Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Tuesday declared “victory” and ended his indefinite hunger strike, claiming that the Maharashtra government had agreed to accept his principal demand of granting backward Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas in Marathwada.

Patil, whose indefinite fast to press for reservation benefits for the Maratha community under the OBC category had entered the fifth day on Tuesday, broke his fast after talks with a ministerial team of the state government.

“We have won, my friends. It’s our victory,” Patil said in his address to supporters at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan.

The activist sipped juice to break his fast after he was handed a draft government resolution granting Kunbi status to Marathas in Marathawada. He was later driven out of the venue in an ambulance for a medical check-up.

Maratha community members celebrate after the Maharashtra government accepted most of activist Manoj Jarange Patil's demands, including granting eligible Marathas Kunbi caste certificates which will make them eligible for reservation benefits available to OBCs, in Mumbai, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.

The backward caste certificate for the landed Marathas would allow the community to receive quota benefits. However, it was not clear whether the Marathas would get the reservation benefits under the wider OBC category or from a separate category earmarked for them.

Talking to reporters in Nagpur just ahead of the withdrawal of the protest, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis indicated that the government’s decision would not harm the interests of the OBC communities. The OBCs had announced a big protest if Marathas were allowed a share in their quota pie.

“I have maintained my stand from the very first day that we will not let such a dispute happen between Maratha and OBCs anywhere. The decision we will take will not be a decision to take from one and give it to the other. We will make an equal decision for both. We will take a decision that benefits both parties, and I believe we have done so. Today, I am pleased that we were able to make a good decision, which will greatly benefit the Maratha community on a large scale,” Fadnavis said.

According to the draft resolution handed to Patil, the state government has decided to implement the Hyderabad gazette that recognised Marathas in central Maharashtra as Kunbis during the Nizam rule. According to quota activists, Kunbis are a peasant sub-caste of Marathas and are recognised as an OBC community in the state.

Bombay High Court had on Monday asked the quota protesters to vacate Azad Maidan and warned of stringent action if they did not withdraw by Tuesday afternoon. Defying the directive, Patil had declared that he would fast unto death and threatened the state government with “serious consequences” if they arrested him.