Raj Shrikant Thackeray (Marathi: राज श्रीकांत ठाकरे) (born 14 June 1968) is the founder and president of the right-wing^{[citation needed]} Marathi ethnocentric regional political party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena ("Maharashtra Reformation Army") in the state of Maharashtra, India. His official name is Swararaj which means the king of musical notes.^[1] He is the nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, and a cousin of the current Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray.^[2]

Early life[link]

Raj was born on 14 June 1968 in a Marathi Kayastha (CKP) family to Shrikant Thackeray (younger brother of Bal Thackeray) and Kunda Thackeray (younger sister of Bal Thackeray's wife Meena Thackeray). Raj’s father Shrikant Thackeray was a musician, cartoonist and was also well versed in Urdu. He studied in Balmohan Vidyamandir, Mumbai and graduated from the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art, Mumbai. As a child he is said to have learnt the tabla, the guitar and the violin. He also loved drawing which later turned into a passion for drawing cartoons.

Political career[link]

Raj started his political career with his Uncle Bal Thackeray. Bal Thackeray has been a huge influence on Raj’s life. Raj has been said to have modeled himself after him. In 1997, he started the Shiv Udyog Sena a youth wing for the Shiv Sena. With this he tried to strengthen his youth leader image. "He raised funds for the employment agency with, among other sources, concerts by Michael Jackson and Lata Mangeshkar — and thus, simultaneously, propagated the new brand of the Sena's popular culture and its implications for a nascent generational change within the organization". But his association with the Sena ended in 2006. In January 2006 he resigned from the Sena alleging that it was being "run by petty clerks" because of which it had "fallen from its former glory". There has been quite a lot of speculation over the real reason why he left the party. The popular rumor being that he was being "sidelined" by Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav. In the same year Raj announced his intention to start his own political party. Although separated from his mentor, Raj has always maintained that he does not want to have hostilities with his uncle who "was, is and always will be (his) mentor".

Political Views[link]

Marathi Identity[link]

Raj Thackeray and his party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, state that Maharashtra State, Marathi language and Marathi Manoos are subverted by the influence of non-Marathi politicians within and outside the State, and that these politicians should be opposed in order to attain prosperity for Maharashtra and Marathi people.^[3]

Opposition to Immigrants[link]

Since the creation of his party, Raj Thackeray has opposed immigration into Maharashtra from North India. According to Raj Thackeray, he is against immigrants specifically from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and not from North India or elsewhere, in general. According to him, bad governance, corruption, high crime rates and criminal, politicians in these two states for decades, has degraded the socio-economic conditions there, causing exodus of people from these states to other states, like Maharashtra. This causes unemployment and increased crime rates in Maharashtra and other states which receive these immigrants. Also, due to rising number of immigrants, the politician from these two states have gained power in Maharashtra. He, however has made it clear that he is not against Hindi.^[4]

Violence in Agitations[link]

Raj Thackery and his party MNS have been criticized^{[citation needed]} for use of violence during their agitations, especially directed towards immigrants from UP and Bihar. He is facing several charges for instigating violence in various courts.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[4]

Supporter of Narendra Modi's Governance[link]

Thackeray is an admirer of Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi for his governance, and the development of Gujarat during his tenure. In August 2011, Raj Thackeray visited Gujarat on a 9-day trip as 'state guest' to study the development in Gujarat. He also advised politicians in Maharashtra, irrespective of party, to take lessons from Modi and Gujarat.^[5] He has also expressed support for Modi for the post Prime Minister of India for the 2014 Lok Sabha (general) election.^[5]

Agitations[link]

Marathi signboards for shops[link]

In July 2008, Raj issued a public warning that Mumbai shops needed to have Marathi signboards in addition to the existing English signboards. He warned that after one month, MNS workers would start blackening non-Marathi signboards.^{[citation needed]} While there had been a law to this effect passed earlier by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, it had not been enforced.^{[citation needed]}

Raj had also insisted that the Marathi signboards had to be at least as big as the English signboards. A number of big shopowners, notably Viren Shah (Roopam chain) went to court against this move. The high-court provided them relief, passing a judgement that the Marathi signboards did not have to be as big as English signboards.^[6]

