Marathas regressed socially, educationally, in last 5 years: MSCBC report

Maratha community's government job representation dwindled by 4% in 5 years, justifying recent 10% quota. Economic, educational regression cited as exceptional circumstances.

MUMBAI: The Maratha community’s percentage in government jobs has dwindled by 4% in the last five years, says the Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes (MSCBC) report, which was the basis for the 10% quota granted to Marathas by the state government recently. It also holds that there has been social and educational regression since the last committee report was submitted in 2018, making, in its view, a fit case to show that the community has been living in ‘exceptional circumstances and extraordinary conditions’. The latter conditions are necessary to cross the Supreme Court-ordained 50% cap on reservations, which is what the government is aiming to do.

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Although the MSCBC report, submitted on February 16, has not been made public, officials involved in its making have revealed the differences between the 2018 Gaikwad Commission report and the new MSCBC one headed by Sunil Shukre. The reservation granted by the state government on the basis of the Gaikwad report was quashed by the Supreme Court in May 2021, and the report was rejected for its failure to prove the ‘backwardness’ of the Maratha community. Against this backdrop, the Shukre Commission had to face the challenge of weeding out the flaws and lapses in the earlier report.

“According to the 2018 report, Marathas occupied 19.05% in filled government posts and 14.06% in sanctioned posts,” said an official. “This percentage has fallen by at least 4% as per the Shukre Commission report. The report has also found that Maratha representation in government jobs is inadequate while the representation of scheduled castes is much higher than their reservation quota of 13%. The rapid fall in government employment over the last five years helped us make out our case of backwardness.”

The MSCBC report also states that the Marathas, a warrior community, had to settle down in agriculture after the reign of King Shivaji ended, and saw sustained regression thereafter. Their land holdings kept dwindling, and failing crops led to a drop in their income. “While the Gaikwad Commission stated that 93% of Maratha households earned less than ₹1 lakh a year and 21.97% of these earn less than ₹15,000 a year, the Shukre Commission has arrived at the conclusion that 84% Marathas earn less than ₹8 lakh a year and 21.22% of these earn less than ₹15,000 per year. This is higher than the state average of 17.4%. The state average has fallen from 24.2% in five years, but in comparison, the community average has not,” the official stated.

The Shukre report says that economic backwardness is the biggest barrier in education, and insufficient education often invites poverty. It states that the percentage of Marathas in education is lower than the other communities in the open category. The Gaikwad Commission had stated that 13.42% Marathas were illiterate, 35.31% educated up to primary school and 43.79% up to SSC/HSC while 6.71% were graduates or postgraduates.

A member of one of the committees appointed by the state government to recommend ways to accord reservation to Marathas elaborated on the steps taken to ensure that the recent law did not go the way of the one enacted in 2018. “ The Gaikwad report had suggested giving reservation to Marathas from the OBC quota while the Shukre report has recommended a separate quota,” he said. “The government thinks that the new report has ‘exceptional and extraordinary’ conditions of backwardness, justifying the need to breach the 50% cap. Most importantly, the SC had pointed out that the state did not have the powers to enlist a community in the backward classes, as the 102th constitutional amendment had taken away those powers. After the 105th amendment, however, the state has got those powers back, and it is going to play a key role.”

While justifying the breaching of the 50% cap laid down by the SC’s Indra Sawhney ruling, the MSCBC report states that since the Vimukt Jati and Nomadic Tribes have been put in a sub-quota under the OBCs, the new sub-section for Marathas is validated. “As many as 22 states, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Bihar have breached the cap,” said the member. “While deciding the Maharashtra case, the court will have to consider it.”

The member also insisted that the quantum of the survey would justify the community’s claim to being backward. “The 2018 survey covered only 45,000 households, but ours has been the largest survey done in India so far,” he said. “We covered 1.58 lakh households and have collected comprehensive data which scientifically proves our case.”

The report also states that though Marathas head the cooperative sector and dominate state politics, the benefits of power have not percolated down to the lower levels.