The demand for reservations by the Maratha community in Maharashtra has resurfaced after a violent clash between the police and protesters in Jalna district Friday. The incident has put the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state in a tight spot.
During the clashes, the police reportedly resorted to lathicharge and use of tear gas after protesters allegedly threw stones at police personnel and torched at least two buses.
The Opposition has accused the government of mishandling the situation and demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minister. Fadnavis, however, Monday apologised on behalf of the government for the lathicharge.
The Maratha community — which, according to the 2011 Census, constitutes 33 percent of the state’s population — has been seeking reservations in government jobs and education for a long time.
In 2018, the Maharashtra legislature had even passed a law granting 16 percent reservation to the Marathas under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) category. However, the move was challenged in court and the issue remains contentious.
Meanwhile, some Maratha leaders have started an agitation demanding that the Marathas be given Kunbi caste certificates, which will put them in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. They claim that Marathas from Marathwada region were part of Kunbi caste when they were under Hyderabad province before Independence. They joined Maharashtra nearly a year after. The community, after losing the OBC tag, got counted as Marathas.
One such leader is Manoj Jarange-Patil, who has been on a hunger strike in Jalna’s Antarwali Sarathi village since 29 August.
“The matter in the Supreme Court is different. What we demand is that now Marathas across the state be given Kunbi caste certificates as the community has been fighting for reservation for a long time,” Jarange-Patil told media persons Monday.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who belongs to the Maratha community, expressed his solidarity with the protesters and said his government is committed to providing reservations to them. The state government also held a meeting of the Maharashtra cabinet sub-committee Monday.
“We are working seriously towards the reservation issue for Marathas. The community should get the reservation, and it should stay in the framework of law and we are working towards it. I have asked the sub-committee to give its recommendations within a month,” said Shinde at a press conference Monday.