Maratha Quota: A Timeline Of The Decades Long Reservation Movement

The Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill 2024 received unanimous support in the assembly. Maratha Quota activist Manoj Jarange has refused to end the strike arguing that it did not meet his community's expectation.

On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Assembly passed a bill that guarantees a 10% reservation in jobs and education for the Maratha community. Earlier, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde presented the Maratha quota bill in the state’s assembly. Meanwhile, Maratha Quota activist Manoj Jarange has refused to end the strike arguig that it did not meet the expectations of his community. He said that they deserved reservation under OBC. Jarange was on a fast-unto-death protest for the demand of the Maratha quota and asked the government to set up a committee to look into the members of the community from the Marathwada region who are OBC (Other Backward Classes) antecedents. Here’s a timeline of the decade-long movement:

1981: The first protests demanding the Maratha reservation under the leadership of Annasaheb Patil started, which included demands for a separate reservation for the community. Also, the community has been requesting Kunbi caste certificates to qualify for inclusion in the OBC category for reservations. Kunbis, traditionally linked to agriculture, fall within the OBC classification in Maharashtra.  

2008: In July, the committee headed by retired Judge RM Bapat gave a report not favouring reservations for Marathas.  

2014: A committee led by Narayan Rane presented a report to the government, asserting that 32 percent of the state's population belonged to the Maratha community, requiring economic upliftment and warranting a reservation. Under the leadership of then Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the government endorsed a plan to allocate 16 percent of government jobs and educational institution seats for Marathas, along with 5 percent for Muslims.  

However, the ordinance faced legal opposition and was contested before the Bombay High Court, leading to the court issuing a stay on its implementation.  

2018: Justice MG Gaikwad, leading the nine-member Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission, presented its findings. Subsequently, the Maharashtra government, under the leadership of then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, enacted the Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act on November 30, based on the commission's recommendations.  

2019: The Act was then challenged before the Bombay High Court, which upheld the constitutional validity of the Maratha quota but reduced it to 12% in education and 13% in government jobs. However, this raised the total reservation limit to 64 percent and 65 percent, respectively.  

2022: The Supreme Court upheld the 10% quota for economically weaker sections. In April of the same year, the Supreme Court rejected the review plea filed by the Maharashtra government.  

During that period, the Maharashtra government established a committee led by former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, Dilip Bhosale, to examine the directives of the Supreme Court.  

2023: The committee chaired by Bhosale suggested that the government led by then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray should submit a review petition to the Supreme Court regarding the Maratha reservation matter. The government indeed filed the petition, but it was rejected in April of that year.  

2024: On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Assembly approved the Maratha Reservation Bill, granting the community a 10 percent reservation in education and government employment. The Maharashtra State Socially and Educationally Backward Bill 2024 received unanimous support, except for objections from Chhagan Bhujbal, a minister from the Nationalist Congress Party, who opposes the legislation. The Chief Minister is set to present the bill in the Legislative Council for approval, after which it will be enacted into law.