Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has announced fresh agitation in Mumbai on January 26 and reiterated that he would sit on an indefinite hunger strike for the reservation demand. He set out on a march towards Mumbai from Jalna district on January 20 with thousands of supporters joining him and arrived in Pune district on Tuesday.
The ongoing agitation is part of the decades-long demand of the Maratha community seeking reservation in government jobs and education.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde recently announced a survey by the State Backward Classes Commission to assess the educational, social and financial backwardness of the Maratha community.
Here is all you need to know about the agitation and the court battle for Maratha reservation:
Why is Manoj Jarange Protesting?
Manoj Jarange had held fast-unto-death protests on two occasions in the past for the Maratha quota demand, forcing the government to set up a committee to look into the OBC antecedents of members of the Maratha community from Marathwada region.
Earlier in October last year, Manoj Jarange has started his indefinite fast in support of the reservation in Jalna while there was agitation by the Maratha community, which led to the arrest of 49 people in Beed district. Prohibitory orders were issued in Beed and Dharashiv districts of the state following violent protests.
The October agitation had a support from a section of leaders with BJP MLA from Beed district Laxman Pawar tendering his resignation from the legislative assembly. Two Shiv Sena MPs from Nashik and Hingoli, both loyalists of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also quit in support of the Maratha reservation demand.
Jarange also sat on hunger strike on August 29, 2023 and fasted for 16 days in Jalna and ended it on September 14 after assurance from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
But Jarange’s protest is different from the previous Maratha rallies held across Maharashtra between 2016 and 2017. While the Marathas in the past have demanded reservation for the community in government jobs and education, Jarange is demanding Kumbi caste certificates for Marathas so that they can be included into the OBC groups.
Will Kunbi Caste Certificate Solve the Issue?
The Maharashtra government, in order to pacify the Maratha community, announced it would provide Kunbi caste certificates to all Marathas from Marathwada who possess Nizam-era documents, which recognised them as Kunbis. The Maharashtra Revenue Department has begun issuing Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community members with valid documents from today (October 31).
The Kunbi community in the state is associated with agriculture-related occupation and are grouped under the OBC category. Giving Marathas Kunbi caste certificates would mean that Marathas would be counted within the Kunbi community and given the OBC status, they would benefit with the reservation the OBC group gets.
The other OBC groups have opposed the inclusion of Marathas in the OBC category for reservation benefits. While the Marathas make up 32% of the state’s population, OBCs comprise 52% and are fragmented into 382 castes in the state.
What is the Issue of Maratha Reservation?
The Marathas, historically identified as a “warrior” caste, comprise mainly peasant and landowning groups and makes up a third of the population in Maharashtra.
12 of its 20 Chief Ministers in Maharashtra have been from the politically dominant community since 1960. However, with a divide in holdings and problems in the farming sector, there has been a decline in the prosperity of middle and lower middle-class Marathas.
The demand for Maratha reservation has been going on for decades now. The demand for quota for Marathas began in 1981 when Mathadi Labour Union leader Annasaheb Patil staged a morcha in Mumbai in support of the proposal.
The Maratha Mahasangh and the Maratha Seva Sangh organized a strong movement for the Maratha reservation in government jobs and educational institutions in 1997. The issue was brought up again in 2000.
Maratha Reservation Over the Years
In August, 2016, Marathas rallied in Aurangabad under the Maratha Kranti Morcha to condemn the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar.
This was followed by 58 silent but enormous protests across the state in 2016 and 2017 aiming at reservation for the community in government employment and education. The demonstrations were followed by a ten-point charter of demands being presented to the district collector demanding Maratha reservation, strict punishment for the rapist(s) and loan waivers for farmers.
In December 2016, the Maharashtra government also filed an affidavit to justify the reservation for Marathas as legal and claiming that it did not violate constitutional provisions.
Then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis decided to set up NG Gaikwad commission, presided over by Justice NG Gaikwad in 2017. The report submitted by the commission stated that Marathas should be awarded quota under the Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC). Even though the panel suggested reservation for the Maratha community, it did not define a quota percentage and left it for the states to decide.
The Marathas were given reservation in 2018, under the Maharashtra State Socially and Educational Backward Act. The move was approved by both the state legislative assembly and the council; and also had the support of opposition parties like the Congress and NCP.
Legal Battle Follows
In December 2018, a bunch of petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the Maratha quota decision and termed it as violation of the Supreme Court orders which says that reservation should not exceed over 50%.
The HC upheld the reservation to the Marathas, but specified that instead of the existing 16 percent reservation to Marathas, the quota should be reduced to 13 percent while providing jobs and 12 percent when it comes to providing educational grants.
The High Court order was followed by a major setback for the community in 2020 after appeals were filed before the Supreme Court against the verdict. In September 2020, the apex court decided to stay the quota provided to the Maratha community terming it unconstitutional and saying that this reservation violated the provisions set under Article 14 of the Constitution of India. In May 2021, the Supreme Court quashed the provision of reservation for the Marathas.
Aftermath
After the SC struck down the Maratha reservation and upheld the 10 percent quota for the Economically Weaker Sections, the Maharashtra government said that until the issue of Maratha reservation is resolved, economically weaker members of the community can benefit from the EWS quota.
The state government earlier this year said it will file a curtive petition in the Supreme Court and added that a new dedicated panel will be formed for a detailed survey of the ‘backwardness’ of the community. However, the state government has not filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court as yet.
(With inputs from Mayuresh Ganapatye)
