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A new political force celebrates its victory in local elections:
Sena, an extreme right-wing movement
serving purely local interests.
It expresses native Bombay residents' desire to defend themselves
against the invasion by immigrants from southern India,
who are both despised and feared.
Shiv Sena is a mass movement and claims 500,000 members.
Its slogans are racist and xenophobic.
This man, Bal Thackery, is Shiv Sena's founder.
A former cartoon artist, he's a remarkable orator,
mixing cynical humor and demagogy.
In this speech, he attacks Bombay's Muslim community for the first time
in violent terms.
"If Muslims aren't happy, let them go to Pakistan.
We gave them their own country. Let them go and leave us alone."
I interviewed him the next day. He eagerly defended his cause.
"People living in a particular state must get a preference.
I see nothing wrong with that.
If people from here can't find jobs or housing, where can they go?"
Thackery favors a strong government.
"Ruling with a firm hand doesn't mean dictatorship.
I'm not talking about dictatorship, just keeping the people in line.
We need order in this country.
Yes, I'm anti-Communist.
If Communists took power tomorrow, I'd be the first to fight them.
I'm not hunting for power.
These people should have preference. Their rights should be respected.
I'm fighting for justice, nothing else.
Physical violence was there before us.
It would be wrong to attribute it to Shiv Sena.
There might have been individual actions here and there,
but don't blame our organization for that."
Despite what Thackery says,
new immigrants crammed into shantytowns like this
are victims of systematic violence from Shiv Sena activists.
These southern Indians are Catholics
from the state of Madras.
They don't speak the same language as the other inhabitants.
They're marginalized, unorganized, undefended, nonvoters.