Jalna

Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange on Saturday launched his ninth indefinite hunger strike in Maharashtra's Jalna district, escalating pressure on the state government over long-pending reservation demands.

The protest began at Antarwali Sarati village, around 400 km from Mumbai, where Jarange sat on an indefinite fast in the open despite intense summer heat and without any canopy or protective shelter.

Soon after the agitation began, Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the Maratha Reservation Cabinet Sub-Committee, reached the protest site and held discussions with Jarange. He urged the activist to sit under a shed and assured him that the government was working towards resolving the issue.

Jarange has renewed several key demands, including:

• Issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members to enable access to OBC reservation benefits.
• Implementation of the Hyderabad and Satara Gazette records related to community classification.
• Withdrawal of cases registered against Maratha protesters during previous quota agitations.
• Creation of a dedicated ministry for the Maratha community on the lines of the department for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The activist has repeatedly accused the government of delaying action and warned against putting the Maratha community through an “agni pariksha” (trial by fire). He has stated that the hunger strike will continue until concrete steps are taken to address the demands.

READ MORE: Hazrat Hajar's sacrifice is part of Eid al-Adha's fable

The latest fast comes amid continuing political and legal debates over reservation benefits for the Maratha community and the broader implications for the OBC quota framework in Maharashtra.