kunbi

Maharashtra: Ministers Dissatisfied With Shinde Govt’s Handling of Maratha Stir

Union minister Narayan Rane and Other Backward Classes leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who is also minister in the Maharashtra cabinet, have questioned the move.

New Delhi: Two Maharashtra politicians with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party dispensation have expressed dissatisfaction with the state government’s stand on the Maratha reservation issue.

The two are Union minister Narayan Rane and Other Backward Classes leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who is also minister in the Maharashtra cabinet. Both have opposed the Eknath Shinde government’s decision to extend benefits accorded to OBCs to Marathas.

The Hindu has reported that Bhujbal especially noted that this was a “backdoor entry” of the community into the OBC category.

Bhujbal is part of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, which aligned with the ruling faction of the Shiv Sena party and the BJP last year.

He said that the culmination of the Maratha quota stir has led to anxieties among existing OBC community members.

“The OBCs are having a feeling that they have lost their reservations as Marathas will take the benefits. I support giving a separate reservation to Marathas, but not sharing the existing OBC quota with them. Because once they become a part of the existing reservations for OBCs, only they will get the benefits,” he said.

Meanwhile, Midday has reported that NCP (Ajit Pawar division) leader Praful Patel has said that Bhujbal’s criticism of the Maharashtra government is not the official stand of the party.

Patel said Bhujbal’s stand was that of the Samata Parishad, the OBC group headed by him, and not of the NCP.

Bhujbal said that retired Justice Sandeep Shinde, who heads the committee that will look into the Kunbi records of Marathas, receives an excessively high salary. He said that while the Chief Justice of India gets a salary of Rs 2.80 lakh, Justice Shinde and the committee members get Rs 4.50 lakh each.

Will Jarange-Patil’s Maratha Agitation Create a Political Crisis in Maharashtra?

Even after ending his fast, Manoj Jarange-Patil remains in the driver’s seat.

Manoj Jarange-Patil is a name that has been ringing loudly across Maharashtra over the past couple of months. The man from Beed was on a fast unto death with one demand: provide 16% reservation to the Maratha community in Maharashtra.

On October 2, Jarange-Patil ended his nine-day fast after chief minister Eknath Shinde promised to resolve the reservation issue in two months. But even after ending the fast, Jarange-Patil remains in the driver’s seat.

A renewed demand

The demand for the Maratha reservation is not new. The demand has been around since 1997 and the protests were at their peak in 2016.

In November 2018, then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis enacted the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act. This legislation granted a 16% reservation in education and government jobs specifically for the Maratha community.

The Bombay high court in 2019 upheld the quota, but wanted it reduced to 12-13%. In 2021, the Supreme Court scrapped it, citing the 50% cap on total reservations established in 1992. The court maintained that there were no “exceptional circumstances” or an “extraordinary situation” in Maharashtra that warranted the state government exceeding this limit.

The issue gained momentum once again in September. A protest in Jalna turned violent and videos of the police lathi-charging Maratha protestors spread like wildfire. Suddenly, Jarange-Patil became a household name.

What commissions have said

The Mandal Commission report did not consider Marathas in Maharashtra to be a backward community and thus, did not recommend that it should classified as part of reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

In July 2008, a committee commissioned by the Maharashtra government and led by retired judge R.M. Bapat released a report rejecting the idea of reservations for Marathas. Six years later, in 2014, another committee chaired by Narayan Rane [a Congress minister then, a BJP minister now] presented a contrasting report. This committee argued that Marathas constituted 32% of the state’s population and required economic support, thereby justifying the need for reservations.

At that time, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s government approved a proposal to reserve 16% of government jobs and seats in educational institutions for Marathas, along with 5% for Muslims. An ordinance was swiftly passed to enforce this decision. However, the implementation of the ordinance was promptly contested in the Bombay high court, leading to a stay order in 2014.

The complications within

The Marathas are not a homogenous unit. There are various sub-castes within the Marathas, such as the Kunbis. The Kunbi community has a primarily agrarian background. They have traditionally been involved in farming and agriculture. Marathas are a landed caste.

In the 1960s, Panjabrao Deshmukh, a prominent figure in Maharashtra, conducted a survey challenging the Maratha identity of the farming community. He proposed that they were not Marathas but rather ‘Kunbis,’ a distinction that was controversial at the time and received widespread attention.

During that era, farmers in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra obtained certificates identifying themselves as Kunbis in substantial numbers. However, farmers in the Marathwada and western Maharashtra region questioned whether they should be classified as ‘Other Backward Classes’ (OBCs), raising doubts about their traditional status as landowners.