In September 2008, MNS workers resorted to blackening signboards, to enforce the demand, after which most shop owners complied. Six MNS workers were arrested but later released on bail. The Congress government was dilatory in filing chargesheets against them, following which the Maharashtra high-court passed strictures against the government. When the government prosecutor submitted in December that the chargesheets had not been filed as investigation was ongoing, the judge remarked sarcastically whether this was a murder case to warrant such long investigations, three months after the arrest of the MNS workers, but Raj was attempting to enforce a rule previously on the books.^[7]

Agitation against Jet Airways layoffs[link]

In October 2008, on the eve of the major Indian festival Diwali, Jet Airways laid off 800 temporary workers and announced layoffs of an additional 1100 workers. The laid-off workers included Marathi as well as North-Indians. These workers met Raj Thackeray and asked him to intervene. Following this, Raj Thackeray declared that most of these workers had paid security deposits to the company, and he would meet Jet management to plead their case. Unless Jet Airways cancelled the layoffs, his party would not allow any Jet Airways plane to take off from any airport in Maharashtra.^[8]

Within 12 hours of Raj Thackeray's declaration, Jet chairman Naresh Goyal reversed the layoffs and reinstated the sacked employees. He claimed that he did it on his own and that there was no political pressure on him. Leftist Unions, Shivsena & Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel later tried to take credit for the decision. On announcement of the layoffs, Praful Patel had claimed that he had no jurisdiction over the layoffs issue.^[9] Sacked Jet employees on the other hand stated that they were warned by Jet management on reinstatement, not to meet Raj Thackeray to thank him.^[10]

Demand for Telecom customer service in Marathi[link]

Telecom companies in Maharashtra had been providing customer service in English & Hindi only. Raj demanded that all telecom companies operating in Maharashtra start providing the service in Marathi also and set a deadline of 27 February 2010, after which his party MNS would launch an agitation. Following this demand, all telecom companies complied, introducing Marathi as an additional option in their customer service.^[11]

Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Issue[link]

In Dec 2011, Raj Thackeray meeting a group from MES (Maharshtra Ekikaran Samiti) advised them that they should revisit their stand of merging Belgaum with Maharashtra in the interest of marathi speaking people of belgaum. In a major departure from the stance previously taken by traditional right wing groups of Maharashtra, Raj Thackeray argued that a practical approach rather than an emotional one was the need of the hour. However, he said that if the supreme court itself gives a decision in favor of Belgaum's merger he would welcome it, although the local situation in Belgaum should not be vitiated for the sake of it. He asked the MES leaders to first identify the real issue as to whether marathis in belgaum are being targeted for espousing the cause of marathi language or because they were supporting the merger of Belgaum with Maharashtra. Lamenting that strikes and bandhs only add to the misery of the Marathi-speaking community in Belgaum, Thackeray said: "If the Karnataka government is ready to respect the Marathi people, their culture and language, then there is nothing wrong in Belgaum being there."^[12] His comments were strongly criticized by his cousin Uddhav Thackeray as a cruel joke on the marathi manoos.^[13]

Controversies[link]

2008 violence against UP & Biharis[link]

At a rally in Shivaji Park, Raj warned that if the dadagiri (intimidating dominance) of these people in Mumbai and Maharashtra continued, he would be compelled to make them leave the metropolis.^[14] Raj was arrested along with a Samajwadi Party leader, Abu Azmi, for their involvement in the fracas. He was released on paying a penalty of 15,000 (US$299.25).

Acquittal in Kini murder case[link]

In July 1996, Ramesh Kini was found dead in a cinema in Pune. Kini was a tenant in a ramshackle tenement in central Mumbai, whose landlord, Laxmikant Shah, was trying to evict him. Shah also happened to be a close childhood friend of Raj Thackeray. A CBI enquiry was later issued for the case, but the CBI dismissed the case as one of suicide.^[15]

Kohinoor mill controversy[link]

Shiv Sena opposed sale of mill land, but Raj Thackeray bid for and won mill land in prime Mumbai real estate.^[16] On 21 July 2005, Raj and Unmesh Joshi, son of Shiv Sena Leader Manohar Joshi purchased a five acre plot of land, Kohinoor Mill No. 3, located across the road from the Shiv Sena party headquarters in Dadar, Mumbai for 421 crore (US$83.99 million). The NCP leader from Mumbai, Sachin Ahir, objected to the sale of the Kohinoor Mill land, saying that there were forty bids, yet only three were short-listed. He demanded a re-bid as there was a lack of transparency in the move.^[17]

Reaction to Jaya Bachchan's controversial statement[link]

The words of Jaya Bachchan, veteran actor and sitting Rajya Sabha MP of Samajwadi Party (with whom Raj's MNS has crossed swords a number of times), during the Music launch of the Hindi film Drona, were deemed hurtful by Raj Thackeray.

