My name is Khan, Shah Rukh Khan's latest film, seeks to prove to the world that terrorism is everyone's enemy. It hurts everyone alike all races, Muslims or non Muslims. He is in effect saying: 'I am a Muslim; My name is Khan, but I am not a terrorist!'A commendable effort, which is bound to be welcomed by well meaning people all over the world.

The Shiv Sena, a militant outfit that has specialized in upholding narrow chauvinistic 'sons-of-the soil' ideology has been opposed to the screening of the film in Mumbai theatres because the actor has earlier expressed the view that Pakistani cricketers should have been considered for inclusion in Indian Premier League matches. The Shiv Sena leadership had demanded an apology from Khan for having made such an 'anti-national' demand!

Shiv Sena and similar outfits have always continued to promote hatred in the guise of a perverted patriotism. Their fight is for power and their zeal does not spring from any true notion of patriotism.

Now neither the film nor cricket form the focal point of the conflict that had troubled Mumbai for the past few days. It is a question of whose dictat will run in Mumbaithat of the legitimately elected government or that of the militant Shiv Sena?

It is a matter of satisfaction that on February 12, some thirteen theatres came forward to exhibit the film despite the threat from the Shiv Sena that it will attack the theatres that chose to exhibit the film. For once the government, perhaps at the behest of Rahul Gandhi, showed some courage and came forward to provide protection to those theatres.

Democratic fabric
Parties like the Shiv Sena has been causing much harm to the democratic and social fabric of this nation by carrying on its politics of intimidation and hatred since the sixties. First, the party attacked people from the southern states. No serious efforts were made to counter the anti-social elements which terrorized the migrants from the South. Lately they had targeted people from Bihar and UP for having robbed the Marathi Manoos of employment opportunities in railways and other establishments.

Governments in power in the state had watched helplessly when last November the Seny a activists attacked and ransacked the offices of a news channel for having criticized Bal Thackaray, the aged leader of the Shiv Sena.

No government wants to alienate the Sena because of the clout it enjoys in the state. Rahul Gandhi dared to defy the writ of the Sena recently and along with others from the Bollywood and the world of cricket had been asserting that Mumbai belonged to all Indians.

As if to neutralize the impact of the Rahul effect, NCP leader Sharad Pawar subsequently met Bal Thackeray reportedly to plead with him to allow Australian cricketers to play in Mumbai! What a slavish gesture from a responsible union minister!!

Holding people to ransom
If outfits like the Shiv Sena are allowed to hold to ransom people of large metropolitan cities like Mumbai for narrow political ends, it would only promote linguistic and regional chauvinism elsewhere in the country. The unity of the nation is at peril by the bullying and criminal activities of Senas.

In Karnataka too, the Rama Sena , a right wing organization, once part of the Shiv Sena has been causing havoc by acting as the cultural police of the region. It had called for a 'bandh' on Friday in protest against the assault on its leader Ram Muthalik while taking part in a discussion on Valentine Day celebrations.

Now the question is how divisive forces such as Shiv Sena and Sri Rama Sena should be allowed to indulge in criminal activities disturbing the lives of peace loving people. These Senas only represent only a fanatical fringe; but they succeed in maligning the majority and misrepresent the general mood. In fact they keep spreading poison which occasionally burst out into violence.

The media as also public spirited leaders had been raising their voice against the Senas. It is the silence of the majority that seems to encourage the miscreants. The answer lies in sensitizing the majority to the harm done by fanatical elements within to their own peace and well being. Strengthening the civil society and bringing law breakers to book by imposing severe penalties on them could help. Political outfits which cause damage to property should be fined heavily so that the tendency to unleash their criminal gangs on the public is checked.

The media has to counter the chauvinistic trends with greater vigour lest its own power to counter fascist ways of these Senas get abridged. It has to come to the aid of the silent majority against the fanatical fringe which wants to take back this nation to the dark ages.

Commenting recently on the Maharashtra incidents in the wake of Thackaray's fulminations against Shah Rukh Khan a Bengali journalist commented: “The Thackerays should learn a lesson from what is now called Kolkota. At a time when it was still Calcutta, it could lay claim to being the premier city of the country in terms of industrial and intellectual activity. Then, thanks to over a quarter century of uninterrupted Marxist rule which encouraged irresponsible labour unionism and stifled commercial and economic activity, Calcutta witnessed a flight of capital and talent, and became a stagnant backwater.

“It was not just businessmen and industrialists, but also professionals in the media and other fields who left Calcutta as economic refugees. I know; I was one of them.

What happened to Calcutta can happen to Mumbai if the two Thackerays, Bal and Raj, competing with each other in populist chauvinism, have their way. Will the Marathi manoos in whose name these two demagogues are doing their best to turn a vibrant metropolis into a provincial ghetto allow the Thackerays to get away with this hijacking of their city? Will the Marathi manoos whom the Thackerays claim to represent allow them to turn Maharashtra into Maha-disaster?

It's time that the silent majority among Marathi manoos decent, hard-working, accommodating as all Indians by nature and tradition tend to be until they are misrepresented by unscrupulous politicians who falsely claim to speak on their behalf stood up and disowned such ruinously narrow-minded and short-sighted leaders who are leading them to disaster.”