From Bvio

'''Shiv Sena''' (meaning '''Army of Shiva''', referring to Shivaji) is a political party in India founded on June 19, 1966 by Bal Thackeray who is the president of the party. It is a Hindu nationalist party, though it is strongly associated with Maratha identity. In the 13th Lok Sabha (1999-2004), it had 15 (out of 545) members. The party was formed to fight for the rights of native Maharashtrians. It targeted South Indians living in Bombay and later Gujaratis and Muslims as it tried to propagate Bal Thackeray's idea that Bombay belonged to Maharashtrians only. Shiv Sena has its employment cell Shiv Udyog Sena. Bharatiya Kamgar Sena ("Indian worker's army"), a labour union, is affiliated to the Shiv Sena. The Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena ("Indian students' army") is the Shiv Sena's student wing. In 1998, Shiv Sainiks attacked movie theatres in Bombay over a controversial film with a lesbian theme, forcing it to be withdrawn. In 1999, they vandalised a cricket pitch in Delhi to stop the Pakistani cricket team from playing there. == Accusations of criminal activities == Prominent members of Shiv Sena have been accused of criminal activities such as extortion and murder. According to ''Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights'', "they (Shiv Sena) have become little more than organised gangsters" and "Shiv Sena is itself the biggest criminal organisation in the city". According to an article in Le Monde Diplomatique (see below), Shiv Sena leaders always accept the official police version of police killings (self-defense), also if many others claim otherwise. In June 1998, "No police officer has been challenged over his story". Bal Thackeray, was, according to this article, "held responsible for the murder of at least one legislator and some Shiv Sena leaders". Shiv Sena denies the accusations. See also: List of political parties in India, Politics of India ==External links== *Shiv Sena web site *Article in Le Monde Diplomatique: Very political crimes in Bombay (also in French). This article heavily criticises Shiv Sena.