Maharashtra’s quota troubles
In accepting Maratha reservation demand, the govt may have revived an OBC fault line
Chief minister Eknath Shinde has managed a face-saver for his government by agreeing to the reservation demand of Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil, who was threatening to march into Mumbai with thousands of his followers. That would have made for poor optics when the general elections are round the corner.
Jarange-Patil called off his stir seeking Other Backward Class (OBC) status for Marathas on Saturday after the government said the quota can be claimed by submitting an affidavit attesting to Kunbi status, which establishes a peasant lineage. It remains to be seen if such an executive fiat can withstand a legal challenge. More importantly, Shinde’s decision has triggered a political churn that may lead to leaders privileging their caste identity over party affiliation. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Ajit Pawar is restive about the government action and its leader Chhagan Bhujbal has warned of a counter-mobilisation by OBCs.
The Marathas are a numerically large (estimated to be over 30% of the state population) and socially and politically powerful community in Maharashtra. The provision to limit OBC quotas to Kunbi Marathas is predicated on an understanding of the caste and class hierarchies prevalent within the Maratha tent. Previously, governments sought to make the case for the community’s “backwardness” and created a separate quota outside the OBC allotment. But the court struck down the move, prompting the government to extend the Kunbi reservation – earlier available only in some regions – across the state. When tracing and establishing a Kunbi lineage became a cumbersome bureaucratic exercise, the administration suggested submitting affidavits to establish a Kunbi identity and staking claim for reservation accordingly. At least 5.7 million Marathas are expected to be added to the state’s OBC population, which the existing OBCs believe will reduce their opportunities. This is a potential fault line, the government needs to be prepared to deal with. The political ramifications of tinkering with the OBC quota are immense. It may trigger a realignment of social forces that could impact all parties.
Quota management is a band-aid solution for a larger social crisis involving poor returns from agriculture, and shrinking educational opportunities and employment avenues. The decline of the agricultural economy, owing to factors ranging from droughts and unseasonal floods to fragmentation of land holdings, high input costs and unstable prices, has forced many in the farming communities to explore opportunities in other sectors. Industry and services are unable to absorb them, which leaves a large number of young people frustrated, and restive. Jarange-Patil tapped into their anger, and the government capitulated.