There could be some substance in Asha Gawli's allegation that her husband was arrested at Bal Thackeray's instigation. The police are routinely used to settle political scores in every Indian city. But that allegation does not detract from the gravity of the charge against Gawli himself. Whether his henchmen actually attacked a woman journalist is for the courts to decide, not Asha Gawli. It is a different matter that in the past when journalists were attacked in similar manner, the police preferred to look the other way. But there is a far larger issue at stake here. The people of Mumbai have to decide whether they can afford to have a seasoned underworld don as a representative of the people. True, India has allowed the underworld to intrude into the political sphere for years. Surajdeo Singh was rather prominent in central politics for quite some time. In this decade, Pappu Yadav has shown an excellent growth curve, though now he appears to be making a career of being mauled by the police. And, of course, there was Haji Mastan, the don who made good. But Haji Mastan was surely the exception to the rule. None of the other dons has actually reflected the concerns of the people. They were in politics to further their own ends and never sought to be classed as the people's representatives. Arun Gawli's candidacy to that class stretches the public's patience to breaking point. In a Gandhi cap, he is a living caricature of the crooked politician, the sort that is beaten to pulp in the potboilers. The sort that could be depended upon to institute regular stomach dances at Flora Fountain if he were made minister for urban development. The picture is that bizarre. And that is precisely where the danger lies, for Gawli is no caricature. It might be recalled that he was one of the main precipitating factors behind Dawood Ibrahim's decision to relocate himself to Dubai. He is powerful enough to have forced one of the most successful gangsters of all time out of his city. Then, he legitimately made the streets of Mumbai his battlefield - dons are expected to do that. Now, he is about to do it again - in a Gandhi cap this time. And he has enough influence with the administration. Enough to run a gang from jail. Mumbai should decide whether it wants to let such an excrescence run loose in civil society.Every other day, the Prime Minister expatiates at length on the decline of probity in public life. When his spirits flag, the Home Minister gives him a hand. Both clearly indicate their inability to do anything about the problem. They are helpless precisely because people like Gawli are allowed to enter the political sphere, and because political parties encourage their cadres to cultivate links with them. Their private agendas taint the whole political process, subverting it to the extent that people in positions of executive power are unable to move against them. Everyone has reason to fear people like Arun Gawli. But the Shiv Sena has particular reason to fear him. After all, he seems to be using the Sena's methods. Perhaps, Asha Gawli's allegation is not entirely baseless.
