From drawing cartoons with potentmessages to etching for himself a larger-than-life image onMaharashtra's political landscape, Bal Thackeray was themascot of Marathi pride and Hindutva who aroused extremeemotions but could never be ignored.
A rabble-rouser, the 86-year-old Shiv Sena supremo wasidolised with almost God-like devotion by his frenzied sainiksand demonised in equal measure by detractors.
The maverick ways of Thackeray--Maharashtra's tallestleader--always led both his friends and rivals tounderestimate him politically as he called the shots in statepolitics, often playing the role of a kingmaker withouthimself becoming the king. For some, the Tiger of Maharashtrawas also a cultural icon.
Thackeray, a fiery orator who could bring the country'sbustling financial capital to a standstill with a wave of hisfinger, started out as a cartoonist alongside R K Laxman atthe English daily Free Press Journal in the late 1950s. But hesoon charted a new course when he launched a cartoon weekly'Marmik' in 1960.
The weekly contained satirical pieces that fired up the"Marathi manoos" to fight for their identity and existence ina city witnessing growing influx of migrants.
Thackeray's pro-Marathi plank, that propounded'Maharashtra for Maharashtrians', saw his party breaking rankswith his long-standing ideological ally BJP in 2007presidential election when he chose to back UPA's presidentialnominee, Pratibha Patil, who is a Maharashtrian.
He even criticised cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar in 2009for remarking that Mumbai belonged to the whole of India.
Thackeray took to politics as fish to water as helaunched Shiv Sena on June 19, 1966 to champion the cause ofMarathi 'sons-of-the-soil', seeking job security forMaharashtrians, who were then facing stiff competition fromGujaratis and south Indians.
The frail-looking Thackeray, through his fiery oratoryskills, caught the imagination of young Maharashtrians whichmany felt bordered on jingoism and chauvinism.
Born on January 23, 1926, he was the second of fourchildren of Kesav Sitaram Thackeray, a writer who activelyparticipated in the 'Samyukta Maharashtra Andolan' -- themovement for creation of a separate state for Marathi-speakingpeople with Bombay as its capital.
The self-confessed admirer of Adolf Hitler soon raised a veritable army of street fighters whom he would use to obtainjobs for the Maharashtrian youth in numerous textile and otherindustrial units dotting Bombay, earning the epithet of 'HinduHriday Samrat' (emperor of Hindu hearts), in the process.
Though Thackeray never contested an election himself, hesowed the seeds of a full-fledged party when his Shiv Sainiksbegan controlling trade unions in a variety of industries,including Bollywood.
Shiv Sena grew fast into a well-oiled political machineand gained control over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporationin the 1980s, riding the pro-Marathi plank.
Thackeray's biggest moment in politics came when hestruck an alliance with BJP in 1995 and formed its governmentin the state for the first time after tempering his stridentpro-Marathi ideology and embracing a broader Hindu nationalistagenda. He ran this government by what he himself called a"remote control". However, he never occupied the post of chiefminister.
Many believe the communal riots in the aftermath of the1993 Mumbai blasts in which Shiv Sainiks were alleged to haveplayed the pivotal role, polarised Hindu votes to theadvantage of the Sena-BJP combine.
A judicial commission, headed by Justice B N Srikrishna,which had probed the riots, accused Thackeray of sparkinganti-Muslim violence in Mumbai, which claimed over 1,000lives.
Justice Srikrishna described Thackeray as a "veterangeneral who commanded his loyal Shiv Sainiks to retaliate byorganised attacks against Muslims" during the riots.
A firm believer in aphorism that familiarity breedsdisregard, Thackeray meticulously created a larger-than-lifeimage of himself, eschewing mingling with supporters andmaking up for that by giving grand 'darshan' from the balconyof his heavily-guarded Bandra home Matoshree and givingrabble-rousing speeches at his famous Dussehra rallies.
Pakistan and Muslims were often the target of vitriolicattacks by Thackeray, who once likened Muslims to "cancer".