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from http://www.shivsena.org/feature.htm:
Shiv Sena party uses a plain orange swallow-tailed flag. Although its
form varies a bit, its ratio is usually about 2:3, with the tails occupying
about a half of the length. These details are well shown on two close-up
photos of the flag, shot at Shivaji Park, Mumbai, on 2006-08-14, which show
a young party activist holding a spread flag [1, 2]. Another photo from the
same event [3] shows a flag, somewhat less oblong than the previous one,
hoisted on a street pole. At a party rally in Mumbai on 2006-09-29, flags
with varying shapes were photographed [4]. A good photo, made in Mumbai on
2008-10-09, shows a waving flag in the night, with the most frequent shape
[5]. Lastly, numerous party flags, were photographed in Mumbai on
2009-04-05, together with numerous flags of Bharatiya Janata Party, during a
joint rally of two parties [6]; these flags also generally have the most
frequent shape, although some of them might be more or less oblong than
that.
The party flag was probably originally chosen to commemorate
the Maratha Empire founded by Shivaji in 17th
century, which used a similar flag (party name means "Army of Shivaji"). As
the party ideology has evolved from the original Marathi nationalism towards
the Hindutuva (Hindu nationalism) [7], the same flag may now also symbolize
Hinduism, just like other plain orange/saffron flags.
Shivaji is respected as the hero not only by the Marathi people, but by
other Hindus as well, so it was possible to keep a flag based on the one
used by him regardless of the political evolution of its users.
Sources:
[1] Flickr - Flag of Shiv Sena at Shivaji Park, Mumbai, on
2006-08-14:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/2800007267/
[2] Flickr -
Flag of Shiv Sena at Shivaji Park, Mumbai, on 2006-08-14:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/2800008279/
[3] Flickr -
Flag of Shiv Sena at Shivaji Park, Mumbai, on 2006-08-14:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/2799991551/
[4] Flickr -
Shiv Sena rally in Mumbai, on 2008-10-09:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/2927289184/
[5] Flickr -
Flag of Shiv Sena in Mumbai, on 2008-10-09:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jozf/2970573937/
[6] Flickr - Rally of
Bharatiya Janta Party and Shiv Sena in Mumbai, on 2009-04-05:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aljazeeraenglish/3438534890/in/set-72157616621216421/
[7] Wikipedia page about Shiv Sena:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiv_Sena
Tomislav Todorovic, 1
August 2011