Jaya's words 'Hum UP (Uttar Pradesh) ke log hain, isliye Hindi mein baat karenge, Maharashtra ke log Maaf Kijiye' (We are from UP region, so we will speak in Hindi. People of Maharashtra, please excuse) in response to the film's Director, Goldie Behl, making his introductory speech in English and subsequently encouraging the actress Priyanka Chopra to speak in Hindi.^[18]

Raj commented that Jaya had no business alluding to all the people of Maharashtra in that statement. He threatened to ban all Bachchan films unless Jaya apologised in a public forum for hurting Maharashtrians. MNS workers began to attack theatres screening The Last Lear starring Jaya Bachchan's husband, Amitabh Bachchan. Shivsena MP Sanjay Raut also criticized Jaya's statement saying: "After making all your success & fortune in Mumbai, if you feel like saying that, We are From UP, its very unfortunate." It was only after Amitabh tendered an apology that the screening resumed.^[19]

Following Raj's threat, Mumbai police acted against Raj, issuing a gag order preventing him from speaking to the media.^[20]

Remarks on Chhath Puja and Migrants[link]

Raj reproached North Indian leaders for politicizing Chhath Puja, a festival popular in Bihar, 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. He questioned the motives by citing that the puja is performed on the banks of a river, not the sea as it was being performed.^[21] He demanded that they only celebrate Maharashtra day and not UP day in Maharashtra. A petition was filed in the Patna civil court on 8 February against him for his remarks.^[22] His statements drew flak from political leaders across the board, especially those from the North Indian states. The then Indian Railways minister and former chief minister of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, vowed that he would come to Mumbai and perform Chhath Puja in front of Raj's house, which he failed to perform. He also ridiculed Raj saying, "He [Raj] is a child in politics".^[21] The Navnirman Sena leader accused migrants of swamping Maharashtra, India's most industrialised state, in search of jobs.^[23]

The MNS chief also accused migrants of disrespecting the local culture. On 9 February, 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".^[24]

Mumbai-Bombay Controversy: Wake Up Sid[link]

On 2 October 2009, MNS workers disrupted the screening of the film Wake Up Sid on its release in a few Pune and Mumbai theatres, after Raj objected to references in the movie to "Bombay" rather than "Mumbai". The city of Mumbai was referred to as "Bombay" in many scenes^[25] and in some songs (lyrics by Javed Akhtar). The film's producer, Karan Johar, visited Raj's residence to apologise, and agreed to all of Raj's terms, including an apology on each of the 700 frames in the film.^[26]

Personal life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

Raj is married to Sharmila, daughter of famous Marathi theater/films actor, producer-director Mohan Wagh. They have one son named Amit Thackeray and one daughter Urvashi Thackeray.

Like his father and uncle Raj is a painter and cartoonist. He had also expressed his desire to work for Walt Disney Studios. Raj Thackeray said when asked what he would have done had he not joined politics? "In my college days, I wanted to work with Walt Disney Studios. I drew cartoons even before my foray in politics. Film making is also a passion. I would have been doing either of these things."

External links[link]

• Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Official Website
• Outlook India Back Issues
• Raj Thackerey's response in The Indian Express to Sudheendra Kulkarni's criticism
• New legal strategy to tame Raj

References[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

Rohit Shetty
Rohit Shetty at Bunts Sangha event, Powai
Born	(1973-03-14) 14 March 1973 (age 39) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Years active	1994–present

Rohit Shetty (born 14 March 1973) is an Indian film director, cinematographer and occasional actor. His work as director include the hits Golmaal, Golmaal Returns, Golmaal 3 and Singham.

Personal life[link]

Shetty is from the city of Mangalore, Karnataka. He is the son of the late actor and fight master M. B. Shetty, who acted in some Hindi and Kannada movies.^[1] He was interested in film since childhood as he belonged to a film family. At 13 or 14, he was certain that he wanted to be a director and never thought of becoming an actor, however does appear in background roles in some films occasionally and uncredited.

Career[link]

He started his career at the age of 15 as an assistant director with Kuku Kohli on the film Phool Aur Kaante starring Ajay Devgn.

