India, Sept. 5 -- Three years ago, a lathicharge on a group of quota protestors in Antarwali Sarathi village, Jalna, springboarded the little-known campaigner Manoj Jarange Patil into becoming the face of the Maratha reservation stir, making the issue became crucial to state politics.

Since September 1, 2023, Jarange has staged 11 hunger strikes and led two marches to Mumbai. As his latest indefinite hunger strike in Jalna entered its seventh day on Friday, a delegation of state ministers met him twice to call off the agitation, reasoning that most of his 10 demands had already been accepted. The activist is however resolute, calling this his "final and decisive battle" until the government issues a formal Government Resolution covering ...