Mumbai, Aug 26 (PTI) Ahead of activist Manoj Jarange’s proposed indefinite hunger strike, the Maharashtra government has given an extension to a committee set up in 2023 to scrutinise Kunbi records of the Maratha community, whose members are seeking reservation under the OBC category.
The term of the committee, headed by retired Bombay High Court Judge Sandeep Shinde — which ended on June 30, 2026 — has been extended by a year till June 30, 2027, according to a government resolution (GR) dated August 25.
The multi-member panel was formed to decide the methodology for issuing Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members, enabling them to seek reservation in government jobs and education under the OBC (Other Backward Classes) category. It was mandated with the task of tracing Kunbi records of Maratha community members.
Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture, are grouped under the OBC category in Maharashtra and enjoy reservation benefits in education and government jobs.
The GR said the work to trace the Maratha-Kunbi genealogy is still not complete in some districts and accordingly the panel needed to be given more time to finish its task.
Thus, the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha reservation, chaired by senior minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, recommended extending the tenure of the panel by one year.
The committee was formed on September 7, 2023, and it has received multiple extensions since then. The panel was set up when Jarange launched his first of multiple rounds of hunger strike in support of Maratha quota demand.
Jarange had demanded that Marathas be given Kunbi caste certificates so that they can avail of OBC quota. The government has said those Marathas, who can produce old records where they or their ancestors are identified as Kunbi-Maratha, shall be issued such certificates.
Last month, Cabinet minister Vikhe Patil stated that the government found 58 lakh historical Kunbi records for the Maratha community, and about half of those eligible have received Kunbi caste certificates.
Activist Jarange, however, has remained firm on a hunger strike from August 29 at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district, reiterating his demand for reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category.
A delegation comprising Maharashtra ministers Shambhuraj Desai, Vikhe Patil, and Uday Samant met Jarange on Monday and appealed to him not to proceed with the agitation.
However, the 44-year-old activist has vowed to go head with his hunger strike and set August 28 as the deadline for the government to act on his demands. PTI PR RSY
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