Maharashtra Tribal Students Continue Hunger Strike in Pune Over Unmet Demands
· India · The Hindu, Indian Express
Tribal students at the Manjari ST Hostel on the outskirts of Pune have been on a hunger strike for over two weeks, demanding better quality education, hostel infrastructure, and jobs guaranteed by a Supreme Court order issued nine years ago. The protest involves 70 to 80 students, many of them first-generation college-goers, with women commuting 4 km daily to join the demonstration in the boys' section corridor. Medical staff have been monitoring vital parameters of the fasting students, two of whom were hospitalised on the ninth day. The students invoked tribal icon Birsa Munda and Dalit leader B.R. Ambedkar, warning that there will be consequences if harm comes to the hunger strikers. A student delegation has left to speak with the Maharashtra government, though a resolution is not yet in sight.
Why it matters
The strike spotlights long-pending implementation of the Supreme Court's nine-year-old employment guarantee for Scheduled Tribes and persistent gaps in tribal hostel facilities across Maharashtra.
Read the original report — The Hindu
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