Jarange-Patil resumes hunger strike, nixes govt’s request to postpone it

Marathas demand Kunbi caste certificates for OBC benefits.

MUMBAI: Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil resumed his indefinite hunger strike on Wednesday morning at Antarwali Sarati village, a day after his 40-day deadline to the state government ended. Jarange-Patil rejected the government’s proposal to defer the protest, saying that it had not kept its promises while calling off the first phase of the protest on September 14. Marathas from over 2,400 villages have joined the agitation.

Mumbai, India – Oct 19, 2023: Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil interacts with supporters at Shivaji Mandir, Dadar, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, Oct 19, 2023. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

The farmer activist has been demanding that all Marathas be given Kunbi caste certificates to get the benefits of reservation in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Kunbi, a sub-caste of Marathas, are classified as OBCs.

The state government tried to reach out to Jarange-Patil before he began his hunger strike at 11 am. “We want to give reservation that will stand up to legal scrutiny,” rural development minister Girish Mahajan told Jarange-Patil over the phone. “The Justice Sandeep Shinde committee is working on the report. CM Eknath Shinde has sworn on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his Dussehra rally that he will give you reservation at any cost. He will personally speak to you.”

Jarange-Patil, who made the conversation public by turning on his phone speaker, was unimpressed. “You asked for 30 days, we gave you 41, but nothing was done,” he told Mahajan. “There is no way we will call off the protest, as our youths are suffering. The government had promised that it would withdraw the cases against protesters after the September 1 lathi charge but nothing has been done. It looks like the government is playing tricks on us.”

Jarange-Patil added that 16 Marathas had died by suicide in the last few days but the government had done nothing to help their families. He also demanded that the farmers who suffered losses to their crops during the agitation be compensated by conducting a spot assessment.

Mahajan hastened to assure the activist that the procedure to withdraw the police cases had begun. “A legal process is required for this,” he said. “It needs approval from the courts. As for the suicides, the collectors of the respective districts have been directed to help the families of the deceased. Help will also be extended to the farmers who suffered losses.”

Jarange-Patil, while addressing his supporters, also questioned why Marathas were being asked to prove their backwardness if the communities included in the OBC category had not been asked to do so. “We fulfil the grounds on which OBC reservation was given in 1967 and then in 1990 by the Mandal Commission,” he said. “If they are given the OBC quota, what is the problem in giving it to us?”

OBC organisations, who are against the Marathas eating into their share of the quota, have said they will resume their agitation only if the government deviates from its written assurance that their quota will not be touched. “Unless the government swerves from its stand, we will not react,” said Babanrao Taywade, president, OBC Mahasangh.

Taywade dismissed Jarange-Patil’s claims about the inclusion of some OBC castes without verification. “There were about 272 castes in the OBC category in 1990 after the implementation of the Mandal Commission report,” he said. “After the recommendations of the state backward class commission, there are now over 400. The Kunbi-Maratha and Maratha-Kunbi castes were included in the OBC category in 2004. Jarange-Patil’s claim has no substance.”

Meanwhile, CM Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis paid an unscheduled visit to Delhi on Wednesday and met union home minister Amit Shah. The duo reportedly discussed the Maratha reservation issue and state cabinet expansion with him. “Prime minister Narendra Modi is expected to speak about it during his Shirdi tour on Thursday,” said a CMO official.