Jarange-Patil calls off hunger strike after CM pays a visit

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil ended his 17-day hunger strike after meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who assured him of reservations for the Maratha community. The hunger strike was in protest against the lack of quotas for the community. The government has promised to fulfill most of Jarange-Patil's demands, but some will take time to implement. The Maratha community has been demanding reservations for decades, and while the government granted 16% reservation in 2018, it was later slashed by the court. The current crisis began after protests demanding OBC status for Marathas were lathicharged by the police.

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil called off his hunger strike on Thursday after chief minister Eknath Shinde and senior state ministers met him and underlined their commitment to accord reservations for the Maratha community, ending a political crisis that had engulfed the state for 17 days.

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Shinde decided to visit Jarange-Patil’s protest site of Antarwali Sarati village on Thursday morning along with senior ministers Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Girish Mahajan, Uday Samant, and Union minister of state for railways Raosaheb Danve. He said that he was committed to accord the reservation to the Maratha community and visited Jarange Patil because the activist’s intention was honest and sincere.

“I do not want to name them, but many told me that I should not visit Jarange-Patil as it is against protocol. Despite this, I decided to come as Jarange-Patil is fighting for his community and not for himself. I have assured him that everything will be done as per the promise and the state government is committed for it. Most of his demands have been fulfilled. The remaining ones will take some time as they need to be legally foolproof,” the CM said.

After this, Jarange-Patil sipped orange juice handed to him by the chief minister to end the hunger strike that began on August 29 to press for quotas for the community.

The demand for quotas by Marathas is decades old, but in 2018, the state government granted 16% reservation in the face of sweeping protests. It was slashed to 13% in jobs and 12% in education by the Bombay high court. In 2021, the Supreme Court quashed the move.

The current crisis began on September 1, when protest demanding OBC status for Marathas was lathicharged by the police in Jalna – the site of the hunger strike by Jarange-Patil. Under pressure, Shinde announced last week that Marathas from the central Maharashtra region can access reservation under the other backward classes (OBC) category if they can produce a certificate from the Nizam era classifying them as Kunbi, a sub-caste of the community that is already classified as OBC.

But the order – which opened the window for quotas for the community – left all sides unhappy. The Maratha groups said they wanted reservations without any stipulation, and not just for the eight central Maharashtra districts. The OBC and Kunbi groups feared their quotas will be eaten into by the fresh entrants.

Jarange-Patil and some Maratha outfits say that until the Nizam rule was dismantled in September 1948 in central Maharashtra, the Marathas were considered Kunbis, and were effectively OBCs.

Shinde said the government asked for more time as it wanted Maratha reservation to withstand legal scrutiny and requested Jarange-Patil to avail himself of medical treatment.

Shinde’s visit came after hours-long negotiations between Jarange-Patil and a government delegation led by minister Girish Mahajan till the early hours of the morning.

The delegation convinced Jarange-Patil to not put any fresh conditions before the government and also to call off his hunger strike. The delegation also made him not to press for deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as well as Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji’s descendants Udayanraje Bhosale and Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje to be present .

“Five ministers had reached Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on Tuesday evening, but after the CM deferred his plan, Girish Mahajan and Raosaheb Danve stayed back. They held meetings with Jarange-Patil till 3am ...They also took assurance that Jarange-Patil will call off the strike immediately,” said a leader from Shiv Sena on the condition of anonymity.

The Congress questioned why deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was not with Shinde. “Shinde went to meet Jarange-Patil, persuaded him to call of the strike and assured him of reservation. Fadnavis, who represents the largest ruling party, did not accompany the CM. The question remains whether Fadnavis supports the assurance given by the CM,” said Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe.

Fadnavis said the government was committed to Marathas, who make up nearly a third of the state’s population. “I am happy that Jarange-Patil called off his strike...We have been implementing other schemes for Marathas and are committed to accord reservation,” he posted on X.

Jarange-Patil said he had faith in the government.

“This is happening for the first time a chief minister has come personally to ensure that a hunger strike is called off. We have full faith in chief minister Eknath Shinde and knew that only he can give us the reservation. He has been taking all required efforts to restore the reservation. We have also decided to give 40 days to the state government to complete the study on the measures to be taken,” the activist said.

He also appealed the community member to continue the protest in peaceful manner.

The state government has already conceded his other demands, including the withdrawal of all cases registered against Maratha quota protesters and the suspension of three senior police officers responsible for the lathi charge on protesters on September 1.