MUMBAI: Three years ago, a lathicharge on a group of quota protestors in Antarwali Sarathi village, Jalna, springboarded the little-known campaigner Manoj Jarange Patil into becoming the face of the Maratha reservation stir, making the issue became crucial to state politics.
OBC leader Laxman Hake launched a counter protest opposing the government’s stand. Despite the aggressive nature of the agitations, not a single life was lost. Meanwhile, the reservation issue itself has seen many legal and political twists. As Jarange’s equity strengthened over the last three years, and as the government agreed to provide a dedicated quota for the Maratha community, he pitched for the community’s inclusion in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category by issuing Kunbi certificates, as it would be a challenge to get a separate quota approved in a court of law. “The social and educational backwardness of the community has already been established by the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission. The government’s decision to accept the Maratha community’s demand for inclusion in the OBC quota irked the OBC community. OBC leaders, spearheaded by NCP leader and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal, strongly opposed the government’s move. The dispute between the two communities widened, leading to social boycotts against members of each community. “Every time he (Jarange) sat on an indefinite hunger strike the movement moved forward.
Since September 1, 2023, Jarange has staged 11 hunger strikes and led two marches to Mumbai. As his latest indefinite hunger strike in Jalna entered its seventh day on Friday, a delegation of state ministers met him twice to call off the agitation, reasoning that most of his 10 demands had already been accepted. Water resources minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who heads the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation, said on Thursday, “More than 7.5 lakh Maratha youth have been recruited for government jobs in the last three years. The state government has also issued 14.24 lakh Kunbi certificates. The Congress-led government granted 16% reservation to the community in jobs and education in 2014, which was struck down by the Bombay high court (HC). The Devendra Fadnavis government subsequently provided 13% reservation in education and 12% in government employment in 2018, which the Supreme Court struck down in May 2021. The Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government again introduced a separate 10% reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs in 2024, which is currently being challenged before HC. Virendra Pawar, coordinator of Sakal Maratha Samaj, which played a key role in organising the 58 silent marches, described the past three years as a period of significant gains for the movement.
The activist is however resolute, calling this his “final and decisive battle” until the government issues a formal Government Resolution covering all his demands and begins issuing Kunbi certificates to Marathas on the basis of the 5.8 million Kunbi records identified by the government. “The government was compelled to constitute a committee headed by retired Justice Sandeep Shinde to trace Kunbi records of the Maratha community from the Nizam and pre-Independence eras, to pick out the eligible Marathas who could access the OBC quota,” said a revenue department official. If Marathas are included in the OBC category, the community could also become eligible for political reservation in local body elections,” the official said. He believes that no battle should be given up,” he said.
