Declare Marathwada's Marathas as Kunbis, give quota: Jarange to delegation under retired HC judge

Mumbai, Aug 30 (PTI) Activist Manoj Jarange on Saturday told a delegation led by retired High Court judge Sandeep Shinde that the government must declare all Marathas of Marathwada as Kunbis and be given reservation.

The delegation met Jarange at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai this afternoon. He has been on an indefinite hunger strike since Friday seeking quota in government jobs and education for the Maratha community.

Jarange said the committee under retired judge Shinde had studied gazettes related to the issue for the past 13 months and now it was time for the panel to submit its report to pave the way for Marathas to get Kunbi status.

Jarange has been seeking a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. He has demanded that Marathas be recognised as Kunbis — an agrarian caste included in the OBC category — which will make them eligible for reservation in government jobs and education.

"Marathas in Marathwada must be declared as Kunbis and given reservation. The Hyderabad and Satara gazettes must be made into law for this," Jarange said.

In response, retired judge Shinde said he wasn't authorized to give such a report.

It was the job of the backward class commission, Shinde said.

"Caste certificate is given to individuals and not the entire community," he added.

The entire conservation between Shinde and Jarange was beamed live on Marathi news channels.

Justice (retd) Sandeep Shinde heads the committee formed in September 2023 by the then Eknath Shinde government to decide the methodology for issuing `Kunbi' caste certificates to members of the Maratha community.

The committee was asked to study the records of the former Hyderabad and Bombay states where Marathas are sometimes mentioned as Kunbis. Initially appointed for the region of Marathwada, its scope was later extended to cover the entire state. PTI MR ARU BNM