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Whenever we think of religious fundamentalism, the first thing that comes to mind is the radical Islamic outfits, however fundamentalism goes far beyond that. Bal Thakeray and his army of Shiv Senas have time and again exposed the ugly head of fundamentalism.

Thakeray’s philosophy is simple. Drive out all the Maharashtrians from Maharashtra and world will be saved. It is sad but true that despite being an Indian first he has failed to recognize the multicultural heritage of the country. His feudal attitude has always been a matter of great concern for the country so much so that the press has dubbed him the invisible king of Mumbai.
 
Of late Shiv Sena’s power has suddenly started being questioned. With Raj leaving Shiv Sena to form the rival MNS and son Uddhav being a damp squib in politics, Balasaheb needed to hook the biggest fish to resurface and claim his power and who better than than apna SRK. Shahrukh with his Muslim background and now doing a film called ‘My name is Khan’ was shaking the very values of Maharashtrian supremacy that Bal Thakeray so fondly flaunts when he has to use his clout and it was time he cut down those wings.
 
The attack on SRK was completely baseless and SRK for once showed he was the hero not only on screen but in real life. It was admirable to see his courage and standing up to the brutal verbal assault on him by the Shiv Sena mouthpiece. Even the stars showed their support from all side. Rahul Khanna tweets ‘With a veritable sena of experienced bullies available to run their BPO in Bombay, I'm amazed the Taliban hasn't outsourced to India yet’
 
He wasn’t alone in his support for the King Khan. Everyone has been praising him for the film. But all this went for a big disappointment when SRK suddenly decided to bow before the supremo and actually explain things out. Maybe he was scared for the fate of My name is Khan or he did not want an enemy like Thakeray but for whatever reason his move came as a big shocker for all his fans especially me, who had been following this comedy of errors for the last few days. I wish SRK had just believed in his fans and kept his stance intact. Thakeray with all his political clout would have had to bow before the countless million in SRK’s support.
 
For now Bal Thakeray may have won the battle but SRK will still have the last laugh, as Thakeray has now gained an entire million against him