Commission to submit report on Maratha backwardness

Mumbai: All eyes are on the state commission’s report on the backwardness of the Maratha community, which is expected to be submitted by Thursday. The state government has asked the commission to find out if the Maratha community is backward or not. The report of the commission will be important in granting reservation to Marathas in the state. The community has been demanding reservation on the lines of OBCs in the state.

The Maharashtra government has asked the backward commission to find out details on the backwardness of the Maratha community. Earlier, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government had given reservation to the Maratha community through an ordinance but the Bombay high court struck it down. Since then, the question about the backwardness of the community has been hanging in balance.

Former Bombay high court Justice M.G. Gaikwad presided over the work of the commission that went through the economic and cultural dimensions of the issue. The commission is expected to submit its report by November 15.

When Maratha youths staged a protest in August 2018, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured them of reservation. He said that the commission would submit its report by November 15 and his government would then take appropriate action based on the report.

It is expected that the state government will put up the findings of the report during the winter session of the state Legislature starting November 19. In this session, the state government will give an idea regarding the way forward in granting reservation to the Maratha community. The commission’s report is classified and will be handed over to the chief secretary of the state.

History of demand for reservation

The Maratha community has been demanding reservation since the late 1980s. The then leader of the community, Annasaheb Patil, held an agitation for the same. In the 90s, the community witnessed the rise of several groups over the same demand. In the noughties, these organisations started raising their demand for reservation in different ways. In 2012, all 32 organisations came under a single umbrella, “Maratha Arakshan Sangharsha Samiti”. In 2016, this committee led marches around the state pressing their demand.

Possibilities of discussion over report

There are a number of possibilities being discussed in the state over the report.
If the report says that the community is backward, the state government can bring introduce the bill during the session to clear Maratha reservation.
As Maratha reservation is likely to cross the limit of 50 per cent, the state government could recommend a Constitutional amendment for the inclusion of the Maratha community in the reservation category.