OBC, Adivasi, Banjara groups protest Maratha Quota GR in Maharashtra

OBC, Adivasi, and Banjara groups in Maharashtra’s Jalna district are protesting the Maratha quota GR, opposing the move to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas. They argue this will erode existing SC, ST, and OBC reservation rights and benefits

Jalna: Several OBC, Adivasi, and Banjara community outfits in Maharashtra’s Jalna district on Sunday said they would hold protests till the State government withdraws the Maratha quota GR issued in the wake of the agitation in Mumbai by activist Manoj Jarange.

They said the implementation of the Hyderabad Gazette to allow members of the Maratha community to get Kunbi caste certificates, and therefore quota, would greatly impact SCs, STs, and Other Backward Classes. Kunbis. An agrarian community is part of the OBC segment in Maharashtra.

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“We were classified as a Scheduled Tribe and had a reservation in Hyderabad state. We want the same rights restored,” said Sandesh Chavan, president of Banjara outfit Gor Sena.

Chavan also claimed a 32-year-old Banjara graduate from Dharashiv died by suicide on Saturday, leaving behind a note pressing for ST reservation. Since September 11, Banjara youths have been on an indefinite hunger strike outside the Jalna Collector’s office, while senior leader Haribhau Rathod has announced morchas in Jalna and Beed on September 15.

However, Adivasi outfits have opposed this demand of the Banjara community, claiming the latter already benefits from a 3 per cent quota under the Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) segment.

OBC activists Navnath Waghmare and Satusung Mundhe warned that expanding the quota would threaten the rights of 374 castes already listed under OBC category. OBC leaders have resolved to hold a massive morcha in Nagpur on October 10, they added.

Historically, the Marathwada region was under the Nizam of Hyderabad, whose administration documented castes and occupations in the Gazette. In 1918, Marathas were granted reservations in education and jobs, a precedent that is now being used to support their OBC claim. At that time, the Nizam ruled 17 districts, five of which, namely Aurangabad, Beed, Nanded, Parbhani, and Osmanabad, later became part of Maharashtra.

Incidentally, Sanjay Lakhe Patil, state coordinator of Maratha Kranti Morcha, has also spoken out against Jarange, claiming he has no “deep knowledge” of the Gazette. “Only Marathas with Kunbi records will benefit. The government is deceiving Marathas,” he alleged.