Mumbai: In a special session on Tuesday, the Maharashtra assembly unanimously passed the Maratha Reservation Bill providing 10 per cent reservation to Maratha community in government jobs and education.

Notably, the Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill 2024, once enacted, will undergo a thorough review after a decade of implementation.

While reacting on the Bill, Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil said, "This decision of the government has been taken by keeping election and votes in mind. This is a betrayal to the Maratha community...Maratha community won't trust you. We will benefit only from our original demands. Make a law on ‘sage-soyare’...This reservation won't hold. The Government will now lie that the reservation has been given."

Who are the Marathas?

It's a  group of castes comprising of peasants, landowners and warriors. While the top layer of the Marathas—with surnames like Deshmukh, Bhonsle, More, Shirke, Jadhav—are the Kshatriyas (warriors), the rest belong to a predominantly agrarian sub-caste called Kunbi.

However, this fine demarcation between the Kshatriya Marathas and the Kunbis held true only until the Maratha empire existed. In contemporary Maharashtra, a majority of Marathas are engaged in agriculture.

The quintessential Maratha who is on streets demanding quota is from this agrarian background.

Why are Marathas Demanding Reservation?

While the Marathas in the past have demanded reservation for the community in government jobs and education, Manoj Jarange Patil (the face of agitation) is demanding Kumbi caste certificates for Marathas so that they can be included into the OBC groups.

Legal Battel for Reservation
In 2021, the Supreme Court struck down Maharashtra's Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, which granted reservations to the Maratha community for violating the 50% limit on reservations and the 102nd Amendment of the Constitution.