Key social movements in 2024: Reclaim the Night, Maratha quota agitation and more

Over the years, he led various protests across the state. In January 2024, when he declared a march to Mumbai, tens of thousands of Maratha youths rallied behind him, and village after village contributed whatever it could to make the agitation successful.

A day after he reached Vashi in Navi Mumbai, the then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met him and handed him a copy of the draft notification, promising to fulfill his demand in writing. In February 2024, Jarange-Patil demanded that the Maharashtra government should implement the draft notification on “blood relatives” of Kunbi Marathas within two days, failing which the community members would stage non-violent road blockades across the state from February 24. He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a serious note of the matter and not hold the Lok Sabha) elections until the reservation was addressed.

Following this, the state Assembly unanimously passed a Bill for a separate 10 per cent quota for the Maratha community. However, Jarange has been insisting on a quota for the community under the OBC head. The agrarian Kunbi community already receives quota benefits under the OBC category.

RG Kar rape and murder

‘Reclaim the Night’, a pan-India protest, saw many women across India, seeking justice for the 31-year-old female doctor who was allegedly in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Besides Kolkata, cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, among others, saw large numbers of protesters, mostly women, taking to the streets to demand justice for the trainee doctor. Kolkata and several other parts of West Bengal again witnessed unprecedented protests on September 8 to mark one month of the incident.

People from all walks of life, including doctors, alumni of educational institutions, potters from Kumartuli, artists and even rickshaw pullers joined the protest on the eve of the Supreme Court hearing the gruesome crime that has shocked West Bengal and triggered protests across the country.

Junior doctors across West Bengal who held “fast-unto-death” ended it on October 24 after a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. On September 3, the state assembly passed the Aparajita Bill to amend some provisions in the criminal code, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, for the state. These amendments make penalties for rape and child abuse more stringent. The next hearing of the case in the Supreme Court is scheduled for March 17.

Farmers’ protest
The historic farmers’ protest of 2020-21 resulted in the repeal of the controversial farm laws by the NDA government. However, the protest has resurfaced. The farmers of Punjab allege that the underlying issues were not fully resolved. As a result of the faltering negotiations, the farmers have been camped out at Shambhu and Khanauri border points between the two north Indian states since February after their march to New Delhi was stopped by security forces.

The tensions have risen after farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal fainted at the protest site recently while being on a fast-unto-death for over 20 days. The government's response to the renewed protests has been more muted compared to the 2020-21 period. While some dialogue has taken place, there haven't been any major policy announcements or concessions. The Supreme Court December 20 asked the Punjab government to shift Dallewal to a nearby makeshift hospital at the Khanauri border where his health can be monitored round-the-clock.

India-Bangladesh tension

Ties between once-close neighbours nosedived after a recent attack on a Bangladeshi consulate in India. The latest trigger was arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari. After Bangladesh police arrested him on sedition charges and a court denied him bail, India expressed “deep concern”.

The alleged anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh was triggered after a student’s agitation over a controversial quota system ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5. Later, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of the caretaker government. Since then, several reports claimed that the minority community, which makes up about 8 per cent of Bangladesh’s 170 million population, faced over 200 attacks. Hindus constitute less than 10% of Bangladesh’s 170 million population.  Leaders of the community have long spoken of discrimination and hate attacks against them by Islamists and some political parties.

Protests broke out in various parts of India. A group of protesters breached the security of the Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala on December 2. The Ministry of External Affairs said the incident was “deeply regrettable”. Protesters called for a boycott of all Bangladeshi goods and Bangladesh-origin Dhakai Jamdani sarees were set on fire. Recently various organisations, including the RSS, held protests in different parts of Delhi against attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and submitted a memorandum to the respective district magistrates, seeking to draw the Centre’s attention to the issue.