Death of Bal Thackeray

Bal Thackeray died on 17 November 2012 following cardio-respiratory arrest at "Matoshree", his Mumbai residence. He was admitted to intensive care unit on 25 July 2012 after he complained of breathlessness. His health condition became worse on 14 November, where he stopped eating and was on continuous oxygen support.
Background
Bal Thackeray was admitted to intensive care unit in Mumbai on 25 July 2012 after he complained of breathlessness. As per reports on 14 November, he stopped eating and was on continuous oxygen. Shiva Sainiks in the areas where the party draws support forced shops to close. These included Vakola, Shivaji Nagar, Chembur, Navi Mumbai, Andheri, Parel, Dadar and Matunga, amongst others. In other parts of Mumbai, some shops voluntary closed, citing the risk of untoward incidents should Thackeray's health deteriorate and possibly be fatal. Party spokesman Sanjay Raut said his health as improving, as his son, Uddhav Thackeray, called on the party's members to pray for him. Bollywood also stopped filming, while the Pakistan Cricket Board wished him well.
Announcement
Thackeray death was announced at 17:00 by his doctor Jaleel Parkar on 17 November at "Matoshree", his Mumbai residence, following cardio-respiratory arrest at 15:33 local time, according to his physician. A vigil was held outside his house that night. Mumbai came to virtual halt immediately after his death, with shops and commercial establishments closed, while auto rickshaws and taxis also stayed off streets; even pharmacies and other essential good stores were closed. Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation announced that it would run additional services, along with BEST. The whole of Maharashtra was put on alert, while Mumbai had an additional 20,000 Mumbai police officers, 15 units of the State Reserve Police Force and three contingents of the Rapid Action Force were deployed. An unnamed police officer said: "Nobody has been asked to shut their shops or malls. Everybody closed their shops voluntarily. Autorickshaws and taxis also voluntarily stopped plying on the roads."
Reactions
The two papers he founded headlined their papers the next day with full black print, it was also Saamna ' s cover page were print in black. The headline read: "Ishwari Avtarache Swargarohan" (A divine avatar goes to heaven) and "Balasaheb navache vadal shaant zhale." (A storm cloud called Balasaheb is peaceful). The Hindi language Dopahar Ka Saamna, which usually does not publish on Sundays, printed a special edition tribute to Thackeray which was also in black with a silhouetted right side visage of Thackeray and headlined the edition: "Hinduon Ke Mahadev Ka Mahaprayan" (The chief god of Hindus dies)and penned the lyrics : "Jo uthe Ram/jo uthe Krishna/Bharat ki mitti roti hai/ Kya hua hamare Saheb ko/Yeh murti na zinda hoti hai." (The soil of Bharat cried when Rama and Krishna died, what has happened to our lord, his image fails to come to life.) The inside pages of the edition had thick black bands with the text and images in a grey background, or other colours dependent on the content.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for "calm and sobriety" amongst the populace in the city, while praising Thackeray's "strong leadership;" his Twitter account posted a message that read: "He was a consummate communicator whose stature in the politics of Maharashtra was unique." Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi wrote: "Full of life, Balasaheb Thackeray was an epitome of courage & valour. I am grieved to hear about his demise. May his soul rest in peace." BJP leader and MP L. K. Advani said: "It is rare that I have seen a leader who has left a deep and abiding imprint on the country's events as Balasaheb Thackeray. He was uncompromising in his patriotism. He possessed remarkable qualities of leadership and an abundance of attributes of head and heart." Politician Arvind Kejriwal wrote: "Balasaheb no more. May his soul Rest in Peace. Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family." The Federation of Associations of Maharashtra called for a bandh, terming it Shraddhanjali Day, on 19 November as a mark of respect for Thackeray. "The state of Maharashtra and the trading community has lost a true friend and a well-wisher. Balasaheb was a great son of the soil and a true nationalist who minced no words to express his views." FAM's affiliated include Agriculture Produce Market Committee and other commodity markets that trade in grains, sugar, dry fruits, metal, iron and steel and chemicals.
Individual reactions included, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata, whose condolence message reads: "Mr Balasaheb Thackeray was a strong leader of his people - respected and admired by many. He was outspoken but driven by his principles. My condolences go out to the members of his family. He has left his mark on Mumbai and Maharashtra, and will be missed by many." Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani issued a statement that read: "I am deeply saddened by the passing away of Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder-president of the Shiv Sena. The nation and the state of Maharashtra have lost a great leader, whose robust patriotism matched his soaring popularity. His clear thinking, inspiring oratory and commitment to cause endeared him to the masses." CNN-IBN anchor Rajdeep Sardesai wrote: "Tiger, Godfather, Mumbai icon, hero for many, villain for others. # Balasaheb Thackeray RIP" and "Line of the day: Bombay made Bal Thackeray, Balasaheb made 'Mumbai'! Gnight." Celebrity reactions included, Amitabh Bachchan wrote: "Each day he continued his struggle with a grit that was baffling even for the doctors on hand...And just a couple of hours back, as I stand next to his still, peaceful, saffron draped body, it is difficult to imagine...that he has left us!" Fellow Maharashtrian singer Lata Mangeshkar said: "I feel that the state has been orphaned. When I last met him he placed his hand on my head and blessed me. He was very close to my family." Superstar Rajinikanth wrote " Sri Bala Saab Thackeray was a great leader & a father figure to many, including me....this is a great loss to all...."
Other reactions from the industry came on Twitter from Kabir Bedi, Arjun Rampal, Ram Gopal Varma, Hema Malini, Mahesh Bhatt, Karan Johar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Neha Dhupia, Aftab Shivdasani, Vivek Oberoi, Smriti Irani (who wrote in Marathi), Dia Mirza, Riteish Deshmukh (son of former INC Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh), Ranvir Shorey, Kunal Kohli, Ritesh Sidhwani, Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher and Shobhaa De. There were also visitations to his house in the days prior to his death by opposition and allied politicians, as well as celebrities like Salman Khan.
Funeral
He was accorded a state funeral. The funeral procession was held on 18 November 2012, at Shivaji Park, Dadar, at the same location where Thackeray had held many political rallies. On the day of his death, Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh appealed for calm and asked that "Citizens should step out of the houses only if it is urgent;" He added that further arrangements were organised at Shivaji Park due to the expectant crowds and arrival of VIPs. People came from across Maharashtra for his funeral including the party's strongholds of Thane, Raigad, Pune, Aurangabad and Konkan regions. Police said that 200,000 people walked alongside the hearse and were later joined by others on the way to the cremation site. The media also indicated that non-Hindus, such as Muslim women and Christians, were mourning and joined the procession. His body was wrapped in the tricolour flag after the body was taken from its glass case on a truck that was decked with flowers. The truck also carried his daughter-in-law Rashmi and grandson Aditya, while his son, Uddhav, was seen in tears on television broadcasts, and his estranged nephew, Raj, was also present but walked behind the hearse after getting off the truck to join the procession. The cortege's route stopped at Sena Bhavan (his party's headquarters in Dadar, before proceeding to Shivaji Park for the cremation where over 2,000,000 mourners attended his funeral, with his cremation taking place just after 18:00 the next day. His son, Uddhav, lit the pyre. His nephew, Raj, was also seen in tears. The funeral included state honours, such as a guard of honour and a 21-gun salute.

