Mumbai: Shiva ji Park
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
A political history
Bhavika Jain, Sep 18, 2022: The Times of India
From: Bhavika Jain, Sep 18, 2022: The Times of India
Here’s everything you need to know about Shiva ji Park and its place in Maharashtra’s politics, history, culture and, yes, cricket. This report will also tell you that while the Sena’s first public rally was held at Shiva ji Park, it wasn’t on Dussehra day. But more about it when we get there.
From Mahim Park to Shiva ji Park
Shiva ji Park, which is home to some of the city’s most revered cricket pitches and is surrounded by a walking track, is spread over 28 acres and it was created in 1925. Its original name was Mahim Park. The maidan was renamed Shiva ji Park in 1927 after Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shiva ji Maharaj.
In a delicious coincidence, Bal Thackeray was born the same year in Pune.
When Thackeray was overawed by Shiva ji Park’s size In the 1950s, playwright and educationist Pralhad Keshav Atre, better known as Acharya Atre, often used Shiva ji Park to host gatherings to rally support for the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. At these gatherings, he would always have by his side Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, known more widely as Prabodhankar Thackeray and Bal Thackeray’s father.
The movement was aimed at carving a Marathi- speaking state out of what was then the Bombay province. Atre often referred to Shiva ji Park as ‘Shivtirth’, a term still used by Shiv Sainiks.
Maharashtra came into being on May 1, 1960 and six years later, the Shiv Sena was born on June 19, 1966 in a tiny apartment in Kadam Mansion on Ranade Road in Dadar West. The party had just a handful of members at the time of its formation. Till then, Bal Thackeray used Marmik, a weekly magazine, to reach out to the masses with his Marathi-manoos centric cause.
“It was decided that Thackeray should hold a rally to mark the party’s launch,” says Sujata Anandan, journalist and author of Hindu Hriday Samrat: How the Shiv Sena Changed Mumbai Forever. “But unsure about the turnout, Bal Thackeray was toying with the option of holding a gathering in a hall or a school ground. But, on suggestions of his colleagues, Shiva ji Park was finalised.”
This ‘Bal’ is now Maharashtra’s Sena’s first rally at Shiva ji Park was held on October 30, 1966. It was not on Dussehra. “Most members of the Sena were mill workers and Balasaheb had to take into account their weekly offs while deciding on the date of the rally and so it was not on Dussehra (which was on a weekday),” says Prakash Akolkar, senior journalist and author of Jai Maharashtra, a biography of Shiv Sena.
Though now convinced that the venue should be Shiva ji Park, Bal Thackeray was still unsure about the turnout. So, rather than erecting the stage in one corner, it was erected at the centre. The idea being that a small crowd at the centre of the ground would somehow look less embarrassing than a few hundred people huddled in one corner of the vast space. “But to his utter disbelief, the turnout was massive. Balasaheb was stunned at the number of people who came to listen to him,” says Akolkar.
Prabodhankar Thackeray, while addressing the rally, famously said: “This Bal (child) was mine till today, but from now on he is Maharashtra’s.”
The rally signalled the start of a tradition. All subsequent rallies of Shiv Sena were held at Shiva ji Park on Dussehra day, barring 2006, when heavy rains led to a cancellation; 2009 when the election code of conduct was in force; and 2020 and 2021 due to Covid pandemic.
Shiva ji Park is steeped in history
While it is cricket that first comes to mind at the mention of Shiva ji Park, followed by, perhaps, the Sena, the maidan has been witness to many historic events.
The linguistic Maharashtra state was formally inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, at a midnight gathering at Shiva ji Park on May 1, 1960.
Lata Mangeshkar sang a popular song eulogising the spirit of Maharashtra on this occasion. Ever since, May 1 is celebrated at Shiva ji Park as Maharashtra Day with a parade and the state’s governor accepting the guard of honour.
It’s also a favourite venue of almost every political party. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi addressed several rallies here during her initial days in politics when she read out written speeches.
In 1995, the first Sena chief minister, Manohar Joshi was sworn in here by then governor PC Alexander, with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gopinath Munde taking oath as his deputy.
Bal Thackeray, LK Advani and the alliance’s architect, late Pramod Mahajan, were in attendance.
Bal Thackeray’s last rites were also performed at Shiva ji Park and there is a small, open memorial that now stands in one corner. The memorial will eventually be moved to the mayor’s bungalow just across the road.
Shiva ji Park and cricket
While the ground is identified with cricket, it has played host to a range of sports.
The Shiva ji Park Gymkhana is popularly known as the city’s most fertile cricketing stable.
More than 20 players from the gymkhana have played for the Indian cricket team, including Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar and Vijay Manjrekar.
Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar trained at Shiva ji Park with his coach, legendary Ramakant Achrekar. Tendulkar had moved in with his aunt nearby to be able to spend more time at Shiva ji Park.
Uddhav’s most important Dussehra rally
While the Dussehra rally may not influence the court or the Election Commission’s decision on who now commands the real Sena — Uddhav or Shinde — in terms of perceptions, as mentioned earlier in this report, it will be huge.
The polls to the BMC, which the Sena has controlled since 1985, are due later this year. Both Shinde and Uddhav camp know whoever wins the BMC will have an advantage in the 2024 state polls.
The Dussehra rally could be the stage both factions are looking for to launch their campaign.
And then there is the history.
“Every time there was a rebellion in the party, Bal Thackeray used the Dussehra rally to shore up support. But with the latest split, this may be the most important Dussehra rally for Uddhav,” says Ambarish Mishra, journalist and a veteran Sena watcher.
Adds Sena leader and former cabinet minister Subhash Desai, who attended the first rally in 1966: “Shiv Sena, Dussehra and Shiva ji Park is a bond that no one can break. People came to the ground first because of Balasaheb and then Uddhavji, not for anyone else.”
The rebel camp has said that the Thackerays have no right to hold the Dussehra rally as they have forgotten the principles of Balasaheb Thackeray and his Hindutva ideology.
