Maratha Quota Standoff Deepens As Jarange Refuses To End Hunger Strike Despite Govt Assurance

Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange has refused to end his indefinite hunger strike despite assurances from the Maharashtra government, saying he wants concrete action on the demand to recognise eligible Marathas as Kunbis and extend them the benefits available under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

Jarange has been fasting at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district for six days. After talks with a government delegation on Thursday, he urged Marathas to begin applying for Kunbi certificates from September 4, particularly on the basis of historical records linked to the Hyderabad Gazette.

The government says it has identified nearly 58 lakh historical Kunbi-related records and will expedite the certificate process. Nodal officers are to monitor applications and address difficulties. However, the figure does not mean 58 lakh Marathas are automatically eligible. Applicants must establish a family or genealogical connection with people whose Kunbi records have been identified.

Jarange's refusal to call off the fast also reflects a history of repeated confrontations with the state government. He has undertaken multiple hunger strikes since 2023, making reservation his central campaign issue. In 2025, after another agitation, the Maharashtra government issued a Government Resolution (GR) outlining a process to recognise eligible Marathas in Marathwada as Kunbis using historical records, including those connected to the Hyderabad Gazette. Jarange later ended that protest, but implementation has remained contentious.

The broader reservation battle goes back further. Maharashtra's 16% Maratha quota introduced in 2018 was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2021, with the court holding that exceptional circumstances to breach the 50% reservation ceiling had not been established.

The Kunbi route is therefore crucial. Rather than seeking another separate quota, Jarange wants eligible Marathas with historical Kunbi links to enter the existing 27% OBC reservation framework.

That demand has alarmed OBC groups, who fear that large-scale inclusion of Marathas could intensify competition for benefits within the existing quota.

For Jarange, however, the issue is now one of implementation. He has made clear that verbal assurances are not enough and has given the government until September 11 to act, warning of a possible Mumbai agitation from September 12.