At the bottom, hanging like a pendulum, is a picture of Bal Thackeray: a serene, orange-robed guru, grinning.

BBC: Shiv Sena knives: At the sharp end of Indian politics

What will be the legacy of India's best known right-wing Hindu leader, Bal Thackeray, who died over the weekend?

BBC: The legacy of Bal Thackeray

The knives were given away at an event held in Mumbai on the birthday of Bal Thackeray, Shiv Sena's late leader.

BBC: India Shiv Sena party gives knives to women for protection

Hindu fundamentalist politician Bal Thackeray, the founder of the right-wing Shiv Sena party, has died in Mumbai at the age of 86.

BBC: Bal Thackeray, Hindu leader and Shiv Sena founder, dies

Mr Chaudhury said the party leader Bal Thackeray had said that women should carry a "Rampuri (small Indian knife) in their purse rather than a lipstick".

BBC: India Shiv Sena party gives knives to women for protection

The reaction was more heated in Mumbai (Bombay) where Bal Thackeray, head of the ruling party, Shiv Sena, declared that he would not allow any Pakistani side to play in what has traditionally been the cricketing capital of India.

ECONOMIST: Politics stops play