Maratha stir: A look at major quota protests across India in last 4 years

The reservation system still stokes a fire among the Indian masses and is a polarising topic

Some men brandish swords, others pelt stones, a few others torch a tire and together they howl, all the while stomping together to railway tracks to bring either their state or, in some cases, the country to a standstill. These images have become familiar to Indians, who have these pictures roaring out of the front pages of their newspapers and on their TV screens on an uncomfortably frequent basis.

The protesters gather in a show of strength not to impose their superiority but to convince the nation that they need reservation to be on an equal footing with the rest.