Srikrishna Commission's indictment of the Shiv Sena is one of the severest that any organisation has faced in recent memory. It is a matter of irremediable shame that a political party, whose participation in Indian democracy presupposes its commitment to the legal system, should be found to comprise elements who carried out organised attacks on the minorities with what has been described as military precision. Indeed, it is the diabolical purposefulness of the entire operation, conducted by the party's supporters carrying lists of houses and shops to be attacked, which stands in sharp contrast to the Muslim rioters comprising small, isolated groups ... That such anarchic conditions could have enveloped a modern and cosmopolitan city like Mumbai for so many weeks is something which must make every Indian hang his head in shame ... The most heinous crimes were being recklessly committed while an effete administration looked on helplessly and a biased police force did little to alleviate the situation. (This is) a shocking picture, made all the more frightening by the realisation that it can happen again anywhere and at any time.

It is ... disgraceful, therefore, that the Shiv Sena CM Manohar Joshi should so summarily dismiss the Commission's findings as biased and even anti-Hindu. If anything, it suggests that he and the party are not only not repentant but are brazen enough to suggest that there was nothing wrong in what they did. It is this assertion of irresponsibility which constitutes a threat to future peace ... One hopes that for all its bravado in rejecting the report, the strong condemnation will persuade the Shiv Sena that it cannot hope to continue in public life for long if it does not change its highly provocative manner of functioning ... The Commission's indictment may embroil the party in further litigation ... Its partner in Maharashtra and elsewhere, the BJP, may feel embarrassed to be too closely associated with it ... While the Shiv Sena's guilt is obvious, the (Naik) government ... cannot escape criticism for its abysmal failure to control the situation ...