Fast forward four decades, the Maratha farmers from the former ashram schools in Vidarbha now benefit from reservations under the Kunbi category. Meanwhile, Maratha farmers in Marathwada find themselves excluded from the Maratha reservation.

The current agitation by Jarange-Patil demands a blanket reservation for all Marathas under the Kunbi caste certificate.

BJP and Maratha agitation

The demand has larger implications for OBC communities and also for the BJP. The former are anxious that if the Marathas are included in the quota, it may dilute their share. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state faces challenges in maintaining unity among its coalition allies – the Shiv Sena and the rebel faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar – while also appeasing its core OBC voter base.

To address the discontent within the OBC community, the BJP launched the ‘OBC Jagar Yatra,’ starting in the Vidarbha region. This initiative aims to emphasise the BJP’s commitment to the welfare of the OBC community and assure them that their reservation will not be compromised for the Marathas.

Vidarbha, a stronghold of the Congress party before the BJP’s rise in 2014, holds significant political influence in Maharashtra, boasting ten Lok Sabha seats and 62 Assembly seats out of 288. However, the BJP faces a growing challenge from a resurgent Congress in Vidarbha, where the party has 15 of its 45 MLAs.

The BJP also saw some OBC leaders expressing discontent during Devendra Fadnavis’ tenure as chief minister (2014-2019), Some, like Pankaja Munde and Prakash Mehta, were apparently sidelined, while Eknath Khadse joined the NCP.

These internal challenges threaten the BJP’s stability in the region, adding complexity to the ongoing Maratha-OBC reservation issue.

Back to the present

Two MPs, both loyalists of chief minister Eknath Shinde, have resigned to support the agitation, while the protests have turned violent and targeted lawmakers in parts of Maharashtra. The issue has the potential of ballooning into a full-blown political issue in Maharashtra before the Lok Sabha polls, even though Jarange-Patil has ended his fast.

So, will the Marathas get reservations? Will the OBCs accept it? Will the BJP avert a political crisis in Maharashtra? These are some important questions which have no answers at this moment.

Maratha Quota Stir: Manoj Jarenge Patil Resumes Hunger Strike After 40-Day Deadline to Govt Ends

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minster Devendra Fadnavis paid an unscheduled visit to Delhi to meet Union home minister Amit Shah.

New Delhi: A day after Maratha activist Manoj Jarenge-Patil’s 40-day deadline to the Maharashtra government, the farmer activist resumed his indefinite hunger strike on Wednesday (October 25) and said it will continue until all Marathas are given reservations.

Accusing the government of inaction, Patil rejected their plea to defer his protest any further after he called off the first phase of the protest on September 14, the Hindustan Times reported. Marathas from over 2,400 villages have joined the agitation, the report said.

Patil and his supporters have been demanding that all Marathas be given Kunbi caste certificates to get the benefits of reservation in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. Kunbi, a sub-caste of Marathas, are classified as OBCs.

Rural development minister Girish Mahajan called Patil before he began his hunger strike at 11 am. “We want to give reservations that will stand up to legal scrutiny. The Justice Sandeep Shinde committee is working on the report. Chief minister Eknath Shinde has sworn on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his Dussehra rally that he will give you reservation at any cost. He will personally speak to you,” Mahajan was heard telling Patil, who made the conversation public by turning on his phone speaker.

Also read: Maratha Quota Stir: BJP’s Plan For 2024 Lok Sabha Polls Under Threat From Ongoing Protests

“You asked for 30 days, we gave you 41, but nothing was done,” Patil told Mahajan. “There is no way we will call off the protest, as our youths are suffering. The government had promised that it would withdraw the cases against protesters after the September 1 lathi charge but nothing has been done. It looks like the government is playing tricks on us,” the activist said.

Patil added that 16 Marathas had died by suicide in the last few days but the government had done nothing to help their families. He also demanded that the farmers who suffered losses to their crops during the agitation be compensated by conducting a spot assessment.

The minister said that a legal process is required to withdraw police cases and that the concerned district collectors had been directed to help the families of those who died by suicide.

The Maratha quota protests had begun on August 29 when Patil, a Maratha activist from Jalna, sat on an indefinite hunger strike, reviving a three-decade old demand for Maratha reservations. In some places, the agitation turned violent with the police resorting to lathi-charge on the protesters, further worsening the situation.

Also read: Maratha Quota Stir: Man Dies by Suicide, Leaves Note Demanding Reservation for Community

The Maharashtra government apologised for the lathi-charge and later announced that Kunbi caste certificates will be issued to those who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis.

