Eknath Shinde govt accepts Manoj Jarange's demands, Maratha reservation stir ends

MUMBAI: The Maratha reservation protest ended on Saturday after the Maharashtra government released the draft of the reservation ordinance, accepting all demands of protesters. As part of this, protestors held jubilant demonstrations in Navi Mumbai. Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Pati said that the strike will end as the draft has been released.

The government is bringing a new law for reservation for Marathas. Reservation has been a long-standing demand of the Maratha community. Many governments in the past tried to bring this law but it never reached fruition. The demand for reservation for the Marathas turned into a crucial test for the Ekanth Shinde government and it was to abate further protest that the government finally decided to acquiesce.

Marathas are touted as the ‘sons of the soil’ and are innately inclined to agriculture as their livelihood. The community's economic backwardness has recently fueled the protests. If the reservation is implemented, they will have more representation in educational institutions, government jobs etc.

The new demand includes Kunbi certificates for all Marathas, free education from playschool to postgraduate level, and then reservation of seats for Marathas in government job recruitments. As per government sources, 50 lakh more kunbi certificates will be delivered to OBC people in the coming days.

Kunbi certificate establishes an individual's affiliation with the Kunbis, a sub-caste within Marathas, mostly associated with agriculture activities. In 2016, the Maratha reservation issue was rekindled after some years of stagnation as they organized a massive rally in Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad) to protest the rape and murder of a teenage girl in Kopardi village.

After the funeral rally, Marathas came in black clothes, as the leaders presented a petition to the Collector. The petition demanded to arrest of the culprits of the Kopardi murder, ensuring higher wages to farmers as per the Swaminathan Commission report, writing off farmers' debt and introducing the Maratha reservation. Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) similarly organized 58 rallies in different districts. The demand for the Maratha reservation became strong again.

The state government announced reservation in 2018 following a state-wide agitation, but the Supreme Court quashed it. In May 2021, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the Maratha community was not socially and educationally backward and that reservation was unconstitutional. The court had also rejected the review petition filed in April 2023.