&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Who is Manoj Jarange Patil? The man behind the Maratha protest wave")
Wherever you hear slogans like "Ek Maratha, lakh Maratha", "Chalo Mumbai", "Manoj Dada... aage bado, hum tumhare saath hai", or "Patil, Patil, Patil", one name immediately comes to mind: Manoj Jarange Patil. Recently, on Tuesday (Sep 2), this well-known Maratha quota activist called off his five-day-long protest. He did so after the government agreed to issue an official Government Resolution (GR) confirming that Marathas from the Marathwada region will get Kunbi caste certificates through the Hyderabad Gazette. This move brings them one step closer to being included in the OBC reservation category. But let's know the man who made this possible.
Who is Manoj Jarange Patil?
Manoj Jarange Patil hails from Matori village in Beed district but currently lives in Ankush Nagar, Jalna, with his parents, wife, three brothers and four children. He is a Class 12 dropout and comes from a humble farming background. He once owned four acres of ancestral farmland but had to sell two acres to support his activism. Before gaining recognition, he worked in hotels, sugar mills and farms to make ends meet.
How he became the face of the Maratha Quota movement
The Maratha reservation demand is not new; it dates back to the 1980s. But it gained major attention after the 2016 Kopardi rape-murder case, which triggered mass protests across the state. In 2017, one of the largest marches was held in Mumbai. These protests were peaceful, faceless, and without any leader. That scenario changed in August 2023, when Jarange Patil came into the spotlight after a lathi charge in Antarwali Sarathi, Jalna. Since then, he has led the movement under his group, Shivba Sangathana, and become a symbol of Maratha pride and unity.
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A movement that shook politics
Jarange Patil’s campaign had a big political impact. It affected the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and a biopic about him, Sangarsh Yoddha Manoj Jarange Patil, was released in 2024. Today, he continues to demand that Marathas get a 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and education institutions.
In nearly two years, Manoj Jarange Patil has become the voice of the entire Maratha community.
