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State to start issuing kunbi certificates during PM Modi birthday fest
During the 15-day campaign, various other certificates related to resolving land disputes and the regularisation of encroachment, among others, will also be issued by the state in rural areas
Mumbai: Days after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil ended his indefinite hunger strike in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government has decided to start issuing Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas during its 15-day campaign to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday later this month. The campaign, titled Seva Pandharwada (Service Fortnight), will run from September 17, which is Modi’s birthday, to Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.
The Pune divisional commissioner, who governs five districts in western Maharashtra, has asked all district collectors to issue Kunbi certificates during the 15-day campaign. District collectors have since issued circulars directing the village and taluka-level machinery to do the same. “We have directed the revenue machinery in the district to begin the process of (issuing) kunbi certificates based on the (Hyderabad) Gazette records,” said Solapur collector Kumar Ashirwad.
The Hyderabad Gazette, issued in 1918, classified Marathas involved in agriculture within the Nizam of Hyderabad’s territory, including present-day Marathwada, as Kunbis. On September 2, the Maharashtra government issued a government resolution (GR) accepting the gazette as a valid document for establishing Kunbi credentials. This was one of Jarange-Patil’s main demands to end his hunger strike. Maratha leaders expect hundreds of thousands of community members to get Kunbi certificates based on the gazette, enabling them to get reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota.
The Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar divisional commissioner, who governs the revenue machinery of eight Marathwada districts, is scheduled to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) to issue the Kunbi certificates.
“The Justice (Sandeep) Shinde committee meeting is scheduled in the next two days to discuss the steps to issue Kunbi certificates to Marathas as per the recent GR. We have issued about 2.5 lakh (250,000) Kunbi certificates in eight districts of Marathwada based on the documents collated by the Shinde committee. After the Shinde committee meeting, the commissionerate (which governs Marathwada) will formulate an SOP for issuing the Kunbi certificates,” said a senior official from the office of the divisional commissioner.
The official said that since a few hundred thousand certificates are to be issued based on the Hyderabad Gazette records, a drive will be undertaken during the Seva Pandharwada to issue them. “Anyway, the revenue officers and personnel will be on the field in villages to implement the fortnight-long programme. The emphasis of the drive will be on Kunbi certificates in all eight districts to begin the process,” said the officer.
During the 15-day campaign, various other certificates related to resolving land disputes and the regularisation of encroachment, among others, will be issued by the state in rural areas, officials said.
Jarange-Patil ended his indefinite hunger strike at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan after five days on September 2, after the Maharashtra government issued the GR promising to implement the Hyderabad Gazette. Over 30,000 supporters of the activist descended upon the metropolis during his hunger strike, leading to widespread disruption of road traffic and public transport.
On Monday, Jarange-Patil demanded that the state government begin issuing the Kunbi certificates by September 17, which is also celebrated as Marathwada Liberation Day. “If the government fails to issue the certificates, we will again begin a protest and, if needed, politicians and ministers will be prohibited from visiting our districts. Our Mumbai protest was a huge success, and it has borne fruit in the last two years. Three crore Marathas have gotten the (OBC) reservation. Some people raise doubts over the implementation of the GR related to the Hyderabad Gazette, but let me clear it again that the government has assured us that it could be rectified anytime in the future,” he said.
The activist visited Narayan Gad, a worship place for Marathas, after getting discharged from a hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where he was being treated after breaking his hunger strike.
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