He started working, first as an apprentice with Kuku Kohli during Phool Aur Kaante (Ajay Devgan's debut film that costarred Madhoo).^[2] Then he assisted him in Ek Aur Kohinoor, which was never released. He also worked with him on Suhaag (Ajay, Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor), Haqeeqat (1995) (Ajay, Tabu) and Zulmi (Akshay, Twinkle Khanna).

By then, he had developed a good rapport with Ajay Devgn. After that he started working with Anees Bazmee on Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (Ajay, Kajol), followed by Ajay's home productions, Hindustan Ki Kasam and Raju Chacha.

During the making of Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, he knew he was ready to direct his own film. When they were planning Raju Chacha, it was decided that he would make his directorial debut after Ajay Devgn, and Ajay would act in it.

Shetty directed his debut feature film, Zameen, as an independent director with Devgan in 2003 at the age of 29. Zameen did moderate business worldwide, though way below expectations. He rose to fame after he directed the much acclaimed 2006 comedy film, Golmaal: Fun Unlimited starring Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor and Sharman Joshi. Golmaal did excellent business at the box office, and was also critically acclaimed. It was Shetty's first commercial hit. In 2008, he directed his third film, Sunday starring Devgn, Warsi and Ayesha Takia. Sunday was a comic-thriller, and received positive response from critics and public.

Shetty's second 2008 project, was the sequel to Golmaal, titled Golmaal Returns. The sequel featured most of the original cast, except Sharman Joshi, who was replaced by Shreyas Talpade, and starred Kareena Kapoor. Golmaal Returns had a slow opening, with negative reviews from critics unlike the first Golmaal, however it did well at the box office, so was another financial success for Shetty. In 2009, his only release was All the Best: Fun Begins. All the Best was amongst the highest-grossing films of 2009. In 2010, Shetty's franchise broke many records, as he directed Golmaal 3, which became a worldwide blockbuster and the biggest hit in his career to that time.

Shetty's 2011 blockbuster, Singham did even better. The film featured Devgn in the title role, as a Police Inspector fighting against corruption. Singham was later praised for the action sequences and direction, also Devgn's performance, and was the biggest financial success in Shetty's career. Singham is also his latest release. He is currently working on his next project, Bol Bachchan which will be a comedy-drama starring Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan. Despite having worked with Ajay Devgn in all his films, Shetty has signed up for another film, Chennai Express which does not star Devgn, but superstar Shahrukh Khan.

Post the success of Singham, Shetty is the only Indian Director to have two 100 crore domestic grossers to his credit.(Golmaal 3, and Singham) Shetty is also the judge of a comedy show known as Comedy Circus.

Filmography[link]

Director[link]

2013

Singham 2 Ajay Devgan

Awards and nominations[link]

• 2012- Won — Stardust Award Dream Director- Singham
• 2012- Won — Big Star Entertainment Award-Most Entertaining Film-Singham
• 2011- Won -Global Indian Film and Television Honours-Best Director-Golmaal 3
• 2011- Won -Stardust Award Best Director Comedy/Romence-Golmaal
• 2012- Nominated-Zee Cine Award for Best Director-Singham
• 2012- Nominated-Zee Cine Award for Best Film-Singham
• 2012- Nominated-Apsara Award Best Director-Singham
• 2012- Nominated-Apsara Award Best Film-Singham
• 2012- Nominated-Stardust Award-Film Of The Year-Singham
• 2011- Nominated -Stardust Award Dream Director-Golmaal 3
• 2011- Nominated -Stardust Award -Film Of The Year-Golmaal
• 2010- Nominated -Stardust Award Dream Director-All the Best: Fun Begins

Actor[link]

• Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1999) - Presenter
• Golmaal 3 (2010) - Car Driver
• Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum (2012) - Himself

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rohit Shetty

• RohitShetty.org
• Rohit Shetty - IMDb
• Rohit Shetty a Kareena fan
• Rohit Shetty on a heroine hunt
• "I earned only Rs.35 as my first pay" - Rohit Shetty
• Rohit Shetty makes his acting debut

Shobhaa De
Shobhaa De, at 'Meet The Author' programm conducted by sharjha International Book Fair 2011
Born	Shobha Rajadhyaksha (1948-01-07) 7 January 1948 (age 64) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	St. Xavier's College, Mumbai
Occupation	Author, Columnist, Novelist
Religion	Hinduism
Website
http://shobhaade.blogspot.com

Shobha Rajadhyaksha, also known as Shobhaa Dé (born 7 January 1948), is an Indian columnist and novelist.

