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Journalism of Courage
The Maratha Kranti Morcha, which has spearheaded the Maratha community’s agitation for reservation, has objected to the way the Maharashtra government conducts a door-to-door survey on the community’s social and economic status.
“What is currently going on in the name of the so-called survey is nothing short of a farce. The government is conducting a hurried survey which will ultimately prove detrimental to the community’s interests,” Rajendra Kunjir, coordinator of the Maratha Kranti Morcha and a former president of the Maratha Seva Sangh, told The Indian Express on Tuesday.
The government has ordered the survey to be conducted from January 23 to 31. “The survey was ordered by the state government as it has to make submissions before the Supreme Court regarding the curative petition. It wants to submit details regarding the social economic conditions of the Maratha community. The survey is being conducted through the Maharashtra Commission for Backward Classes,” he said.
Kunjir said that besides the pressure stemming from the court case, the government was also worried about the Maratha Arakshan Morcha launched by activist Manoj Jarange-Patil.
“Now that the government has accepted all demands of Jarange-Patil, who has withdrawn his agitation, the government should not show undue hurry in completing the survey. It should extend the deadline for the survey by at least one month so that the surveyors can conduct a proper and dignified survey,” he said.
Criticising the questions framed for the survey, Kunjir said, “There are as many as 154 questions which the surveyors are supposed to ask of a Maratha family. But they don’t ask these many questions. At the most they ask 14-5 questions and then scoot. If the team is really interested in conducting the survey, it should ask more questions. On top of this, the questions themselves are so ridiculous that families refuse to answer them,” he said.
“For instance, a question is whether a widow applies vermilion on her forehead. Then there are a clutch of questions related to the same topic. Why would anyone want to answer the same set of questions repeatedly? There should be no more than 10-15 questions,” he added.
Rajendra Kondhare, another coordinator of the Maratha Kranti Morcha, said, “The government’s intention is good. However, the time limit for the survey is very less. The government should extend the time limit so that the surveyors can go door to door and collect full information.”
