Who is Manoj Jarange-Patil, at the centre of the Maratha agitation?

Jarange-Patil, who originally hails from the adjoining Beed district, settled in Shahgad in Jalna district after marriage, as he perceived more stability there. He joined the movement for reservations for the Maratha community in government jobs and education about 15 years ago

Till September 1, Manoj Jarange-Patil was an unknown name in Maharashtra although he had the credentials of a consistent agitator. The marginal farmer from Jalna district had for years been taking part in agitations and silent marches seeking reservations for the Maratha community, but his was still a life in the shadows. On September 1, a police lathi-charge changed everything.

Who is Manoj Jarange-Patil, at the centre of the Maratha agitation?

Jarange-Patil was on a hunger strike at the village of Ataravali-Sarate from August 29. On the fourth day, when a police contingent tried to forcibly admit him to hospital, a clash ensued between the police and Jarange-Patil’s supporters. After the lathi charge, teargas shells and “police brutality” made the headlines, the hitherto unknown Maratha activist burst into the political limelight.

The incidents of September 1 had politicians of all hues scrambling to placate him and declare their support for the Maratha reservation issue. In the past two days, top state politicians such as NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, former chief minister Ashok Chavan, union minister Raosaheb Danve and MNS chief Raj Thackeray all visited Ataravali-Sarate to meet Jarange-Patil and express their solidarity. If the Maratha community’s agitation revives in a big way now, the frail 41-year-old farmer will be the reason.

Jarange-Patil, who originally hails from the adjoining Beed district, settled in Shahgad in Jalna district after marriage, as he perceived more stability there. He joined the movement for reservations for the Maratha community in government jobs and education about 15 years ago. He participated in several marches and protests and also sold 2.5 acres of agricultural land out of his four acres to meet his daily needs.

After initially working for the Congress, Jarange-Patil founded an outfit called the Shivba Sanghatana to organise protests for Maratha reservation. The brutal rape and murder of a 15-year-old Maratha girl in Kopardi in 2016 became a rallying point for various Maratha groups and led to statewide protests. Shivba activists went a step further and attacked the arrested accused when they were taken to court for a hearing.

After the Supreme Court quashed the Maratha reservation quota in 2021, Jarange-Patil participated in demonstrations at various places, including a three-month agitation in Sasht-Pimpalgaon in Jalna district, where hundreds of people joined him. The then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray took note of the protest and invited Jarange-Patil for a meeting in Mumbai, after which the activist withdrew his protest. Earlier, he was also instrumental in raising funds for the families of Maratha activists who had died during the many protests for reservation in 2016-17.

Despite chief minister Eknath Shinde holding a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on reservation and declaring that he had asked a panel of officers to study the issue and submit recommendations, Jarange-Patil refuses to withdraw his agitation. “We want a government notification saying that Marathas who are regarded as Kunbi (a sub-caste) will get the benefit of reservation as OBCs,” he told mediapersons on Monday. “If this is not issued, I will even stop drinking water from Tuesday.”