Early life[link]

Shobha De was born in a Maharashtrian Goud Saraswat Brahmin family in Mumbai, India. She completed her schooling from Queen Mary School, Mumbai and graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai with a degree in psychology.

Career[link]

After making her name as a model, she began a career in journalism in 1970, during the course of which she founded and edited three magazines – Stardust, Society, and Celebrity.^[1] Stardust magazine, published by Mumbai-based Magna Publishing Co. Ltd., was started by Nari Hira in 1971. and became popular under the editorship of Shobhaa De. In the 1980s, she contributed to the Sunday magazine section of The Times of India. In her columns, she used to explore the socialite life in Mumbai lifestyles of the celebrities. At present, she is a freelance writer and columnist for several newspapers and magazines.

Shobhaa De is one of India’s top best-selling authors. All her 17 books have topped the charts and created records. Spouse – The Truth About Marriage, that examines the urban institution of marriage, sold 20,000 copies on the day of its official launch in Delhi and is currently being translated into several languages. De gave a new definition to the mass market best seller with her breakthrough, bold and highly individualistic style that spoke a new language. She is credited with having given birth to Hinglish, a heady, irreverent mix of Hindi and English, that spoke to readers in an entirely new way. Four of her titles, namely, Socialite Evenings, Starry Nights, Sultry Days, and Second Thoughts are course material in the University of London. Her work features extensively in Comparative Literature courses at Universities abroad and within India. An academic examination of her books titled, The Fiction of Shobhaa De, compiled by Professor Dodiya, features 40 critical essays by academics – Indian and foreign. Over a hundred dissertations on her work are in various libraries worldwide.

Recipient of several awards for her journalistic contributions, De writes prolifically for Indian and International publications. She runs four weekly columns in mainstream newspapers, including the The Times of India and Asian Age. She has been the writer of several popular soaps on television, including India’s first daily soap, Swabhimaan. She also anchored a prestigious weekly show called Power Trip which featured India's Billionaires as never before. She participates on a regular basis on important TV debates, such as The Editor's Verdict on NDTV during the 2009 elections. She is recognized as an important social commentator and something of an authority on popular culture. Outspoken and forthright, De chronicles today’s India in her own inimitable style. More recently via her immensely popular blog and Twitter account.

Her books are best sellers in several regional languages, including Punjabi, Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Bengali and Marathi. Bollywood Nights was launched at the London Book Fair in April 2007, and for the American market in the same year, by Penguin International. The U.K. edition of her work, Superstar India was published in April 2009. Superstar India sold over 100,000 copies in India during its first year, to establish a new record. It will be published in America in September 2009. Glitzernacht, was launched at the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair in 2006, followed by 4 more titles in German, with an additional 3 to follow. The first of her Italian books, Sorelle was launched in Milan and Rome, followed by Bollywood Nights in May 2007. Her books are in translation in Spanish, Italian, German, Hungarian, Portuguese, Turkish, Russian, Polish and Korean at present. Her first book in its French edition was published by Actes Sud in 2010.

She was the chief guest at Chandigarh University, in 2007. Department of English, where she delivered the Presidential Address on "New Trends in Contemporary Writing." De has participated in several literary festivals, including the prestigious Writers' Festival in Melbourne. The Writers’ Festival in Hong Kong, Singapore and Jaipur, besides the literary festival called Kitaab in Mumbai. She has been invited to the Kovalam Lit Fest as well as the first South African Festival of Indian Authors in September 2009. Dubai Lit Fest in 2010. Jaipur Lit Fest 2010. Hay Lit Fest in the Maldives in 2010. Karachi Lit Fest in Feb 2011. There are over 50 dissertations on her work in publication. She was a part of the official Indian Delegation to the Global Women’s Forum at Deauville (France) in October 2008. She was a keynote speaker at the Leadership Conclave in Delhi, October 2009 . The subject – "Has the Indian Woman Come of Age, Finally?." She is regularly invited to participate in prestigious All-India debates, like the annual one in Kolkata, The Telegraph Debate. Invited regularly as a leading television panelist on national issues by India’s top anchors, Arnab Goswami, Rajdeep Sardesia, Karan Thapar.

Considered one of the top Opinion Shapers in the region, she is on the Readers’ Digest List – “ India’s Most Trusted People” published in March 2010, along with Ratan Tata and Dr. Abdul Kalam. She is on the list of ‘50 Most Powerful Women in India” published by the DNA Newspaper, March 2010. She was also featured on the 2010 list of ‘ India’s 50 Most Beautiful’ in Hi Blitz.

