On November 29,2018 in barely nine minutes, the state assembly enacted
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s bill granting the Marathas 16 per
cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions. And,
by December 1, the bill had already been published in the state gazette,
following Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao’s approval.
Pending since 1982, the Maratha community’s demand for reservation got a fillip after the State Backward Commission, headed by former Justice M.G. Gaikwad, concluded that the community was economically, socially and educationally backwards. It found that 37.3 per cent Marathas lived below the poverty line; 62.8 per cent had small or marginal land holdings; and 70 per cent lived in mud houses. As per the commission’s recommendations, the government created a separate Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) category to include the Marathas in the ambit of reservations, so that the existing 19 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) remained unaffected. The quota for the Marathas takes reservations in the state to 68 per cent, which is 18 per cent more than that mandated by the Supreme Court. The Constitution, however, permits state governments to extend reservations beyond 50 per cent in special circumstances. Certain to be challenged in the court, the commission’s findings are contrary to what backward classes commissions, headed by S.C. Khatri and R.M. Bapat, reported 15 years ago; both concluded that the Marathas, who were a socially progressive group, did not qualify for reservation.
Pending since 1982, the Maratha community’s demand for reservation got a fillip after the State Backward Commission, headed by former Justice M.G. Gaikwad, concluded that the community was economically, socially and educationally backwards. It found that 37.3 per cent Marathas lived below the poverty line; 62.8 per cent had small or marginal land holdings; and 70 per cent lived in mud houses. As per the commission’s recommendations, the government created a separate Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) category to include the Marathas in the ambit of reservations, so that the existing 19 per cent quota for Other Backward Classes (OBC) remained unaffected. The quota for the Marathas takes reservations in the state to 68 per cent, which is 18 per cent more than that mandated by the Supreme Court. The Constitution, however, permits state governments to extend reservations beyond 50 per cent in special circumstances. Certain to be challenged in the court, the commission’s findings are contrary to what backward classes commissions, headed by S.C. Khatri and R.M. Bapat, reported 15 years ago; both concluded that the Marathas, who were a socially progressive group, did not qualify for reservation.
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