Mumbai: A lanky man with a tikka on his forehead and a saffron scarf usually around his neck, Manoj Jarange-Patil was a relatively obscure figure in Maharashtra’s political landscape. That’s until 1 September, when a police lathicharge thrust him into the spotlight, making him the face of the Maratha reservation movement across the state.
A proud Maratha, serial protester, and once a Congress worker, until this point, Jarange-Patil was largely known only in the Marathwada region, especially in Jalna district, where he spearheaded numerous agitations and hunger strikes advocating for Maratha reservation. Close associates of Jarange-Patil told ThePrint that his protests were always peaceful, but his determination managed to mobilise significant ground support.
Similar to his previous demonstrations, Jarange-Patil initiated a hunger strike on 29 August in Atarawali-Sarati village. However, the situation took a drastic turn on the evening of September 1, when the police attempted to forcibly admit him to the hospital. This led to a clash with his supporters, and police resorted to using lathicharge and teargas, leading to allegations of police brutality and causing embarrassment for the Shiv Sena-BJP government.
But despite Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s assurances regarding the Maratha quota and his appeals to end the hunger strike, Jarange-Patil is persisting with his fast, which reached its tenth day Thursday even as his health deteriorated.
“I will not call off my protest until my demands are met,” he told reporters in Antarwali Sarati village this week.
This unyielding stance is characteristic of Jarange-Patil, according to those close to him.
“Such protests are not new to him,” said Ganesh Shinde, his close friend and state head of Jarange-Patil’s Maratha activism outfit Shivba Sanghatna. “He has always worked with dedication and honesty. He has only one aim— getting reservation for the Maratha community, and he will not step away before his target is achieved.”
Ganesh Shinde added that Jarange-Patil’s grassroots approach, including door-to-door outreach, resonates with many. “That’s why he has so much support as people know him well,” he added.
ThePrint tried to contact Jarange-Patil over the phone, but no response was received.
Marathas, comprising about 33 percent of Maharashtra’s population, have been demanding reservations for jobs and education for nearly four decades. In 2018, the Maharashtra legislature approved a law granting 16 percent reservation for Marathas under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category, but this decision faced legal challenges and remains a contentious issue.
Meanwhile, some Maratha leaders like Jarange-Patil are advocating for Marathas to receive Kunbi caste certificates, placing them in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Despite the government’s attempts to persuade Jarange to end his hunger strike, he remains resolute that the strike will persist until all Marathas receive their Kunbi caste certificates.
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Hotel worker to Congressman and then activist
Close associates of 40-year-old Jarange-Patil shed light on his humble beginnings and his journey to becoming a Maratha activist.
Born in Beed district to a farming family, he spent his formative years in Matori village there, completing his education up to the 12th standard.
Seeking better opportunities, he later relocated to the neighbouring Jalna district and as a young man worked for a while in a hotel. It was during his stint there that he is said to have caught the attention of some Congress members because of his commendable work ethic.
“He was eventually appointed as Jalna district head of the Congress,” said Shinde.
However, Jarange-Patil’s stint proved to be short-lived and he quit the party before he ever got the chance to contest elections.
A leader of the Maratha outfit Sambhaji Brigade attributed this to Jarange-Patil’s disillusionment with the Congress over its response to protests around a controversial 2003 book called Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India by James Laine.
This book’s contentious questions regarding Chatrapati Shivaji’s parentage had sparked outrage among Marathas in the state, resulting in the vandalism of valuable manuscripts at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI), which was involved in the book’s research. This episode led to numerous arrests.
“He got very disturbed and did not approve of the stand that the government took at that time and hence he decided to leave politics and instead dedicated himself to social work,” Jarange-Patil’s associate from Sambhaji Brigade said.
While the book was soon thereafter banned by the Maharashtra government and Laine even apologised for its controversial parts, Jarange-Patil never continued to pursue activism rather than politics.
He is currently a resident of Makhala village in Jalna, where he resides with his wife, three children, and parents. While his family members are still engaged in agriculture, Jarange-Patil runs an outfit called Shivba Sanghatna, which primarily focuses on organising protests for the cause of Maratha reservation.
Rise to prominence in Marathwada
Jarange-Patil’s activism and local following started gaining greater momentum in 2011 when he founded Shivba Sanghatna in Jalna’s Shahgad.
That year, he staged a 13-day hunger strike in Shahgad to champion the cause of Maratha reservation, followed by another eight-nine days of hunger strike outside the office of the Jalna superintendent of police.
“We took out many protests and hunger strikes in Jalna, demanding reservation for our community. One of our major protests at the collector’s office in Ch. Sambhajinagar in 2013 was quite monumental. Around 50,000 people gathered for the rally,” Ganesh Shinde recounted.
In the Marathwada region at least, Jarange-Patil’s popularity surged in the ensuing years, with him leading many protests and hunger strikes other than carrying out grassroots campaigns to rally people for the cause of Maratha reservation.
Then, in 2016, the infamous Kopardi gang rape and murder case, where a Maratha girl was brutally assaulted and killed, triggered a wave of Maratha protests. Jarange-Patil was at the forefront of these agitations too.
“He could not bear what happened then. And it is even alleged that workers from our organisation went to the court and beat those accused,” said Ganesh Shinde.
When protests under the banner of Maratha Kranti Morcha were held in Mumbai in 2016-17, Jarange-Patil rallied Marathas from Marathwada and led them to the state capital for protests.
Having dedicated himself fully to these protests and the demand for Maratha reservation, Jarange-Patil even had to sell a few acres of his agricultural land to support himself financially, his associates said.
Although the Maratha reservation issue took a legal course in 2018, Jarange persisted in organising protests.
In 2021, he spearheaded a nearly three-month protest in Jalna district.
“Not every time do protests and hunger strikes yield results. Most of the time, politicians merely provide assurances. But there are times when his hunger strikes have made an impact, and that gives him the strength to continue,” said the Sambhaji Brigade leader.
To date, he added, Jarange-Patil has led more than 35 marches and agitations, including hunger strikes, in support of Maratha reservation.
Through these actions, Jarange-Patil rose to prominence in the Maratha reservation movement in the Marathwada region. Despite being a local leader, he was even invited to a meeting convened by Chief Minister Shinde in August 2022, where various Maratha groups from across the state discussed reservation and welfare initiatives for the community.
However, progress has been limited since then.
A ‘win’ or another impasse?
Jarange-Patil and other activists are demanding Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas, which would accord them OBC status. They argue that the Marathas from this region were originally part of the Kunbi caste during their time under the erstwhile Hyderabad province, when the region was not part of Maharashtra. After the region became part of Maharashtra, the community lost its OBC status and was categorised as Marathas.
The ongoing agitation seems to have created some movement from the government in this regard.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday night, Chief Minister Shinde announced that the cabinet had decided that Marathas from the Marathwada region who could provide historical revenue or education documents from the Nizam era identifying them as Kunbis, would be eligible to receive Kunbi caste certificates. “This will be accomplished without altering or amending the existing OBC quota,” emphasised CM Shinde.
He added that a five-member panel, chaired by retired judge Sandeep Shinde, will establish the procedure for issuing caste certificates to Marathas recognised as Kunbis in Nizam-era documents. The panel, he said, will deliver its report within a month.
Meanwhile, at the site of protest in Antarwali-Sarati village, Jarange-Patil seemed sceptical Thursday.
“I welcome the government ‘s decision to appoint a committee but not many of us have ancestral records, so it won’t benefit us,” he told mediapersons. “The decision should be changed accordingly— until then we will continue with our protest silently.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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