Tribal students protesting at Nashik’s Idgah Maidan were urged by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on September 3 to end their indefinite hunger strike on health grounds, but continue pressing the Maharashtra government over conditions in tribal residential schools and hostels.
The agitation had entered its 17th day, with more than 100 students participating and three students – Vivek Gavit from Nashik, Rahul Pawara from Surgana and Laxmi Jadhav from Nandurbar, reported to be on hunger strike. Dipke said the disparity in food, facilities and education available to tribal students was “completely unacceptable” and proposed taking the agitation to Mumbai if necessary.
The students’ demands include better hostel infrastructure, safe drinking water, functioning toilets, proper bedding, fresh food instead of the existing centralised kitchen system, action over student deaths, recruitment to vacant Scheduled Tribe posts and greater accountability. The latest Nashik protest comes despite the Maharashtra government announcing on August 29 that it had accepted the major demands of tribal students and would provide written assurances and a time-bound implementation plan.
Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike said the government had held a “positive discussion” with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and that students would “receive everything in writing”, while Fadnavis assured representatives that vacancies and other demands would be addressed within specified timelines.
Why Students Are Protesting
The Nashik agitation is rooted in concerns that go beyond food or hostel amenities. Students have alleged that many tribal residential institutions lack basic necessities such as drinking water, usable toilets, beds and adequate educational facilities.
Dipke, who visited the protesters on Thursday, said the conditions reflected a much wider disparity in the quality of education and facilities available to tribal children. “The situation is very bad in educational institutions where tribal students study,” he said, adding that several schools lack even basic infrastructure. The students have also opposed the central kitchen system, alleging that stale food is supplied to ashramshalas, and have sought fresh meals prepared closer to the schools.
Their wider demands include insurance cover of ₹10 lakh for every ashram-school student, compensation for families of students who have died, action against officials allegedly responsible for lapses, and intervention against candidates who obtained government employment without completing the required caste-validity process. The protest has also attracted political support, with Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray visiting the students on September 3.
A Crisis Beyond One Hostel
The immediate trigger for the wider agitation was the deaths of three tribal girls after a venomous snake entered their hostel at an aided ashram school in Japtalai, Gadchiroli, on August 9. Reports said several students were sleeping on the floor when the snakebite incident occurred.
Following the deaths, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered the permanent cancellation of the school’s licence and directed that safety audits be carried out across tribal residential schools. Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike subsequently visited the school, inspected sleeping arrangements, bedding, drinking water and hygiene, and ordered students to be shifted to a school with proper residential and educational facilities.
He also directed the installation of mesh screens and regular clearing of vegetation around hostels, saying student “safety, health and education” were the government’s highest priority. The scale of the concern became clearer when state officials disclosed that 584 students enrolled in government-run and aided ashram schools had died over the previous two financial years.
Officials said the deaths had multiple reported causes, including snakebites, serious illness, sickle-cell disease, accidents and suicides; 384 deaths were recorded in government schools and 200 in aided institutions. This figure should not be read as evidence that all deaths resulted from unsafe school conditions, but it has intensified questions about the systems responsible for protecting children living in residential educational institutions.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The students’ decision to protest speaks to a basic principle: children should not have to risk their health to secure safe schools, decent food or dignity in education. At the same time, Dipke’s call to end the hunger strike while continuing the wider movement offers an important reminder that protest need not be measured by how much physical suffering people are willing to endure.
The Maharashtra government has already announced written assurances, third-party audits, recruitment timelines and other measures, but announcements can only become meaningful when students and families can see tangible changes on the ground.
The challenge now is to move from promises to transparent implementation, with regular public reporting and meaningful participation from the communities most affected. Tribal students are asking for institutions where safety and dignity are ordinary expectations, not concessions won after a crisis.
How can governments, students and civil society work together to ensure that these demands lead to lasting improvements without putting young protesters’ health at further risk?
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