Maharashtra Government Issues Notice on Kunbi Caste Certificates for Maratha Community Members
Move Aims to Address Maratha Quota Activist's Demand and Reservation Concerns
On Saturday, the Maharashtra government issued a notice designating as Kunbis those blood relations of Maratha community members for whom documents of their Kunbi caste have been located.
The Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange, who is leading the protest over the reservation issue, has been seeking Kunbi credentials for all Marathas. Kunbi is an agricultural group that belongs to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
The Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-Notified Tribes, Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuing and Verification of) Caste Certificate (Amendment) Rules, 2024 are the possible names for the proposed regulations, according to the announcement.
According to the notification, the applicant must submit an affidavit proving his relationship to his uncle, nephew, and other blood relatives as well as "patriarchal" relatives who have verified that the applicant's Kunbi records identify them as their "sage soyare" (blood relatives). Only then will the applicant's Kunbi caste certificates be granted.
The Kunbi caste certificates would be provided promptly after the completion of a field investigation and verification, it said.
The term'sage soyare' encompasses the relatives of the candidate's father, grandfather, great grandpa, and previous generations who were born out of caste marriages. It said that relationships resulting from unions within the same caste would fall under this category.
According to the rules,'sage soyare' refers to the relatives of Maratha people whose records indicate they are Kunbi and who would be granted certificates of Kunbi caste.
According to the statement, relations born out of marriages within the same caste of an individual having a record of being a Kunbi would also get the caste certificate.
"All the 'sage soyare' being in relation of the persons belonging to the Maratha community, whose record of being Kunbi has been found shall be given certificates on the basis of the Kunbi records of such persons belonging to Maratha community," the announcement said.
