FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Every party is entitled to expand or defend its territory. That is part of the biological makeup of every political entity—and the Shiv Sena was a prime example. Founded in 1966 by the irrepressible Bal Thackeray, a cartoonist-turned-fiery advocate of Marathi regionalism mixed with ultra-Hindu nationalism, the Sena had steadily grown in relevance in Maharashtra politics. What has unfolded over days of breathless action, culminating in Uddhav Thackeray’s emotional resignation in a Facebook Live address on June 29, now threatens the party’s very existence. But the perilous situation the Sena finds itself in has its roots in the past.

For long, Mumbai was