OBC organisations, who are against the Marathas eating into their share of the quota, have said they will resume their agitation only if the government deviates from its written assurance that their quota will not be touched, the Hindustan Times reported. “Unless the government swerves from its stand, we will not react,” said Babanrao Taywade, president, OBC Mahasangh.

Meanwhile, chief minister Shinde and deputy chief minster Devendra Fadnavis paid an unscheduled visit to Delhi on Wednesday and met Union home minister Amit Shah. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to speak about the issue during his Shirdi tour on Thursday,” an official from the chief minister’s office told the paper.

Maratha Quota Stir: Man Dies by Suicide, Leaves Note Demanding Reservation for Community

His death comes just five days before the deadline set by Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil who has threatened a wider agitation if the Marathas were not recognised as OBCs by October 24.

New Delhi: In a grave development in the Maratha quota protests that started late August, a 45-year-old man died by suicide demanding reservations for the community.

Sunil Kavle, a Maratha activist from Jalna, left a three-page suicide note stating that he was ending his life seeking reservations for his community before hanging himself from a a flyover in Mumbai.

His death comes just five days before the deadline set by Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil who has threatened a wider agitation if the Marathas were not recognised as Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by October 24, the Economic Times reported.

Kavle’s family said that the government should honour his last wishes and provide reservations to the Marathas.

“The (state) government is responsible for this. There is a view within the community that the government is deliberately not giving Marathas reservations. The government should not keep the Marathas waiting but ensure that they are given reservations soon. I am imploring the Maratha youth to not take any drastic steps. We will have a peaceful stir but we will get reservation for our community,” Patil said.

In September, another Maratha youth ended his life seeking quota, the Economic Times reported.

Also read: Explainer: Why the Maratha Quota Agitation Has Put Successive Maharashtra Governments in a Bind

Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule said, “They are a totally insensitive government. Under this triple engine government, they have not been able to give reservation to the Dhangar (shepherd) community, Muslims, Lingayats and Marathas.”

However, this solution was not accepted by Patil and his supporters. On October 14, the maratha leader gave a deadline to the state government and said, “After October 24, it will be either my funeral procession or the community’s victory celebration (after granting of reservation).”

The activist said he would address the community on October 22 to explain their course of action after October 24 in case the demand is not fulfilled. He also asked his supporters to maintain peace during protests, PTI reported.

‘Those With Nizam-Era Documents Recognising Them as Kunbis to Get Caste Certificates’: CM Shinde

A five-member panel headed by retired judge Sandeep Shinde will determine the legal and administrative framework for issuing the caste certificates.

New Delhi: After a week of protests demanding reservations for the Maratha community, the Maharashtra government has decided that Kunbi caste certificates will be issued to those who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis.

Kunbis are currently grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Maharashtra and mainly practice agriculture.

“Those belonging to the Maratha community in Marathwada with references of being Kunbis in the Nizam-era revenue and education documents will get Kunbi certificates,” the chief minister said, adding that he would speak with his Telangana counterpart for any help in this matter, the Deccan Herald reported.

Marathwada region was part of the erstwhile Hyderabad kingdom before it became part of Maharashtra.

The announcement has come at the heels of a four-day ultimatum issued to the government by quota protest leader Manoj Jarange, who has been on hunger strike for the last eight days in Jalna district.

After Shinde’s announcement, Jarange said, “I spoke to the chief minister who told me that Marathas from Marathwada who possess genealogical documentary proof of being Kunbis will get the fresh (Kunbi) caste certificate. Those Marathas who do not possess documentary proof of being Kunbis, their issue will be solved through a state government-appointed panel within a stipulated time.”

A five-member panel headed by judge Sandeep Shinde (retired) will determine the legal and administrative framework for issuing the caste certificates. The panel will submit its report in a month, The Wire had reported earlier.

The panel will also include additional chief secretary (revenue), principal secretary (law and justice), and collectors of the concerned districts. The divisional commissioner, Aurangabad, will be the member secretary of the panel.

White Jarange had said he would announce a decision on continuing his hunger protest on September 7, the protest leader is yet to do so. He was administered IV fluids on September 6 on account of his deteriorating health, the Deccan Herald reported.

Shinde’s announcement came a day after deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis apologised for the police’s lathi-charge on the protesters last week. He reiterated that the state government is committed to giving the reservation to Marathas. “The erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government had worked sincerely to give reservation to the Maratha community.

The earlier provisions for the Maratha community were quashed by the Supreme Court in May 2021, citing the 50% ceiling on total reservations among other grounds.