Notable attendees at his cremation included: Maharshtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chauhan, Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan, BJP MPs L. K. Advani, Maneka Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Gopinath Munde and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister; Nationalist Congress Party]] MPs and cabinet members Praful Patel and Sharad Pawar, as well as his daughter, Supriya Sule. Others included Amitabh Bacchan, Anil Ambani, Sanjay Dutt, Nana Patekar and Mahesh Manjrekar. His funeral ceremony was broadcast live across all national television and regional channels..
The government's decision to allow the use of Shivaji Park for cremation generated a debate. The government of Maharashtra allowed his funeral to take place at Shivaji Park due to the size of the expected crowd; it was the first public funeral in the city since that of in 1920. In the neighbourhood of Palghar in the Thane district, two women were arrested under hate speech laws in India and the IT Act one for writing the comment People like Thackeray are born and die daily, and one should not observe a bandh for that on Facebook and another for "liking" it. The arrest came after a complaint was made concerning the two girls at the local police station. Subsequent to the arrest, both were granted bail on surety of . Kapil Sibal said that he was deeply saddened by arrest related to the Facebook post questioning shutdown for Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. Kapil Sibal stated that it is just their point of view and law should not ban people from expressing their views.
Obituary in Parliament
He is the only non-member to get obituary references in the two houses of India's parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Friday, on 21 November 2012, the first day of the winter session of parliament. Thackeray is amongst the few leaders ever to get obituary references without being a member of either house.

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