Manoj Jarange-Patil breaks new ground in Maharashtra

The Maratha quota activist leads a never before seen protest in the State.

Navi Mumbai: Seven years after the mammoth morcha demanding reservation for the politically-dominant Maratha community was held at the historic Azad Maidan in Mumbai, another big agitation  has reached the doorsteps of the financial capital of India. 

The first demand emerged in the eighties, but it was the July 13, 2016 rape-murder of a Maratha girl at Kopardi in Ahmednagar district that fuelled the demand of rights of the community including capital punishment for the accused in the case and demand for reservation. 

On August 9, 2016, the first protest organised by Maratha Kranti Morcha and Sakal Maratha Samaj was held in Aurangabad, now Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

Exactly a year later, on August 9, 2017, the massive morcha was held in Mumbai, the 58th in the series - and all the protests have been peaceful, faceless and leaderless.

But 2023 was different when Manoj Jarange-Patil, the founder of Shivba Sangathana emerged as the face of the capital and came to national limelight after the at Antarwali Sarathi in Jalna district. 

While a lot of things have moved, there are still more demands and Jarange-Patil is now camping in Navi Mumbai and set to enter Mumbai on Saturday.  

“There is no going back now…we will take reservations and go back…we will come to Azad Maidan tomorrow (on Saturday) if we do not get and if we get, we will come and thank people,” he said. 

As the decisive protest coincided with the Republic Day, Jarange-Patil unfurled the tricolour and waved saffron flags amid slogans of ‘ek Maratha, lakh Maratha’ and innovation of legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 

Jarange-Patil started marching from Jalna on January 20 and came to Mumbai via Pune and is currently in the APMC in Navi Mumbai. 

“There are multiple teams and groups and leaders who are looking at the arrangements. Arrangements have been made for food and water so that there is no discomfort,” said an activist Suresh Pawar. 

Local residents were also seen providing water bottles and snacks to the protestors, who have come from every nook and corner of Maharashtra. 

Internet media platforms are flooded with images and videos of the protests including birds’ eye view of the protestors. 

“I have never seen such a protest in Mumbai,” said Dinesh Sadh, a long-time resident of Mumbai, who closely observes Mumbai’s history. 

“We have been waiting for decades, it's time we will take reservations and go back to our homes,” said an activist.