Marathas pushed to ‘dark edges of mainstream society’, backward classes panel tells Bombay HC
The commission said that it found ‘exceptional backwardness’ in the community, which would justify granting 10% reservation to it.
The Maratha community in Maharashtra has been “pushed to the dark edges of mainstream society”, a state commission on Thursday told the Bombay High Court while justifying its recommendation for 10% reservation to the community, The Indian Express reported.
The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission, through an affidavit filed by member secretary Asharani Patil, told the court that it found “exceptional backwardness” amongst the Marathas.
The commission submitted its report to the Maharashtra government on February 15. Based on its recommendations, the Maharashtra Assembly passed a bill that provided 10% quota in education and government jobs for the Maratha community.
The Bombay High Court is hearing petitions challenging the backward class commission’s report.
The commission on Thursday told the court that it collected data from 1.58 crore households, which showed the “regression” of the community in terms of economic and social backwardness, and in terms of representation in government services, The Times of India reported.
The panel found that the representation of Marathas in government services reduced from 14.63% in 2018 to 9% in 2024. Child marriages among girls in the community increased from 0.32% to 13.7% since 2018, it said.
The commission added: “The occupational identification of the Maratha community was considered as secondary and/or uncountable in the social hierarchy in the State. Thus, the Maratha community was being looked down upon [by the open category/forward caste] to treat it to be a sign of backwardness and is seen as stigmatic one.”
The Maratha community can no longer be considered as part of the mainstream of society in the real sense of the term, the report said, according to The Indian Express.
The commission told the court that while there is a 50% ceiling on total reservation as per a 1992 Supreme Court judgement, there is no bar on implementing a quota beyond that percentage in “exceptional or extraordinary circumstances”.
The community’s long-standing demand for reservations in education and government jobs had resurfaced last year with protests and hunger strikes by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil. The agitation had witnessed violence, suicides and the resignation of legislators.
