Maharashtra: Marathas In Marathwada To Receive Kunbi Certificate As Half Of Jarange Patil’s Demand Accepted

Mumbai, 31st October 2023: In response to the ongoing agitation led by Manoj Jarange Patil, demanding recognition of Maratha reservation, the Maharashtra state government has partially accepted the demand. As Jarange Patil’s health deteriorates during his fast unto death, signs of unrest are evident in the state. Although the complete demand for Marathas to be given reservation under OBC by receiving Kunbi certificates throughout Maharashtra is yet to be acknowledged, there is a significant development in Marathwada.

Today, the state government issued an order in Marathwada, directing the issuance of Kunbi certificates after thorough verification of documents from Nizam era.

The committee, chaired by former Justice Sandeep Shinde (Retd.), was appointed by the General Administration Department on September 7, 2023, to prescribe the procedure for issuing Kunbi, Kunbi-Maratha caste certificates to eligible persons. Over the past one and a half months, the committee has extensively studied documents in Urdu, Kannada, Marathi, and Modi scripts in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Approximately one crore and thirteen lakh documents have been examined by the committee.

The committee’s findings suggest that many citizens of Marathwada may be eligible to receive Kunbi certificates. While the deadline has been extended until December, a Government Resolution (GR) has been issued for Marathwada to provide temporary relief.

The government order includes the following key points:
a) The competent authority is directed to initiate the process of issuing Kunbi caste certificates to individuals whose records were identified by the Justice Sandeep Shinde (Retd.) Committee.

b) Documents in Modi and Urdu languages should be translated, preserved, digitized, authenticated, and made public, and Kunbi caste certificates should be issued based on that basis.

c) The Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Exempt Castes, Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Special Backward Classes (Regulation of Issuance of Caste Certificates and its Verification) Rules, 2012, should be improved, considering the evidence submitted to the Shinde Committee.

d) The procedure for issuing caste certificates of Maratha-Kunbi and Kunbi-Maratha caste, as recommended by the Shinde committee, should be followed.

e) An advisory board comprising Justice Dilip Bhosle (Retd.), Justice Maroti Gaikwad (Retd.), and Justice Sandeep Shinde (Retd.) has been established to guide the government on legal matters related to Maratha reservation.

f) The State Backward Classes Commission will be informed to collect new empirical data to investigate the social and educational backwardness of the Maratha community.