Maratha Quota Activist Manoj Jarange Patil Announces Indefinite Fast Starting January 25

Maratha Quota Activist Manoj Jarange Patil Announces: He will announce the date for indefinite fasting on Tuesday which he stated is with respect to the Maratha's demands that include the reservation for OBC in jobs and education.

He welcomed all members of the Maratha community, while speaking to media at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, the location of his earlier half a dozen fasts in central Maharashtra, to join his hunger strike.

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Jarange made the announcement at a time when the new Mahayuti government headed by the BJP is settling in after a major cabinet expansion on December 15.

He announced that he would declare the date of the fast on Tuesday as the activist turns 42 years old.

"Anyone from the community who is willing to join the fast is welcome. There is no pressure on anyone," Jarange stated.

The activist added the caveat that there is no compulsion to participate in the hunger strike, one of several state-wide quota protests led by Jarange.

"The government has already expressed its commitment to addressing the Maratha community's demands. Now, we expect them to show their sincerity and dedication by taking concrete steps during the session," he insisted.

The government must demonstrate its seriousness regarding the quota issue by taking tangible steps during the winter session of the state legislature which is being held in Nagpur, said the activist.

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The government notification declares the Maratha as kunbi on the basis of Sage soyare (close relatives), the Hyderabad, the Bombay, and the Satara Gazetteers.

Jarange has been demanding the declaration of a draft notification declaring Kunbis as 'sage soyare' of Marathas and granting reservation to them in jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes category. The agrarian Kunbi community, however, already enjoys quota benefits under OBC.

He made a demand for speeding up the work of the Justice (retd) Sandeep Shinde Committee, constituted by the Maharashtra government to enhance the process of giving Kunbi certificates to members of the Maratha community to make them eligible for quota.

In February this year, both houses of the state legislature passed a bill unanimously giving 10 percent reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs under a different category. However, Jarange has been demanding reservation for the community in the OBC category.

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