Shiv Sena Magazine Saamana's Office Vandalised Over Cartoon On Maratha Protests

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena, whose members have often vandalised the property of opponents, turned into a target today with an office in Mumbai of its mouthpiece, Saamana, attacked with stones over a cartoon that mocked recent protests by the powerful Maratha caste, which constitutes about 30% of Maharashtra's population.

Members of the Sambhaji Brigade - a group that represents the Marathas - were responsible for today's violent protest. In 2004, the same outfit attacked a prestigious research institute in Pune to protest against historian James Laine's book on Shivaji, alleging it had insulted Maharashtra's legendary warrior king

Some glass windows of Saamana's office were damaged in the attack by three men who managed to escape.

"We are condemning a cartoon which was published in Saamana. Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and Saamana's executive editor Sanjay Raut must apologise to the women of Maharashtra," the Sambhaji Brigade's spokesperson Shivanand Bhanuse told news agency Press Trust of India.

The contentious cartoon spoofs the muk or silent marches being held by the upper caste Marathas, who say they must be added to the list of those groups that benefit from affirmative action policies. The movement has galvanised around demanding justice for a young Maratha girl who was raped and killed in July, allegedly by young Dalit men. But the Marathas also want wider action against Dalits, who, they say, misuse the vast protection offered to them by a special law (the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act) to prevent and punish violence against them.

In a press release, the Shiv Sena said the cartoon must be treated as just that and not be taken as a signal of the party being anti-Maratha.

The Marathas traditionally derived their political, social and economic power as major farmers, in particular as cultivators of sugarcane. But in recent decades, the decline of the agriculture sector has dented their prosperity and though political parties have backed them on account of their sheer numbers, the caste has weakened economically and has turned to demanding a share of reserved government jobs and seats in educational institutions.