After getting married, Jarange-Patil, who was born and raised in the neighbouring district of Beed, decided to make his home in the Jalna district settlement of Shahgad because he saw greater stability there. About 15 years ago, he became involved in the campaign to secure reservations for members of the Maratha community in government employment and educational institutions.
Although he had the credentials of a regular agitator, Manoj Jarange-Patil remained an obscure figure in Maharashtra before September 1. The subsistence farmer from the Jalna district had spent years taking part in protests and silent marches in an effort to secure reservations for the Maratha community. Despite his efforts, however, his life continued to be lived in the background. The lathi charge by police on September 1 was the event that changed everything.
Since the 29th of August, arange-Patil has been participating in a hunger strike in the community of Ataravali-Sarate. On the fourth day, when a police contingent attempted to forcibly admit him to hospital, a scuffle broke out between the police and Jarange-Patil’s followers. Jarange-Patil’s supporters were on Jarange-Patil’s side. The hitherto unknown Maratha activist suddenly found themselves in the political spotlight as the lathi charge, teargas shells, and “police brutality” made headlines.
As a result of the events that occurred on September 1, politicians of every stripe and persuasion were frantically trying to appease him and express their support for the Maratha reservation issue. Over the course of the previous two days, prominent state politicians such as the head of the NCP, Sharad Pawar, as well as the head of the Shiv Sena (UBT), Uddhav Thackeray, as well as former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, Union Minister Raosaheb Danve, and the head of the MNS, Raj Thackeray, travelled to Ataravali-Sarate to meet Jarange-Patil and show their support. The feeble farmer, who is 41 years old, will be the one responsible for the resurgence of the unrest that has been going on in the Maratha community recently.
After getting married, Jarange-Patil, who was born and raised in the neighbouring district of Beed, decided to make his home in the Jalna district settlement of Shahgad because he saw greater stability there. About 15 years ago, he became involved in the fight to secure reservations for members of the Maratha community in government positions and educational opportunities. He took part in a number of marches and demonstrations, and in order to provide for his day-to-day need, he sold 2.5 acres of agricultural property from his total of 4 acres.
After beginning his career as an employee of the Congress, Jarange-Patil went on to form an organisation known as the Shivba Sanghatana in order to coordinate demonstrations in support of Maratha reservation. A Maratha girl of 15 years old was brutally raped and murdered in Kopardi in 2016. This event became a rallying point for a variety of Maratha parties and led to protests across the state. Taking things a step further, activists affiliated with Shivba attacked the arrested suspects as they were being transported to court for a hearing.
After the Maratha reserve quota was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2021, Jarange-Patil took part in rallies in a number of different locations. One of these was a three-month protest in Sasht-Pimpalgaon in the Jalna district, which was attended by hundreds of other people. The protest was noted by the chief minister at the time, Uddhav Thackeray, who summoned the activist Jarange-Patil to a meeting in Mumbai. Following the meeting, the activist retracted his objection. In the past, he was also instrumental in raising funds for the families of Maratha activists who had died during the several rallies for reservation in 2016-17. These deaths occurred throughout the course of the protests.
In spite of the fact that the chief minister Eknath Shinde convened a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on reservations and said that he has ordered a panel of officers to investigate the matter and provide suggestions, Jarange-Patil has refused to back down from his agitation. On Monday, he spoke with members of the media and told them, “We want a government notification saying that Marathas who are regarded as Kunbi (a sub-caste) will get the benefit of reservation as OBCs,” he said. “If this is not resolved by Tuesday, I will not even bother to drink water after that point.”
