Maratha quota protest: The first Kunbi caste certificate was issued by Dharashiv District Collector in Maharashtra on Wednesday. This comes a day after the Maharashtra government published an order on Tuesday asking officials concerned to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for them to avail reservation benefits under the OBC category.
A Government Resolution (GR) asked the officials to translate old documents having references to Kunbis and written in Urdu and the 'Modi' script (which was used to write the Marathi language in earlier times). These documents are to be digitised, attested and then put in the public domain.
The decision comes a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said a government-appointed committee scrutinised 1.72 crore old documents and among them, 11,530 records were found where Kunbi caste was mentioned.
About Kunbis community
Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture, are grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Maharashtra and enjoy reservation benefits in education and government jobs.
To validate the evidence documents submitted by 12 different departments of the Maharashtra government, the administration has been asked to modify the 2012 rules for issuing caste certificates to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Nomadic Tribes and OBCs, said the GR.
Advisory council appointed
The GR also approved the appointment of three retired judges -- Justice Dilip Bhosale, Justice Maroti Gaikwad and Justice Sandeep Shinde -- to act as advisory council members for the government. Justice Bhosale will serve as the council chairman. The State Backward Class Commission will be asked to collect fresh empirical data to assess the educational and social backwardness of the Maratha community, said the order.
Maratha protest
It should be mentioned here that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde convened an all-party meeting on Wednesday. While quota activist Manoj Jarange's indefinite fast has entered the 8th day, incidents of violence were witnessed in many parts of the state in the last three days. Meanwhile, the police have stepped up security at the residence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur in view of the ongoing agitation in parts of the state.
