Jarange Patil had demanded that the Kunbi certificate be extended to the
sage soyare
(or family tree) of those whose Kunbi lineage had been found.
The draft notification says, “
Sage soyare
shall be considered among the relations from the patriarchal relatives as well as relations forming out of marriages and proof being given to prove that the marriage is within the same caste.”
Senior officials say this will widen the scope of Marathas eligible for the Kunbi caste certificate. “However, India follows the patriarchal system and such a concession is liable to be challenged,” said a senior official.
Indeed, food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal who belongs to the OBC community said, “The sage soyare issue will not stand the test of law.” The state has sought suggestions and objections to the draft notification till February 16. “
This was the third agitation called by Jarange Patil on the Maratha quota issue, which has been on the boil since a lathi charge on his supporters in August. The Marathas are a dominant caste and estimated to account for a third of the state’s population. However, rising poverty within the farming community, has given rise to demands for the quota even for Marathas over time.
The current agitation has been focused on getting the OBC certificate for Marathas with Kunbi (OBC) lineage. The result has been a backlash from the OBC community, a key votebank of the BJP.
On Saturday, in a dramatic flourish, Shinde who belongs to the Maratha community and Jarange Patil appeared together on a crane and garlanded a statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji, watched by a cheering crowd of thousands of the activist’s supporters. They were showered with gulal by the activist’s supporters. They later applied gulal to each other.
“This is a victory for all my Maratha brethren. Now the government should implement this “ordinance”. It should not insult the gulal that has been showered today,” said Jarange Patil. He added, “If there is any betrayal, I will come to Azad Maidan,” he added.
Chief Minister Shinde said, “I have kept the oath made to Chhatrapati Shivaji to work for the Maratha quota. This is a historic moment for the community.” He congratulated Jarange Patil for leading a peaceful agitation “I am a farmer’s son and I understand the pain the community is going through,” he added.
He pointed out that the government had met several of Jarange Patil’s demands. “We have extended many of the benefits provided to the OBC community to Marathas, we have extended the term of the Shinde committee which is overseeing the Kunbi certificate matter by two months and we have also set up a committee to trace the family tree of those with Kunbi records,” said Shinde.
Jarange Patil has also been demanding that cases against Maratha agitators be dropped. However deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “Cases which involve attacks on the police or arson have to go before the court before they can be dropped.”
