SHIV SENA 43 P rarnukh. Meanwhile the tenant came to know of the parleys between his landlord and the Shiv Scna, and approached the shakha pramukh and then the vibhag pramukh' The matter was ultimately brought to Bal Thackeray. Thackeray heard the story and asked the Sindhi gentleman how many people he employed and how many of them were Maharashtrians. The Sindhi gentleman remonstrated that though none of the nine employees was Maharashtrian it was not because he was anti-Maharash-trian; no Maharashtrian came to him for a job. Thackeray retorted that it was a black lie. "Do you expect me to help you when you have-not helped us?" The case was closed against Sindhi lathe owner. 18 Bal Thackeray overrode the objections of many members of the karya karani and of the shakhas and the BKS when he dc-cided to oppose the Maharashtra state government employees strike in 1970, when he supported R Adik of the Indira Congress in the 1974 by-election and more recently when he opposed the 1974 railway strike. 19 After the murder of Krishna Desai of the Communist Party of India, Thackeray publicly congratulated his Sainiks. See R G Sardesai, Fascist Menace and Democratic Unity, New Delhi, People's Publishing House, 1970. 20 Thackeray is said to have attacked Shingare for abusing Indira Gandhi when the latter was campaigning for Savarkar. V Mahadik, personal interview, Bombay, June 1974. 21 S Deshroukh, personal interview, Bombay, December 1973. 22 In 1966, soon after the Shiv Sena was started, they had circulated a printed oath on which all those who wished to join the Shiv Sena had to sign. See Marmik, 17 July 1966 for a text of this oath. The practice soon fell into disuse. 2"' Except the chitrapat shakha. 24 Free Press Journal, 7 July 1977. 2-5 Statement by B Gopal Shetty, general secretary, Maharashtra Hotel Udyog Sabha, quoted in Evening News of India, 12 March 1979. 26 BSau and Schoenherr, The Structure of Organisation, New York, Basic Book Inc., 1971 p 300.