Her latest book is titled Shobhaa at Sixty and has been published by Hay House in 2010. 2010 saw her emerge as a Publisher in her own right, with the launch of her own imprint by Penguin Books, titled The Shobhaa De Book.

Personal life[link]

Shobha De met her present husband, shipping tycoon and business magnate Dilip De in 1981. He was a widower with two children (Radhika and Ranadip). Shobha (then Shobha Kilachand ) was a divorcee with two children of her own (Aditya and Avantika). The pair got married in 1984. She and Dilip De later had two more children (Arundhati and Anandita).

She is the cousin of ace photographer Gautam Rajadhyaksha.

Books[link]

• Shobhaa at Sixty"-2010
• Sandhya`s secret"-2009
• Superstar India - From Incredible to Unstoppable
• Strange Obsession –
• Snapshots
• Spouse: The truth about marriage
• Speedpost - Penguin, New Delhi. 1999.
• Surviving Men - Penguin, New Delhi, 1998
• Selective Memory - Penguin, New Delhi. 1998.
• Second Thoughts - Penguin, New Delhi. 1996.
• Small betrayals - UBS Publishers' Distributors, 1995
• Shooting from the hip - UBS, Delhi, 1994.
• Sultry Days - Penguin, New Delhi. 1994.
• Uncertain Liaisons - Penguin, New Delhi. 1993.
• Sisters - Penguin, New Delhi. 1992.
• Starry Nights -1989, India, Penguin, New Delhi ISBN 0-14-012267-2, Pub date ? ? 1989, paperback
• Socialite Evenings-1989, India, Penguin, New Delhi ISBN 0-14-012267-2, Pub date ? ?

References[link]

External links[link]

• [1]
• Interview with Shobhaa De

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shobhaa De

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

Uddhav Thackeray
Executive president of the Shiv Sena
Personal details
Born	(1960-07-27) 27 July 1960 (age 51) Mumbai
Political party	Shiv Sena
Spouse(s)	Rashmi Thackeray
Children	Aditya Thackeray, Tejas Thackeray
Residence	Mumbai, India
Religion	Hindu
As of 4 May, 2008

Uddhav Thackeray (Marathi: उद्धव ठाकरे) (born 27 July 1960) is the executive president of the Shiv Sena, a right-wing, Marathi ethnocentric regional political party based in the Indian state of Maharashtra. He was given this role in 2004, taking over from his father and party founder, Hindu nationalist politician Balasaheb Thackeray.

Earlier, Uddhav was looking after Saamana (a daily Marathi newspaper) while being actively involved in election campaigning activities. The party won the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation election in 2002 and, thereafter, he was appointed as the party working president in 2003. Differences between Thackeray and former Shiv Sena leader Narayan Rane culminated in the expulsion of Rane from the Shiv Sena. Another split in the Sena came when Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray had a falling-out, leading to Raj leaving the Shiv Sena in 2006 to form his own party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

[edit] Maharashtra Desha

The Maharashtra Desha, a book by Uddhav, depicts the heritage of Maharashtra in the form of aerial photographs.

In the sections of the book, "Mumbaichya desha" depicts the normal life from Mumbai. "Kankhar desha" consists of the strongholds of Shivaji, for example, the historic forts like Raigad, Torna, Purandar, Shivneri as well as their brief information. The following category of "Pavitra desha" shows the sanctity of temples like Saptashrungi, Kolhapur Ambabai, and Vittal Temple Pandharpur. "Dagadanchya desha" represents the Ajanta, Ellora, Kanheri, Karla Caves whereas "Jeevan desha" consists of lifelines — the rivers of Maharashtra: Chandrabhaga, Krishna, Mutha, Vashisthi. "Adbhut desha" has a collection of photography related to nature and other resources of Maharshtra.

References[link]

1. http://in.news.yahoo.com/248/20101102/1582/tnl-uddhav-fails-sena.html http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/rajdeepsardesai/1/61523/an-open-letter-to-uddhav-thackeray.html

http://www.sahyadribooks.org/books/MHDesha.asp?bid=508

External links[link]

• The son rises - Frontline, Volume 20 - Issue 04, February 15 - 28, 2003
• Up close and personal with Uddhav Thackeray - Rediff India, April 2004