Long before foraying into politics, Bal Thackeray was a cartoonist and journalist. Interestingly, he had to face problems that journalists later faced from his party the Shiv Sena.
Rabble-rouser political leader Thackeray started his career as a cartoonist for the English daily Free Press Journal and its Marathi newspaper Navshakti in the early 40s. Nandakumar Keni in his book Shiv Sena Pramukh says, “Soon after he started working for FPJ, his cartoons became immensely popular. He ended R.K. Lakshman’s monopoly. Political leaders and ministers would follow his cartoons everyday, just to see if they had become his target on that day.”
As experienced by many journalists, high and mighty politicians tried to exert pressure on Thackeray. His senior A.B. Nair had told him not to target Nehru and Patil in his cartoons. However, Thackeray did not report to duty for three days. On the fourth day, FPJ editor S. Sadanand visited Thackeray’s residence in Dadar and asked him the reason for his absence in the office.
“That bloody A.B. Nair, who does not know ABC of cartoons was telling me how to draw cartoons and whom I should spare. I will not tolerate this. I will never surrender my freedom as an artist,” Thackeray has been quoted telling Mr Sadanand in the book Shiv Sena Pramukh.