Out of 3.4 million, only 4,160 have records of Kunbi

Only 4,160 out of 3.4 million documents checked show records of the Maratha community being Kunbi in the Nizam era, according to a recent study.

Mumbai: Of the 3.4 million documents collated from eight districts until the first week of September to check whether the Marathas were Kunbi in the Nizam era, only 4,160 documents had the records of Kunbi on them.

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Balasaheb Sarate-Patil, an academician from the community, said that there is nothing surprising if the documents found in the data are very few. “Even we have been saying this from day one that we do not have the records of our caste before 1955 when Marathwada became part of Maharashtra as per the States Reorganisation Act. The documents found are from 1955 to 1967 and are not from the Nizam era. There is no need for the Nizam era documents for the reservation as there is a 5-point methodology in place to issue the certificates.”

He said that the certificates could be issued by talathi or the sarpanch after visiting the houses of the applicants, or by taking approval from five senior citizens in the village. He said that it could be issued on the affidavit from the head of the family or based on the profession.