MARATHA RESERVATION

22-02-2024

Recently, the Maharashtra state assembly passed a bill to give 10% reservation to the Maratha community in educational institutions and government jobs in Maharashtra.

Who are the Marathas?

The Marathas are a large group of people in Maharashtra.
Historically, they were known as a warrior caste with lots of land.
They include peasants, landowners, and others, making up about a third of the state's population.
While most Marathas speak Marathi, not everyone who speaks Marathi is Maratha.

Political dominance of Marathas in Maharashtra:

Land Ownership	More than 75%
Sugar Factories Ownership	82%
Control of Educational Institutions	55%
Cooperative Bodies	More than 70%
Chief Ministers (since 1962)	12 out of 18
MLAs (since 1962)	More than 60%

What is the History of the Maratha Reservation Demand?

1980	Annasaheb Patil from Congress demanded reservations on economic parameters.
1982	Patil killed himself as his demand was not accepted by Maharashtra Government
2014	Prithviraj Chauhan-led Congress government in Maharashtra brought an ordinance to provide 16% reservation to Marathas in educational institutions & government jobs. But, the Bombay High Court put a stay on the ordinance.
2015	Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Shivsena government passed a bill in the assembly to make the same ordinance an act. But, the Bombay High Court put a stay on the same.
2017	The Maharashtra government set up the Gaikwad Commission which highlighted the backwardness of the Maratha committee in its report.
2018	Devendra Fadnavis led BJP-Shivsena government brought Maharashtra’s Socially & Educationally Backward Class Act, 2018. This act provided 16% reservation to Marathas in in educational institutions & government jobs. But, the Bombay High Court changed this quota to: 12% in Educational Institutions 13% in Jobs
2021	Supreme Court cancelled the reservation to the Maratha Community altogether, highlighting that the Maratha community is part of the mainstream and is politically dominant. Also, the Maharashtra government could not provide justifiable data to cross the 50% limit of reservation in the state. In the 1992 Indira Sawhney case, the Supreme Court said that usually, the quota should be limited to 50%. However, in some exceptional cases, this rule can be relaxed.
2023	Eknath Shinde-led government formed the Justice Shukre Panel to do a large survey. The panel came up with data which justifies the backwardness of Marathas.

Highlights of the Justice Shukre Panel Report:

84% of the total Maratha population in Maharashtra is backward.
Due to such a high population, they cannot be given reservations under the OBC quota.
The reasons for their backwardness include:
1. Extreme Poverty
2. Decline in Agricultural Income
3. Fragmentation of land into smaller units
Marathas contribute up to 94% of the farmer suicides in Maharashtra.
They have inadequate representation in all sectors of public services and have remained “completely out of the mainstream”.
Hence, a 10% separate reservation should be provided to Marathas.

Note: The recent move to provide reservations to Marathas by the Maharashtra government is based on the Shukre Panel’s suggestions. However, the role of the Supreme Court and Parliament cannot be denied as there will be a need for a constitutional amendment to provide such a reservation.

Reservation Statistics in Maharashtra:

Scheduled Caste (SC)	13%
Scheduled Tribes (ST)	7%
Other Backward Classes (OBC)	19%
Special Backward Class (SBC)	2%
Nomadic Tribes	11%
Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)	10%
Recent Maratha Reservation	10%
Total Reservation in Maharashtra	72%
Total States in India have crossed the 50% limit for reservation	22