ON FEBRUARY 8, social worker Mauris Noronha shot dead former Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Abhishek Ghosalkar during a Facebook Live session. The murder, and the viral video of the crime, sent shockwaves across Maharashtra.
The opposition alleged that law and order in the state had collapsed. It flayed the state government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and demanded the resignation of Devendra Fadnavis, Shinde’s deputy and home minister. Fadnavis said Noronha had shot Ghosalkar, and then killed himself, because of personal rivalry. Noronha apparently believed that Ghosalkar was behind a rape case filed against him, and that he was trying to sabotage his political plans. “The opposition can demand anything,” said Fadnavis. “Even if a car runs over a dog tomorrow, they would ask the home minister to resign.”
Another violent incident had stunned the state just a few days before the Ghosalkar killing. BJP legislator Ganpat Gaikwad was arrested for allegedly firing at Mahesh Gaikwad, a former corporator of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, at a police station in Thane district. The firing allegedly happened in the chamber of the police inspector at Ulhasnagar. Mahesh is in hospital fighting for his life.
Ganpat told journalists that he felt no remorse. “The chief minister has the state under goonda raj (mob rule),” he said. A three-time legislator whose own record is dubious, Gaikwad is a known rival of Shinde’s Sena in Thane district.
Political leaders courting criminals is an old phenomenon. In fact, the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance had first come to power in Maharashtra in 1995 after a sustained campaign against former chief minister Sharad Pawar’s alleged criminalisation of politics in the 1990s. So, what has changed in the past three decades?
This story is from the February 25, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 25, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
