New Delhi: The Maratha neighborhood, which types a few third of Maharashtra’s inhabitants, is agitating for reservation in schooling and jobs beneath the OBC class. The state authorities has known as an all-party assembly right this moment (11 September) to resolve the difficulty, which has led to violent protests in some elements of the state. The chief of the agitation, Manoj Jarange-Patil, has been on a starvation strike since 29 August in Jalna district
Who Are The Marathas?
The Marathas are a dominant caste group that constitutes about 30-35% of the state’s inhabitants and has traditionally wielded important political and financial energy. However, the neighborhood claims that it has been dealing with social and academic backwardness because of the lack of sufficient illustration in public establishments and employment alternatives.
The Marathas are a bunch of castes who’re primarily farmers and landowners. They have been probably the most highly effective and influential caste group in Maharashtra for the reason that state was shaped in 1960. Out of the 20 chief ministers to this point, 12 have been from the Maratha neighborhood, together with the present one, Eknath Shinde.Â
The Demand For Reservation
The Marathas have been demanding reservation for many years, citing their social and academic backwardness attributable to agrarian misery and lack of alternatives. The situation has sparked a number of mass actions and influenced state politics since 1981.
The demand grew to become extra intense after a 14-year-old Maratha lady was raped and murdered by three Dalit males in Ahmednagar district in 2016. The incident outraged the Marathas, who additionally accused the Dalits of misusing the SC/ST Act to harass and extort them. The Marathas demanded the scrapping or modification of the Act, which they claimed was getting used as a weapon towards them.
In 2017 and 2018, the Marathas organized big rallies throughout the state to press for his or her reservation demand.
The Current Developments: A Renewed Wave Of Protests
The present protests have turned violent in some elements of Maharashtra, the place protestors have vandalized public property, torched automobiles, attacked politicians’ workplaces and residences, and clashed with police. Several instances have been registered towards protestors for rioting, arson, assault, and illegal meeting .
The chief of the agitation, Manoj Jarange-Patil, has been on a starvation strike since 29 August in Jalna district. He has reportedly refused to take water and intravenous assist.
The agitation has additionally put strain on the ruling MVA coalition authorities in Maharashtra, comprising Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress, to discover a answer to revive reservation for the Marathas. The authorities has shaped a cupboard sub-committee headed by Public Works Minister Ashok Chavan to look into varied authorized choices and seek the advice of consultants on easy methods to overcome the Supreme Court’s verdict. The authorities has additionally appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene within the matter and embrace the Marathas within the central OBC listing .
The Legal Status
The authorized standing of the Maratha reservation has been a sophisticated and controversial situation, involving a number of court docket instances and legislative interventions. Here is a quick timeline of the main occasions associated to the difficulty:
In 2014, earlier than the state Assembly elections, the Congress-NCP authorities handed an ordinance giving 16 per cent reservation to the Marathas beneath a brand new class known as SEBC. However, the Bombay High Court stayed the ordinance, saying that it violated the Supreme Court’s 50 per cent cap on reservations set in 1992.
In 2018, after successful the elections, the BJP-Shiv Sena authorities appointed a fee headed by retired Justice M.G. Gaikwad to review the socio-economic standing of the Marathas. The fee submitted its report in November 2018, stating that the Marathas had been socially and educationally backward and deserved reservation. Based on this report, the state authorities handed a legislation giving 16 per cent reservation to the Marathas beneath SEBC.
In 2019, the Bombay High Court upheld the constitutionality of the legislation, however lowered the reservation from 16 per cent to 12 per cent for schooling and 13 per cent for jobs, saying that it was not justified. The court docket additionally mentioned that the 50 per cent cap on reservations may very well be exceeded in distinctive instances.
In 2020, some petitioners challenged the Bombay High Court’s verdict within the Supreme Court, arguing that it violated the precept of equality and that there was no distinctive case to breach the 50 per cent cap on reservations. The Supreme Court referred the matter to a bigger bench of 5 judges and stayed the implementation of the Maratha reservation till additional orders.
In 2021, after listening to arguments from either side, the Supreme Court struck down the Maharashtra legislation granting reservation to the Marathas, saying that it was unconstitutional and that there was no legitimate motive to exceed the 50 per cent cap on reservations. The court docket additionally mentioned that solely the President of India had the ability to determine and embrace any neighborhood within the OBC listing beneath Article 342A of the Constitution, which was inserted by the 102nd Constitutional Amendment in 2018.
