Nashik tribal students end hunger strike after Dipke visit, talks

Nashik: The hunger strike by tribal students at Nashik's Idgah Maidan is over. The sit-in is not.

Students called off the fast on September 5 after talks with District Collector Ayush Prasad, ending a hunger strike that ran nearly two weeks inside a wider agitation that began August 13 across Nashik, Pune and Nagpur over hostel rules, food, safety and recruitment. The protesters say they will continue the sit-in and have announced an "Ulgulan March" toward Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

Two days earlier, the protest had drawn an unlikely visitor: Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, who spent September 3 at the site, met the fasting students, and told them to end the strike on health grounds — but keep fighting, in Mumbai if necessary.

What Dipke said in Nashik

Dipke met the three students reported to be on indefinite fast — Vivek Gavit from Nashik, Rahul Pawara from Surgana and Laxmi Jadhav from Nandurbar — among more than 100 students gathered at the Eidgah ground. Afterwards he posted on X that the disparity in the facilities, food and education given to tribal students was "completely unacceptable."

"I urged them to call off the strike for their health, but they must keep fighting until their demands are met. If necessary, we will march to Mumbai together," Dipke said, according to Times Now.

He went further. Dipke said the students' voice would "never be heard from here" and advised them to stop the hunger strike, continue the agitation and march to Mumbai, "where govt will be forced to hear them," the Economic Times reported. He offered his organisation's support.

Dipke also questioned why money in the PM CARES Fund could not be used for tribal education — "About Rs 8,500 crore is lying with PM CARES. Is this money being preserved for retirement?" — and challenged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the claim that 75% of government schools are in good shape, daring him to join a tour of Vidarbha schools with the media.

Dipke was not the only political visitor. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray met the protesters the same day, and a day earlier a 20-member delegation of the Sakal Adivasi Vidyarthi Andolan Kruti Samiti met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his Nashik visit, UNI reported.

Why they were protesting

The demands go well beyond one hostel. Students opposed the centralised kitchen system, alleging stale food reaches ashramshalas, and sought fresh meals cooked closer to schools — alongside drinking water, functioning toilets, proper bedding and basic educational facilities.

The wider charter, as reported by Times Now and The Logical Indian, includes: compensation for families of students who died in residential schools and suspension of responsible officials; resignation of the tribal development minister; insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh for every ashram-school student; an end to alleged donation collections from students; a probe involving tribal social organisations into alleged corruption in the Tribal Sports Academy; recruitment to 12,500 vacant tribal posts; PESA appointments; and action on caste-validity certificates.

The immediate trigger was the death of three tribal girls after a venomous snake entered their hostel at an aided ashram school in Japtalai, Gadchiroli, on August 9 — several students were reportedly sleeping on the floor. Fadnavis ordered the school's licence permanently cancelled and safety audits across tribal residential schools.

How the fast ended

The Maharashtra government had already announced on August 29 that it accepted the students' major demands, with written assurances and a time-bound plan. Collector Prasad said the tribal development minister remains in continuous contact with the students and that "decisions have already been reached on many of the topics raised."

The Logical Indian reports that administrative action after the death of seven-year-old Srishti Suryavanshi at a government ashram school in Nashik's Kalwan area — three officials suspended, Rs 5 lakh assistance for her family — weighed on the decision to end the fast.

Dipke's framing, at least, survived the settlement: the students ended the hunger strike but kept the agitation, exactly the split he urged on September 3. Whether the promised march to Mumbai materialises — and whether written assurances turn into audited, visible fixes — is now the test.

What we can verify

• Dipke's September 3 visit: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke met fasting tribal students at Nashik's Idgah/Eidgah Maidan and urged them to end the hunger strike while continuing the agitation, offering a march to Mumbai. — Times Now, Economic Times, Lokmat Times
• Scale and names: 100+ students at the site; three on indefinite fast — Vivek Gavit, Rahul Pawara, Laxmi Jadhav. — Times Now, The Logical Indian
• Strike called off September 5: Fast ended after talks with Collector Ayush Prasad; sit-in continues; "Ulgulan March" to Raj Bhavan announced. — Times Now, The Logical Indian
• Gadchiroli trigger: Three tribal girls died August 9 after a snake entered their Japtalai ashram-school hostel; licence cancelled, audits ordered. — The Logical Indian
• Government assurances: August 29 acceptance of major demands with written, time-bound plan; minister in contact. — The Logical Indian, Times Now
• Other political visits: Aaditya Thackeray met protesters September 3; Rahul Gandhi met a 20-member student delegation September 2. — Times Now, UNI

What remains unverified

• Student-death tolls: Protesters claim 592 deaths in ashram schools; Dipke's X post said 590 in two years; state officials disclosed 584 deaths over two financial years from mixed causes (snakebite, illness, sickle-cell, accidents, suicides) — these figures conflict and none is independently confirmed here. [unverified]
• Kalwan action details: Suspension of three officials and Rs 5 lakh aid after Srishti Suryavanshi's death is reported by a single outlet so far. [unverified]
• PM CARES figure: Dipke's "Rs 8,500 crore lying with PM CARES" is his claim at the protest site, not an audited figure. [unverified]