for Modi for the post of Prime Minister for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Although later on, he regretted his support for Modi and since then has been a vocal critic of him and the NDA government. For the 2019 elections to the Lok Sabha, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, did not contest any seats, and instead Thackeray urged the party supporters to vote for the NCP–Congress alliance, with Thackeray campaigning for candidates belonging to these parties.
Thackeray-led MNS criticised the centre's move to award the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, to Adnan Sami, claiming that Sami was not an original Indian citizen.
Thackeray called for a ban on loudspeakers in Masjid.
Personal life
Thackeray is married to Sharmila Wagh, daughter of Marathi cinema photographer, producer-director Mohan Wagh. They got married on Dec 11, 1990 in Mumbai. They have a son, Amit Thackeray and a daughter, Urvashi Thackeray. His children attended the Christian School Bombay Scottish School, Mahim.
See also
- Zenda, 2010 Marathi-language film
