Mumbai: On Saturday, Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil began his march towards Mumbai to start an “indefinite hunger strike”, which he said he was not sure he will survive.
Describing it as the “final battle” in his demand for reservation for the Maratha community, Jarange-Patil reiterated that the protestors would not “back down”.
The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government tried to unsuccessfully stop the activist as he started from his village — Antarwali Sarati, in Maharshtra’s Jalna district. He was joined by others from the community and many more are expected to join on the way, as he travels to the state capital to start his fast from 26 January.
This will be Jarange-Patil’s third hunger strike since August last year.
“We tried to stop him, but he is still going ahead. We are still trying to speak to him and see what can be done,” a government representative told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
ThePrint has also reached the chief minister’s office (CMO) for comment on Jarange-Patil starting his march to Mumbai, the report will be updated if and when a response is received.
Addressing the media before starting from his village, Jarange-Patil said, “We are of the firm opinion that we will not back down before getting the reservation. Let anything happen, we are firm with our demands.”
With tears in his eyes, he added: “I want to tell all the Marathas that I don’t know till when I will be alive, but you should not back down before getting the reservation. I don’t know if my body will support me in this indefinite hunger strike, but this is our final battle.”
A day before, Jarange-Patil had urged both Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to look into the issue of reservation for Marathas seriously.
“The resolution of the Maratha reservation issue rests with Fadnavis, and he should come forward and resolve the matter with his heart and mind,” he said.
Hitting out at the delegation of ministers sent to dissuade him from starting his hunger strike, he had further said, “Now where are those ministers who were giving tall promises? The government is just trying to kill time and not serious about giving us Kunbi certificates.”
The Supreme Court had in 2021 struck down Maratha reservation in Maharashtra that took the total quantum of reservation in the state to above 50 percent. In April this year, the court rejected the state government’s review petition on the issue, after which the government said it will file a curative petition.
In the meantime, Jarange-Patil has been demanding ‘Kunbi’ caste certificates for all Marathas in Maharashtra, so that they are eligible for reservation under the ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBC) category.
The demand, and the government’s move to appoint a committee to study the possibility of reservations to Marathas under the Kunbi category, has met with backlash from the OBC community, including the Kunbis. The committee has already submitted a preliminary report.
Reiterating the government’s stand on the issue Friday, CM Shinde said, “We are committed towards giving Marathas reservation. The newly-formed state backward commission [appointed after previous members resigned] is working towards it.”
Government sources told ThePrint that CM Shinde also held a high-level committee meeting Saturday, where he asked members to work “diligently and faster” to check Kunbi antecedents of Marathas to allow issuing of certificates to them.
But Jarange-Patil has demanded that Kunbi caste certificates be issued to 54 lakh Marathas whose records of Kunbi antecedents have already been found. While the issuing of certificates has started, the process has been alleged to be slow.
He also questioned the progress made by the committee set up by the state government to address the quota issue, since it started its work on 23 December last year.
The activist iterated that government promises notwhithstanding, he was firm on the fast. “I don’t fear any cases,” he said, adding, “The community is willing to face any legal or police action. Fear of legal consequences will not deter our resolve.”
Also read: In Maratha reservations battle, the struggles of a community to define its caste status
March towards Mumbai
The scheduled 26 January hunger strike, will be Jarange-Patil’s third such since August.
The Maratha quota activist had been on protest in last week of August, when CM Shinde persuaded him to break his fast, assuring him of forming a committee to look into the possibility of Kunbi caste certificates for Marathas.
Jarange-Patil had then given the government a month to solve the issue, and was back on hunger strike in October. When he finally broke his fast after nine days, he gave the government two months to resolve the issue.
After the lapse of that deadline he announced the January protest fast.
Ganesh Shinde, an associate of Jarange-Patil, told ThePrint that the activist will cover the distance to Mumbai partly on foot, and partly by car.
The agitators will move from Jalna to Shirur to Pune to Panvel, to finally reach Mumbai in six days.
The community is still in two minds about whether to hold the hunger strike in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan or Shivaji Park. That will be decided in coming days, said sources in the community.
Meanwhile, the newly-formed Maharashtra state backward commission will begin its survey to determine the eligibility of Maratha for Kunbi certificates from 23 January.
According to a statement from the CMO, the survey is expected to be completed by 31 January.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: OBCs say Maratha protests for quotas are a betrayal. ‘They want what was ours’