After all, on whose instigation is the Maratha movement taking place?
Pratibha Ganbote comes from Phaltan area of Baramati region of Maharashtra. He is a social worker and belongs to the OBC community. Regarding reservation, she clearly says that this issue is politically motivated. According to him, how did Sharad Pawar, who was till now against Maratha reservation, suddenly become its supporter?
In Maharashtra, Marathas are a powerful community and also a weak one, but the same powerful community is fueling this movement. Patil, Pawar etc. have been very powerful among the Marathas. Before independence, all the landlords were from this Patil community. But these powerful Marathas are fighting their battle by pushing the weaker Marathas forward. If he wins, power will come into his hands. Then perhaps these people will push back this reservation issue.
Reservation also limited to families
Pratibha says, that is why Baba Saheb had said that the period of reservation should be kept only for ten years. In ten years that community will become economically and socially capable, otherwise the same family, which is already capable, will ask for reservation again and again. If an impartial investigation is done about the people who have got reservation in jobs, it will be found that only those people are taking advantage of reservation for the last four-five generations, whose father, grandfather or great grandfather are economically and socially prosperous due to reservation. Were strengthened by. In such a situation, where will those who have not been able to avail the benefits of reservation till date go? This is a kind of neo-Brahminism. This is the reason that people who go to the bottom of the society have started raising questions as to who got the benefit of reservation?
Life came to a standstill in Marathwada
The way the issue of Maratha reservation is taking a violent turn this time, it is clear that behind this movement are those whose political interests are linked to this movement. Interestingly, Sharad Pawar, who is currently in alliance with the Congress, comes from the powerful Maratha community and the Chief Minister of the Shinde government, Eknath Shinde himself belongs to the Kunbi community of the weak Maratha community. The Maharashtra cabinet has also taken the decision to give reservation to Kunbi community of Maratha community on Monday. They will be given reservation in OBC quota. The government has taken this decision in view of the aggressive and violent form of the movement. The entire life has come to a standstill in Maharashtra. Even everyday things are difficult to get. Ruchi Bhalla, living in Phaltan, says, people are wandering here even for small things.
OBC afraid of Maratha reservation
Such is the situation of violence that internet services have been closed till November 2 in two districts of Marathwada – Jalna and Beed. Four people have attempted suicide. The agitators of Marathwada were not happy with bringing only the Kunbi community under the ambit of reservation. They want to bring the entire Maratha community under the ambit of OBC reservation, but many things are coming in the way. If the entire Maratha community comes under the ambit of reservation, then the flag of Maratha community will fly on all the quotas set for OBCs. Even in Maharashtra, powerful people of Maratha community are dominant in every field. In 1960, the States Reorganization Commission abolished Bombay State and created Maharashtra State. From then till now Marathas dominate Maharashtra politics. Only Manohar Joshi and Devendra Fadnavis or Antulay have become non-Maratha Chief Ministers.
Land and politics are with Marathas but non-Marathas are in jobs.
Then what is the problem, that the Maratha community is restless about its reservation? Marathas are actually a warrior community. During the time of Shivaji, when Maratha rule was established in this region, most of the jagirdars and land tax collectors came from this community. After independence, most of the farmers of Maharashtra were from this Maratha community.
Marathas had large land holdings. This community got money and political power from sugarcane, cotton, tobacco and onion, but when the families grew and divided, it was found that the land area kept decreasing, hence the youth of Maratha community had to look for jobs. But the jobs in the state were either with Brahmins or with CKP (Chandraseni Kayastha Prabhu). In such a situation, Marathas had to protest for jobs.
Movement intensified during Fadnavis’s tenure
The sporadic demand for Maratha reservation is about 40 years old, but the demand gained intensity in 2016. At that time there was Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra. The powerful people of Maratha society understood that now Maratha society will not be able to maintain its political supremacy on the basis of farming. At that time there were two years of continuous agitation and then the state government decided to give 16 percent reservation for Marathas. But this order violated the reservation limits set by the Supreme Court. A five-member bench of the Supreme Court canceled this order of the state government in May 2021. Then the pro-reservation leaders said that their community should be given Kunbi caste certificate. This caste is already under the ambit of reservation. But now reservation movement leader Manoj Jarange Patil is saying that Kunbi caste certificate should be given to the entire Maratha community.
save the kunbi or the marathas
It is difficult for the state government to issue Kunbi caste certificate to the entire Maratha community. Due to this, the Kunbi community of Maharashtra will also get angry. The truth is also that Marathas like Patil, Pawar, Deshmukh, Chavan, Bhosle etc. are rich and powerful too. Pratibha Ganbote herself told that the Naik Nimbalkar people of the princely state where Phalton was earlier, are also Marathas. He is always with the government, so nowadays he is with the BJP. Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Raje Narvekar is from this royal family. They are also indirectly supporting the Maratha movement. The present descendants of Shivaji, the Bhonsle family, are openly fueling the Maratha movement. But everyone is under a misconception. And that is, the more intense the movement becomes, the more the ruling BJP will try to make it OBC versus Maratha.
Whom will the movement clean?
In Maharashtra, local body, assembly and Lok Sabha elections are held one by one. There is division among all the political parties except BJP, Congress, Sharad Pawar’s National Congress Party and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena. In such a situation, it is too early to say who will benefit and who will be harmed by this fast and violent reservation, but there is no doubt that every party is seeking its own interests in the name of it. Many people lost their lives in the movement and many people are trapped. Manoj Jarange Patil himself is on fast. Threats are being made every day. Yesterday, the convoy of a state government minister, Hassan, was attacked. An MP supporting Shinde has resigned. Obviously, every political party in Maharashtra is afraid and is also fueling this movement.
