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Bal Thackeray (born January 23, 1927) is the founder and supremo (officially, the president) of the political party Shiv Sena in India.
He likes to refer to himself as a hard-core nationalist. People of his party - the Shiv Sena - and some others refer to him as Hindu Hridaysamrat (Ruler of the heart of the Hindu).
He started his career as a cartoonist in the Free Press Journal, Mumbai in the 1950s. His cartoons were also published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times. In 1960, he launched a cartoon weekly Marmik with his brother. He used it to campaign against the growing influence of non-Marathi people in Bombay.
He formed the Shiv Sena in 1966. He has tried to project the Shiv Sena as an organisation fighting for the rights of native Maharashtrians.
Bal Thackeray is known for his intolerant stance towards people of other states in India and people of other religions. In the late 1970s, he told all South Indians to leave Bombay or face the consequences.
In 1989, he started the party mouthpiece Marathi daily newspaper Saamnaa.
On September 5, 2004, he announced his decision not to shave his beard "till we win the assembly elections in the state". This would imply that he may not shave his beard until at least 2009 if he keeps his word.
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