Suicide for Maratha Reservation: What Drives Protesters to Take the Extreme Step

Trigger warning: Discussions of suicide attempts, depression, self harm.

(If you feel suicidal or know someone in distress, please reach out to them with kindness and call these numbers of local emergency services, helplines, and mental health NGOs).

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

"How do I forget my first born? He did it for the Maratha community but he won't ever come back," said Mangalbai Jadhav (40) as she wailed in grief in her quaint house in Patarwali village of Maharashtra's Jalna district.

For the past four months, Mangalbai has not been able to come to terms with the suicide of her 19-year-old son Suraj, who on 22 November, set himself ablaze before her eyes.

As she tried to grab him, her clothes caught fire and she suffered about 35% burn injuries. Though she has mostly recovered, the wounds still itch.

What bothers her more, though, is how she was never able to gauge what was going on in Suraj's mind that eventually led him to take the extreme step.

All Suraj said just before he picked up the petrol can from the kitchen that morning was: "They won't give Marathas reservation otherwise...!"

'Dying for a cause' is a phenomenon that has been perceived as heroic historically across civilisations and cultures. This phenomenon, that is believed to be sending across a message to those in power in the most extreme possible way, is stated as the cause of death for scores of protesters demanding reservation for the Maratha community.

Suicide For Reservation

Though the demand for reservation by the Marathas is said to be at least four decades old, it is in the past one decade that the demands gained significant momentum. 

Since 2014, the Maharashtra government has declared reservation for Marathas thrice. While the reservation failed to stand legal scrutiny the first two times, the third one, declared by CM Eknath Shinde in January 2024, is also being challenged.

But every time sentiments peaked and protests went out of hand, one common phenomenon which recurred was Maratha youth dying by suicide.

One of the first such instances took place in July 2018, when 29-year-old Kakasaheb Shinde from Gangapur in Maharashtra's Sambhaji Nagar jumped into the Godavari river while protests for reservation were underway. The elder of the two sons from a farming family, Kakasaheb was associated with reservation protests for years.

"The Sakal Maratha Samaj had given a call for Jal Samadhi protests to demand reservation for the community. We went to the site at about 11:00 am. The protests went on till 2 pm but nobody from the administration was willing to meet us," said Avinash, Kakasehb's younger brother.

"We were about one km away from the bridge (on the Godavari river). At about 2:00 pm, everybody started marching to the bridge. Nobody knows what came to his mind during that march and he sacrificed himself for the community," Avinash said.

"I didn't know or understand who had jumped for the first 15-20 minutes. I recognised him from his clothes," he added.

The news of Kakasheb's death led to violent protests across the state. Outfits like Maratha Kranti Morcha and Sakal Maratha Samaj led the protests across the Marathwada region, Pune, Nashik, and Mumbai. In the one week following Kakasaheb's suicide, at least four more people were reported to have taken their lives and at least three others attempting to do so.

Though the state government at the time didn't record an official figure, the Maratha Kranti Morcha, which was at the forefront of the protests at the time, put the figure at 37.

'He Would Worry About Education'

Over the past eight months, it's Manoj Jarange Patil who has emerged to be the face of the Maratha movement. In October 2023, agitations turned violent at several places with houses of politicians and party offices being torched.

This time, too, a fresh spate of suicides followed. State government data showed that 19 people of the Maratha community ended their lives in span of 12 days between 20 October-1 November 2023, while leaving behind suicide notes demanding reservation.

Suraj was one of them. On the morning of 22 November, Suraj set himself ablaze. Suraj died at a hospital ten days later.

"He woke up like he did everyday, I started making tea for him while he bathed. He then picked up the petrol can, I tried to stop him but within 2 minutes he immolated. He had never mentioned any such intentions before that," Mangalbai said.

Mangalbai insisted that the issue of reservation weighed heavily on Suraj.

"He would worry about getting education. I used to assure him that we will manage and he shouldn't stress about it," she said.

Is Reservation the Only Trigger Behind Suicides?

Both families claim that they had no idea of either Kakasaheb or Suraj having any other issues before their deaths. But while many question the rationale behind taking such an extreme step, for scores of Marathas, those who gave up their lives are perceived by many in the community as heroes.

According to the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), highest number of suicides for ideological reasons took place in Maharashtra in 2022.

Out of the 174 such suicides recorded in the country, 84, almost half of them from Maharashtra were attributed to ideological causes or hero worship. 

Sources closely associated with the ongoing Maratha movement said that for many who died by suicide, they themselves or their immediate families also faced issues like farm loans and agrarian distress, and believed that if reservation for the community had come earlier, their lives would be different.

According to data, about 38% of farmer suicides from the country are reported from Maharashtra. In 2023 itself, 1,088 farmers died by suicide just in the 8 districts of Marathwada.

'If Youth Die By Suicide, Who Is Reservation For?'

Many within the movement, including Jarange Patil, say that the deaths could have been avoided if successive governments had given reservation to the community years ago. 

10% reservation was declared for the community in January this year. Maratha outfits, united under the leadership of Jarange Patil, have rejected the reservation claiming that just like the previous instances, this reservation, too, won't stand legal scrutiny. Jarange Patil is firm that the only way Marathas will have secure reservation is to identify all Marathas as Kunbi Marathas, a sub sect that is entitled to reservation in the state under the OBC category.

The movement, many believe, will turn the tides in the Lok Sabha elections. But while it continues, Jarange Patil has cautioned Maratha youth against taking any extreme steps.

"I have said it many times that the agitation shouldn't be aggressive. Nobody should die by suicide. We need the youth. If the youth is going to die, who is the reservation for? I have sidelined my own family and made the community my family. What is the use of the reservation if you are going to die?" Jarange told The Quint.

Families of both Suraj and Kakaseheb said that the government must fulfill all demands of the community.

"The government gave Rs 10 lakh when my brother died. But my brother was more precious to make than those Rs 10 lakh. The government should give reservation and end this movement. That is all we in the community wants," Avinash said.

"The government should listen to the movement. What happened with me shouldn't happen with any mother. Nobody should lose their lives for reservation. He was too young to go," said Mangalbai