‘Will Die But Won’t Back Down,’ Says Leader Manoj Jarange As Martha Quota Protest Continues

Mumbai: Thousands of people from the Maratha community have gathered around in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Friday, led by activist Manoj Jarange Patil, for the Maratha quota reservation. They will hold the protest from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm today, as per the permission granted by the Mumbai Police. Anticipating a heavy turnout, the Mumbai Police have placed tight security in and around Azad Maidan and CSMT. Additional personnel have been deployed to ensure law and order is maintained. In this situation, the Mumbai Traffic Police have issued an advisory announcing traffic restrictions in the Mankhurd and Trombay areas.

Manoj Jarange Patil has also begun his indefinite hunger strike at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, declaring he would not budge until the community’s demands were fulfilled. He had held multiple protest rallies and hunger strikes demanding reservations for the Maratha community ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 2024.

He had begun his hunger strikes in the Marathwada region, and the movement was later extended to cities including Pune and Mumbai. The central demand of this protest is to issue Kunbi caste certificates for all Marathas, free education from kindergarten to postgraduate level, and reservation of seats for Marathas in government job recruitments.

A Long-Running Demand

The Maratha reservation issue has seen multiple rounds of agitation and legislation over the years. In February 2024, the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government passed a Bill granting 10 per cent reservation for Marathas, taking the quota beyond the 50 per cent cap. The Bill was based on findings by the Maharashtra Backwards Class Commission (MBCC), which surveyed over 2.5 crore households to assess the community’s social and educational backwardness.

Earlier, in 2018, the Devendra Fadnavis government had also classified Marathas as a Socially and Educationally Backwards Class (SEBC). However, in 2021, the Supreme Court struck down the Maratha quota, ruling that there were no valid grounds to breach the 50 per cent reservation ceiling.

With assembly elections on the horizon, the protest has placed the spotlight once again on the politically influential Maratha community. Jarange Patil’s movement, which began with hunger strikes in Marathwada before spreading to Pune and Mumbai, has become a rallying point for those demanding legal, permanent, and enforceable reservation benefits.

For now, all eyes are on the Maharashtra government’s response as protesters continue to hold their ground at Azad Maidan. 

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