Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has set a September 12 deadline for the Maharashtra government to act on his long-standing demand for Kunbi caste certificates, warning that failure to comply will trigger a march and hunger strike in Mumbai. Jarange launched his 11th indefinite fast over Maratha reservation issues on Saturday at his native Antarwali Sarati village, where thousands of community supporters have gathered, and stood firm on his position as the strike entered its second day on Sunday.

Jarange is demanding that eligible members of the Maratha community be immediately granted Kunbi status, an agrarian classification that carries reservation benefits in education and government jobs under the Other Backward Class category. He has based the demand on 58 lakh historical records his side says establish the community's eligibility, and has insisted that no further extensions will be granted.

Jarange has also called for a suspension of caste certificate verification in cases already covered by those records, arguing that additional scrutiny is unnecessary. According to Jarange, a core committee meeting will be held in Antarwali Sarati on September 12 to decide whether to proceed with the proposed Mumbai fast, adding that the plan would be dropped entirely if the government met the demands by that date.

In response, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reached out to the fasting activist on Sunday, signalling the state's willingness to engage even as it drew boundaries around what it could offer. Fadnavis said the government remains open to discussing demands that are legally viable, constitutionally valid, and not in conflict with Supreme Court rulings on reservation matters — a reference to past judicial limits placed on quota expansions in the state. Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, he added that government representatives were attending a separate farmer event in Parbhani city, in Marathwada, specifically to engage with protesters' concerns.

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The renewed standoff comes against the backdrop of a farmer event in Parbhani that has become a flashpoint in its own right. On the second day of his fast, Jarange directed criticism at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who belongs to the Maratha community, along with rebel Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Jadhav and state minister Sanjay Shirsat, over their involvement in the Parbhani gathering, though the specific nature of his objections was not detailed in available reports.

The dispute is the latest chapter in a agitation that has run for more than two years, marked by repeated hunger strikes, government assurances, and missed deadlines. Jarange first went on an indefinite fast in August 2023, ending it after 17 days when then-Chief Minister Eknath Shinde promised action on Kunbi certificates for Marathas in the Marathwada region.

Subsequent rounds of protest followed in late 2023 and beyond, as negotiated deadlines lapsed without the blanket recognition Jarange has sought. The current fast, and the hard deadline attached to it, signals that the underlying tension between the state government and the Maratha community over reservation status remains unresolved.

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