Mumbai: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday declared victory after the Maharashtra government’s cabinet sub-committee accepted most of his key demands, including the decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas. The announcement, made on the fifth day of his indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan, sparked jubilant celebrations among thousands of his supporters.
“We have won,” Jarange told the protesters, shortly after meeting the sub-committee headed by minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil. Other members of the delegation included ministers Shivendrasinh Bhosale, Uday Samant and Manikrao Kokate. The leaders discussed a draft proposal with Jarange, which he later read out to the crowd.
According to Jarange, the government has agreed to implement the Hyderabad Gazette, ensuring that Marathas with Kunbi records will be issued caste certificates after verification. He added that a Government Resolution (GR) formalising this decision would be issued immediately, while the Satara Gazette would be implemented within a month.
The activist said the state also promised to withdraw cases against protesters by the end of September and to provide financial aid and government jobs, based on qualifications, to the kin of those who died during the agitation. So far, ₹15 crore has been distributed to affected families, with the balance to be disbursed within a week, he claimed.
Jarange set a final deadline, stating, “We will leave Mumbai by 9 pm today if the government issues GRs on the Maratha quota demands.”
Vikhe Patil confirmed that around eight lakh objections have been filed to the earlier sage soyare (blood relatives) notification and said the government needs time to review them. He added that legal measures were being explored to issue a GR equating Marathas with Kunbis, a process expected to take two months.
Background of the Protest
The Maratha community has long been demanding a 10 per cent quota in government jobs and education under the OBC category. Their claim is rooted in the Hyderabad Gazette, a historic notification which identifies Marathas as Kunbis.
Jarange, who began his hunger strike on 29 August at Azad Maidan, has led several such agitations in the past year. His fasts have drawn huge crowds and forced successive governments to make concessions. The latest breakthrough came after five days of fasting and days of tense standoff between protesters and authorities.
