Marathas to get Kunbi certificates for OBC quota in Maharashtra

After five days of a mass sit in that paralysed parts of south Mumbai, activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday called off his indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan after a Maharashtra cabinet subcommittee accepted key elements of his demand to enable Marathas to seek OBC benefits, officials and participants said. Jarange had camped at the historic ground from August 29, demanding a 10 percent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Classes category by recognising eligible Marathas as Kunbis on the basis of historical gazette records.

The cabinet subcommittee chaired by Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil agreed to implement the Hyderabad gazette provisions and to set up timebound verification arrangements to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha claimants who can produce documentary evidence, a government release said. The Social Justice department issued a government resolution outlining a village level scrutiny panel of a Gram Sevak, a Talathi and an Assistant Agriculture Officer to vet claims. Jarange read out the draft to supporters and declared, "We have won," after the meeting, participants said.

Jarange’s demand and the government response unfolded amid escalating...