Maharashtra Nihalsing worked closely with people’s movements -- particularly for Dalit rights and nomadic tribes -- in Nagpur. He was successful in obtaining compensation for the families of three nomadic tribe youths who were lynched to death after being denied police protection. He was also part of the team of lawyers posted at Hyderabad Central University providing legal aid to students protesting the death of a scholar due to caste discrimination on campus. He worked with Soni Sori, Lingaram Kodopi and others in a fact-finding team that investigated the extra-judicial killings of 20 persons in Bastar, Dantewada and Jagdalpur in Chattisgarh.