A major traffic disruption crippled southern Mumbai as the Maratha quota agitation entered its fourth day on Monday.
The chief campaigner of the protest, Manoj Jarange Patil—who has been on a fast-unto-death since Friday—threatened to stop intake of water.
The Maharashtra government has been in a huddle since Sunday.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held late-night meetings with his cabinet ministers after the 43-year-old activist refused to meet a government delegation.
Fadnavis has said that the government is seeking legal opinion despite past court rulings declaring the Maratha reservation illegal.
The Maratha community accounts for 30% of the Maharashtra population.
Quota demand
Marathas are considered a socially and politically dominant group in the state. Yet, they have sought reservation under the Other Backward Classes category.
Earlier, they demanded 16% reservation, which the government complied with in 2021. But it was later struck down by the Supreme Court as it breached the 50% quota cap.
Patil then pitched a solution to the court order, with a 10% quota demand. He said that Marathas should be classified as Kunbis—a Maratha sub-group that enjoys reservation under the OBC category.
He claims that this demand is rooted in history. He said that most Marathas were recorded as Kunbis in British-era educational and revenue records. He cited the Hyderabad Gazette as evidence.
Who are Kunbis?
But not many are happy with this classification.
Spread across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, the Kunbis are a largely agrarian community with small land holdings and low incomes.
Some sections of the Marathas view Kunbis as an inferior caste, and hence seek a separate quota.
Nevertheless, the government has responded positively to their demands.
It has formed a sub-committee headed by a retired high court judge to scrutinise Kunbi records of the Maratha community.
But if the Marathas are granted OBC status, this would reduce the representation of other OBCs.
All eyes are now on the government, as the quota agitation intensifies.
