The State government of Maharashtra has literally lost its sleep for the past five months and the reason for that is a farmer, who is only studied only up to Class XII and initially worked in a hotel, has taken on the might of the rulers by demanding reservations to all 57 lakh Marathas with Kunbi antecedents and free education to their children.
Lakhs of people are walking firmly besides him since the past seven days from Beed district to Mumbai with just one demand. The state of Maharashtra must not have seen such unprecedented support by the public for a simple man in years.
Manoj Jarange-Patil, who has emerged as the new face of Maratha reservation demand, has been requested by the government officials to not enter Mumbai with such a huge public force behind him, after showing readiness to accept his demands.
Jarange-Patil himself stated the same in a public meeting he addressed on Friday in Navi Mumbai’s Vashi. Jarange has stood firm over his pledge not to leave Azad Maidan in Mumbai until and unless the government accepts his demands. Infact, Jarange who is on hunger strike for two days has threatened to take the march to Azad Maidan if the government does not issue the respective orders by Saturday afternoon. Till then, Vashi will be his base. More Maratha activists are expected to join him in Mumbai which will put the Maharashtra government under even more pressure.
Many Maharashtra ministers who went to stop the march had to return without any success. A government delegation led by Sumant Bhange, secretary of the general administration department (GAD) met Jarange to convince him to drop his plan by telling him that his demands have been accepted. However, Jarange warned of entering Mumbai if the government does not issue written orders by Saturday afternoon. What has cornered the Maharashtra government further is that he will take the next decision after reading the ordinance. Jarange’s main demand is for the government to issue Kunbi caste certificates to all the 57 lakh Marathas with Kunbi antecedents. Jarange also wants the government to share the data of 37 lakh people registered as Kunbis so that they can verify the government’s claim. His second crucial demand is for the government to provide free education to the Maratha children until a decision in a curative petition which is pending before the Supreme Court. He has further demanded that there should be no recruitment in government jobs until Maratha reservation is cleared. It is clear as day that Jarange will not back down until the government implements his demands; but if they were to give Kunbi caste certificates to the Marathas, they would be eligible for OBC quota reservations. If that happens then the government will have to face the wrath of the OBC faction. The government has found itself in a Catch-22 situation of not being able to give reservation to Marathas from the OBC quota, while the Supreme Court will not approve more than 52% of reservation.
During the reign of the Thackeray-Fadanavis government, the Maratha Kranti Morcha took out 58 protest marches. The Fadnavis-led government accepted eight out of their 15 demands, but, in 2020, the Supreme Court quashed the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018. The review petition by the state government was also dismissed by the Apex court last year in April, after which Jarange started his hunger strike on August 29. The peaceful protest intensified after the participants were lathi-charged on September 1 and the agitation turned into a massive revolution. Jarange stressed on his demand of Kunbi certificate for the Marathas and lakhs of poverty-stricken Maratha farmers showed their unwavering support.
Jarange has emerged as a hero for the Maratha community because he did not fall prey to any decoys. Jarange, who has parents, his wife and four children, had to work in a hotel to cater to their needs. His eldest son Shivraj is pursuing B Tech and daughter is in the Class VIII. Jarange so far has sold two out of his 4-acre land to bear the expenses of the reservation protests. He refused to compromise over Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s image after the James Laine controversy in 2003, which led to him quitting the Congress party. In 2011, he founded the Shivba Sanghatana to organise protests and expanded the organisation in Marathwada. In 2021, he protested at Gorigandhari demanding government assistance to the heirs of those who died during the Maratha protests. He led prolonged protests in 2022 and 2023 at Bhamberi and Ambade. He has refused to back down in front of the biggest leaders which has caused the Shinde-Fadnavis government to sweat.
