Manoj Jarange addresses supporters in Jalna, warning of a hunger strike in Mumbai over unmet Maratha reservation promises.
Warning of yet another hunger strike on August 29, 2025, in Mumbai if the Maharashtra government fails to keep its side of the bargain with the Maratha community, reservation activist Manoj Jarange spoke from his village Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district, charging that the state administration had neglected to work on key issues surrounding reservation and caste certification after two years of the community showing patience.
Jarange is asking that all Marathas be declared Kunbis, an agrarian caste that comes under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and that Kunbi caste certificates be issued based on historical documents, including the gazetteers of Bombay, Satara, and Hyderabad.
According to him, more than 58 lakh documents in support of this contention have already been compiled. He went on to claim that the government had failed to issue any gazette notification on the Sage Soyare issue while not implementing the said historical gazettes.
"Four major demands of the Marathas, which the government assured would be implemented, have not been fulfilled. The government has once again deceived the community," Jarange said.
Furthermore, Jarange demanded that all cases against Maratha reservation protesters be withdrawn, denouncing the government's inaction as a betrayal of the trust the community had reposed in it.
"We have been patient for the last two years. Now the time has come to rise. I appeal to all Marathas don't sit silently. We must fight for our rights," he said, urging community members to wrap up their farming activities in two months and prepare to march to Mumbai.
The activist criticized the administration for not executing the Hyderabad, Bombay, and Satara gazettes and for not publishing the government gazette pertaining to the Sage Soyare notification. He urged that Kunbi certificates be released based on the more than 58 lakh documents that had been gathered to demonstrate the similarity between Kunbis and Marathas.
Jarange called on Maratha community members to finish their agricultural work in the coming months and prepare for an enormous march on Mumbai alongside the planned hunger strike. He stressed that this protest would mark the watershed moment in the long-standing struggle of the community for reservation rights and affirmative actions.
The move brings to the surface the growing dissatisfaction with the Maratha community about the late and non-implementation of the state government. Planned protests, inclusive of the hunger strike and massive march, would act as a linchpin or tipping point for Maratha reservation policies in Maharashtra.
As the government responds to these demands, there will be a likely change in the political and social landscape of the state as the community continues to seek recognition and support. The developing situation is under close scrutiny by political pundits and the citizenry since it encompasses the intricate dilemmas pertaining to caste-based reservations in India.
Jarange further called the state government's failure to drop cases against demonstrators over the Maratha reservation a breach of confidence. "This time, I won't give up. He declared, the government must take action or suffer the repercussions."
