Maharashtra: Manoj Jarange ends hunger strike over Maratha reservation; These are their demands – Gudstory

“Our protest is over now. Our request has been accepted. I will drink juice from the chief minister tomorrow (Saturday),” Patil said.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Patil together garlanded the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Navi Mumbai. Patil ended his fast in the presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after the state government accepted all his demands.

What were the demands of Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil?

Manoj Jarange Patil demanded immediate implementation of Maratha reservation.

The share of Marathas in the population of Maharashtra is 33%. They cover different castes and can be found in different occupations such as landowners, farmers and warriors.

Maratha Kshatriyas have the surnames Deshmukh, Bhonsale, More, Shirke and Jadhav while Kunbi is a mainly agricultural subcaste.

Due to low yields of land holdings and frequent droughts, the Maratha farmer faces agricultural distress. These are the people who have asked for reservation. That is why Marathwada region has emerged as the center of Maratha caste movement.

On getting reservation, Kunbi certificate will be given.

The first protest for reservation for Marathas took place in 1982. This protest was led by labor union leader Annasaheb Patil.

After the Mandal Commission report of 1990, the demand for reservation on economic basis started changing into reservation on caste basis.

In 2004, the Maharashtra government included Maratha-Kunbi and Kunbi-Maratha in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), but left out those identifying as Marathas. Kunbi came under OBC category.

In 2018, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis passed a bill giving 16% reservation to Marathas in education and jobs.

However, the Maratha reservation was challenged in the Bombay High Court, which upheld its validity. The court reduced the quota to 13% in jobs and 12% in education.

After this, Maratha reservation was challenged in the Supreme Court. The top court struck down the law brought by the Maharashtra government in 2018 as it was violating the 50% reservation limit in the state.

On Friday, a Maharashtra minister said that the movement for Maratha reservation led by Manoj Jarange Patil has reached a solution. The ordinance that was passed has the solution to all the problems.

Patil has declared that since the solution has been achieved, there is no need to continue the protest.

Patil demanded that the government amend its free education policy to include all Marathas until the benefits of reservation are available to the entire community.

He said, the free education policy should be amended so that apart from girls, boys should also get free education and all Marathas should get free education from “KG to PG” (Kindergarten to post-graduation) until the entire community Reservation is not available.

He has asked for data of 37 lakh Kunbi certificates issued by the state government.

He said that recruitment should be done by reserving some seats for Marathas in the existing government jobs.

Milestone alert!
Livemint tops charts as fastest growing news website in the world Click here to find out more.

Unlock a world of benefits! From informative newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and personalized newsfeeds – it’s all here, just a click away! log in now!

Published: 27 January 2024, 11:11 am IST