Updated on: Sept 01, 2025 06:12 am IST
Manoj Jarange began an indefinite hunger strike on Friday at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan over his demand for a 10 percent quota for Marathas under the OBC category.
The Maratha quota stir in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan is entering its fourth day on Monday. Activist Manoj Jarange, who is leading the protest, has vowed to stop drinking water from Monday and said that he would even brave “bullets” for his demands.
Jarange has been staging an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from Friday over his demand for a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backwards Class (OBC) category.
While past court orders clearly state that an en masse Maratha quota is impossible, the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government said on Sunday that it will seek a legal opinion on the matter.
Jarange and the protestors, however, who are camped at Azad Maidan and nearby areas, have said that they won’t budge until their demands are met.
Here are the top points related to the ongoing Maratha quota stir that has brought Mumbai to a standstill.
The Maratha quota stir: Top points
- Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has vowed to stop drinking water from Monday, the fourth day of his hunger strike for reservation under the OBC category. He is demanding that the government issue a GR based on the reservation based on available records. He said that he wouldn’t budge from the protest venue in Azad Maidan until his demands are met, even if the Devendra Fadnavis government fires bullets at protesters.
- The Maharashtra government on Sunday said it will seek a legal opinion on implementing the Hyderabad gazetteer on the Kunbi status—an OBC caste—for the Maratha community. State Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet subcommittee on the Maratha reservation issue, chaired two meetings on the quota issue during the day.
- With Maratha protesters occupying Azad Maidan and various areas in south Mumbai and government and private offices reopening on Monday after the weekend, police have cautioned motorists about occasional disruptions in traffic movement towards south Mumbai in the morning hours. “Azad Maidan: Expect slow traffic and occasional disruption tomorrow morning while commuting towards south Mumbai due to ongoing agitation. Keep following directions given at traffic junctions to minimise”, the Mumbai traffic police posted on its official handle.
- Traders have raised concerns over the ongoing Maratha agitation and sought intervention by the government or the High Court to restore normalcy and protect businesses in south Mumbai from long-term damage. Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association ( FRTWA) president Viren Shah said the massive gathering at Azad Maidan has thrown south Mumbai into complete chaos and affected weekend sales across shops and markets, adding that the city feels “hijacked.”
- As political charges flew thick and fast, Maratha protesters blocked the car of NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule after she met Jarange at his protest venue, and raised slogans against Sharad Pawar. Sule demanded that the Maharashtra government convene a special session of the state legislature and an all-party meeting to resolve the vexed Maratha reservation issue.
- BJP leaders lashed out at NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar a day after he said that a Constitutional amendment was necessary to lift the “52 per cent ceiling” on quotas placed by the Supreme Court. Opposing the dilution of the OBC quota, NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal has convened a meeting of OBC leaders.
- The TV Journalists Association has complained to Jarange after some of his supporters allegedly misbehaved with women reporters at Azad Maidan. The journalists’ body also made it clear that if such incidents continued, the media would boycott the agitation.
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