The Maharashtra government on Monday announced it will issue certificates to the descendants of those recorded as part of the Kunbi sub-caste during the pre-independence Nizam era to enable them to get quota under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category as part of interim measures to pacify the Maratha community following violent reservation protests.
It promised a curative petition for the restoration of the quota granted to the Marathas in 2018 before the Supreme Court quashed it, fresh empirical data to prove the community’s backwardness for its eligibility for the reservation and resumption of dialogue with activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is leading the protests.
The measures were announced after chief minister Eknath Shinde held an urgent meeting of the Cabinet Sub-committee on the Maratha reservation.
Jarange-Patil resumed his hunger strike last week after his 40-day deadline to the government for the reservation to all Marathas passed. He has been demanding that Kunbi certificates be given to enable the community to get the quota. Kunbi, a sub-Maratha caste, has a quota in government jobs and education under the OBC category.
Officials said the certificates will be issued based on the basis of Justice (retired) Sandeep Shinde Committee’s preliminary report. The police lathi charge at the site of Jarange-Patil’s hunger on September 1 fuelled the agitation for the OBC status of Marathas. It prompted the government to announce that the community members from central Maharashtra could get quota under the OBC category if they produce certificates classifying them as Kunbi.
{{/usCountry}}Officials said the certificates will be issued based on the basis of Justice (retired) Sandeep Shinde Committee’s preliminary report. The police lathi charge at the site of Jarange-Patil’s hunger on September 1 fuelled the agitation for the OBC status of Marathas. It prompted the government to announce that the community members from central Maharashtra could get quota under the OBC category if they produce certificates classifying them as Kunbi.
{{/usCountry}}The state government later last month appointed the committee to explore the modalities of the reservation. The Maratha groups insisted they wanted reservations without any stipulation.
Eknath Shinde said that the committee has in its preliminary report said it found 11530 documents with the Kunbi records after scanning 17.2 million records from the Nizam era in central Maharashtra. “On the basis of that, the revenue department ...will begin issuing Kunbi certificates to the Maratha community members with valid documents. The process will begin immediately from tomorrow [Tuesday],” said the chief minister after the Cabinet sub-committee meeting.
Cabinet ministers, and members of the Sandeep Shinde Committee were among those who attended the meeting.
The chief minister promised the curative petition in the Supreme Court for the restoration of the 16% quota granted to the community after protests in 2018. The Bombay high court slashed the quota to 13% in jobs and 12% in education before the Supreme Court In 2021 quashed the move.
The chief minister said they will submit fresh empirical data to prove the backwardness of the Maratha community. “For this, we are taking the help of leading research institutes such as Tata Institute of Social Sciences to help us in collating the data.”
He added they have constituted an advisory board of retired judges MG Gaikwad, Dilip Bhosale, and Sandeep Shinde to ensure that the backwardness of the Maratha community was properly argued in the Supreme Court.
The chief minister said the quota was quashed in 2021 because the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government could not properly present the side of the community. He announced Chandrakant Patil-led Cabinet subcommittee will resume dialogue with Jarange-Patil.
The chief minister said the quota protests have gone out of control of its leaders and brought a bad name to the community. “The protest has taken a violent turn; youth are dying by suicides... We appeal to Jarange-Patil to call off the indefinite strike and go for medical treatment and check-up. We are concerned about his health.”
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) lawmaker Prakash Solanke’s house was earlier attacked with stones before it was set afire along with vehicles parked on its premises at Majalgaon in the Beed district. Solanke, a Maratha, shifted his loyalty to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar following a split in the NCP in July.
The protest leaders banned the entry of politicians in their villages after Jarange-Patil restarted his hunger strike. Jarange-Patil last month called off his 17-day hunger strike in the presence of Eknath Shinde.