# Manik Varadkar’s journey from Partition survivor to Maharashtra activist 2026-08-15T06:01:35+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Manik Varadkar, 94, survived the 1935 Quetta earthquake, Partition violence and imprisonment during the Samyukta Maharashtra agitation. Born Manik Khanolkar in 1931 to a prosperous Konkani Maharashtrian family in Quetta, she lost 13 relatives when the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck on 31 May 1935. She survived because she was sleeping on a terrace. In 1947, rising communal hostility forced Hindu families to leave Quetta. Varadkar travelled by refugee train and later joined the movement for a separate Marathi-speaking state, for which she was jailed between 1956 and 1960. She now lives in Borivali, Mumbai, and describes her life as a series of hardships met with fortitude. ## Coverage - thefederal.com Tags: Manik Varadkar, Partition, Quetta Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/manik-varadkars-journey-from-partition-survivor-to-maharashtra-activist/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/manik-varadkars-journey-from-partition-survivor-to-maharashtra-activist/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.