In Pictures: (Almost) Everything Shiv Sena Has Protested Against

EC, Dilip Kumar, BCCI, SRK, Kevin Rudd, Azhar and (almost) everything else Shiv Sena has protested against.

Supporters of Shiv Sena tear a poster of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s new film “My Name is Khan” during a protest in Ahmedabad on February 12, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

With an eye on its massive constituency in Mumbai, the use of violence or the threat of violence against its ideological opponents, or anyone who dares to oppose it, comes naturally to the Shiv Sena.

For long, the Sena has earned itself the unenviable description of a party of lumpens who would intimidate and coerce, bully and create fear across Mumbai.

The targets are usually soft – hapless Bangladeshi illegal immigrants, south Indians, people from the north who have chosen to live and work in the Maximum City and liberals who do not agree with the Sena’s politics of intimidation and intolerance. Whether it is digging up cricket pitches, beating or roughing up young men and women who choose to dress up in western outfits or Muslim-baiting, the Shiv Sena has been at the forefront of gratuitous violence, which has progressively eroded its voter base in Mumbai.

Here, in pictures, are some of the many instances when Shiv Sainiks (as members of the party are known) hit the streets in protest.

Against Ghulam Ali (1998)

Shiv Sena party workers shout slogans as they rush on the stage during a live concert by Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali in Bombay, late April 26, 1998. They repeated their protest against him last week. (Photo: Reuters)

Against BCCI

Damaged trophies which the Indian cricket team won in 1998 stand in the BCCI office in Mumbai, after Shiv Sainiks ransacked the place to prevent Pakistan from playing in India in a cricket match in 1999. (Photo: Reuters)

Radhe Shyan Sharma, curator of the pitch at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla cricket stadium, assesses the damaged pitch in New Delhi on January 7, 1999, after Shiv Sena activists dug up the pitch three weeks ahead of a Test match between India and Pakistan. (Photo: Reuters)

Against Azharuddin

Members of Shiv Sena had set fire to an effigy of former Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin in Mumbai on November 3, 2000, after he was accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation of fixing cricket matches. (Photo: Reuters)

Against Indian Railways

Shiv Sena party workers stopped suburban trains in Mumbai on July 10, 1997, to highlight their demand for apprentices who have been working with the Indian Railways since 1990 be given permanent jobs. (Photo: Reuters)

Against China’s Hu Jintao

Shiv Sena activists burned an effigy of China’s President Hu Jintao during a protest in New Delhi on October 5, 2009, against the Chinese government’s policy of issuing different visas to residents of Kashmir. (Photo: Reuters)

...and Australia’s Kevin Rudd

Shiv Sena activists burned an effigy of the then Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in New Delhi on June 1, 2009, during a protest against the recent attacks on Indian students in Australia. (Photo: Reuters)

Against... (We Can’t Figure Out Who)

Hospital beds lie scattered among the debris in a hospital sacked by an angry mob in Thane, 35 km away from Mumbai on August 26, 2001. The violence was sparked by the death of Anand Dighe, 50, a leader of Shiv Sena, who died of a cardiac arrest in the hospital after being involved in a road accident. (Photo: Reuters)

Not Against, But For Gadar

A Shiv Sena activist holds a banner exhorting people to see the movie ‘Gadar-Ek Prem Katha’ as he stands in front of a poster for the movie in Mumbai on June 27, 2001. (Photo: Reuters)

Against a Statue’s Defacement

Members of Shiv Sena party pelt buses with stones, shut shops and block sections of a major highway in Mumbai on July 9, 2006 after a statue of the party leader’s wife was defaced. (Photo: Reuters)

Against Election Commission

Policemen hold back activists of Shiv Sena during a protest in New Delhi on July 31, 1999. More than 100 activists protested against an order by Election Commission disenfranchising its chief, Bal Thackeray, for six years for making inflammatory public speeches. (Photo: Reuters)

Against Dilip Kumar

Shiv Sena activists burn an effigy of veteran Bollywood star Dilip Kumar in New Delhi on July 13, 1999. More than 50 activists of the Shiv Sena party demonstrated in front of a hotel where Kumar is staying and asked him to return the “Nishan-E-Imtiaz”, the highest civilian award by Pakistan. (Photo: Reuters)

Against Petrol Price Hike

Activists from Shiv Sena, a Hindu hardline group, carry a motorcycle as they shout slogans during a protest against the price hike in petrol, in Jammu May 24, 2012. (Photo: Reuters) 

...and Finally Against V-Day (Every Single Year)

Shiv Sena activists shout slogans and burn Valentine’s Day cards during a protest in New Delhi on February 14, 2007. Hardline Hindu activists protested against celebrations of St Valentine’s Day in the Indian capital on Wednesday, calling them immoral and a corruption of the country’s ancient civilisation. (Photo: Reuters)

(To mark Shiv Sena’s 51 years of formation, The Quint is republishing this photo story from its archives. It was originally published on 12 October 2015.)