Quota Charlatan

In recent years, few political issues in Maharashtra have been as combustible as the Maratha quota issue. The aggressive face of this flashpoint has been activist Manoj Jarange Patil, the self-styled messiah of the Maratha reservation movement, who has often held the state captive with his bluster, brinkmanship and barely veiled threats that have commanded headlines.

Few have so nakedly exploited the politics of grievance as Jarange Patil. With his ultimatum to the Maharashtra government to grant 10 percent quota to Marathas under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category or face “wrath,” Jarange has crossed the line from activist to rabble-rouser. He does not seek justice so much as leverage and Mumbai, India’s most crowded metropolis, should not be allowed to become his theatre of intimidation.

Jarange dresses up his demands as a cry for equality. He insists that all Marathas be recognised as Kunbis, an agrarian caste already within the OBC fold, thereby becoming eligible for quotas in jobs and education. But this rhetoric masks a cynical attempt to bully the state into unconstitutional giveaways. The Supreme Court has already struck down previous efforts to extend quotas to Marathas for breaching the 50 percent ceiling.

Jarange has carefully timed his march to Mumbai with Ganesh Chaturthi, as if cloaking a political gambit in religious sanctity might lend legitimacy. His convoy has already choked highways with thousands of vehicles, a spectacle designed to hold society hostage. In a city where a traffic jam can cripple commerce, such grandstanding is little more than coercion by crowd.

Worse are his personalised attacks. Known for his intemperate remarks, Jarange now stands accused of foul language against the mother of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. That a self-proclaimed champion of Maratha honour resorts to invective against women says much about his moral compass. His lavish praise for Sharad Pawar, who did nothing on Maratha quotas when he held office, and his simultaneous vilification of Fadnavis, the only chief minister who actually attempted to grant them, reeks of political puppetry.

The greater danger lies in his brand of identity politics. By demanding that Maratha quotas be carved out of the OBC share, Jarange threatens communities who have long relied on reservations as ladders of social mobility. Pitting one historically disadvantaged group against another is a recipe for bitterness and strife.

Civil disobedience in India has a noble lineage, but it was built on moral clarity and sacrifice. What Jarange offers is bluster, ultimatums and thinly veiled threats. His hunger strike is a cheap publicity stunt meant to strong-arm the state into impossible concessions.

Mumbai cannot be reduced to a backdrop for one man’s theatrics. Allowing Jarange to turn Azad Maidan into a perpetual stage is to reward coercion and invite anarchy.

Democracy demands dissent, but it also demands discipline. Jarange’s antics are not dissent but coercion. If he seeks power, he should contest elections and legislate. Until then, Mumbai is better off without his manufactured crusades.