Opinion Suhas Palshikar writes on Maratha reservation row: Maharashtra, on the brink again

The other demand is that Parliament should by law raise the 50 per cent cap dictated by the SC. Both demands would open up unknown and mostly undesirable effects. In particular, if the state concedes the immediate demand, it won’t stop with Marathwada. In western Maharashtra too, the same demand will erupt and result in the Marathas possibly getting reservation at the cost of other OBCs.

One would have expected that after the provision of reservation for economically weaker sections was approved by the court, the issue of Maratha reservation would be defused. Many scholars have already pointed out the deep internal economic stratification among the larger Maratha caste cluster. In view of this stratification, the economically weaker Marathas can now avail of reservation under the EWS category. On the other hand, if all Marathas are accorded Kunbi (OBC) status, the better-off sections in the community are more likely to benefit rather than the poor peasants.

But a combination of deeply fragmented politics of the Maratha community, an irresponsible political establishment and the inevitable slippage of caste claims into conflicts of caste identity have produced the current moment. If the initial legislation to provide reservation to Marathas represented a helpless and clumsy politics, the subsequent revised legislation in 2018 was even more cynical and characterised by one-upmanship and disregard of propriety. To add to that, the High Court chose to rather perfunctorily address the complex issues, approving reservation and necessitating a five-judge SC bench to later reject the policy.

Even today, when the situation is reaching a boiling point, there is no leader left in the state who could address all groups in a voice of caution, sanity and innovation. From Sharad Pawar to Prakash Ambedkar, everyone is competing with others in demanding that the 50 per cent cap be lifted — as if that would solve the Maratha question. Clearly, the effort seems to be to postpone the crisis by getting the Centre involved. This will involve politics in the states of Haryana and Gujarat as well; but more than that, it will reopen many pending demands from all over the country.

In Maharashtra itself, concurrent with the Maratha agitation, the Dhangar community has renewed its agitation over the demand for inclusion in the ST category instead of the current inclusion in the larger OBC category (subcategorised as Nomadic Tribe with a share in reservation along with Denotified Tribes). A similar case could be the earlier conflict between the Gujjars and Meenas of Rajasthan. But those eager to cultivate support among the Maratha community do not seem bothered with these larger issues cascading from their actions. Or, they calculate that this will put the Modi government in a spot. In either case, that is short-sighted politics.

Nobody has bothered to tell the agitating youth that besides the issue of the 50 per cent cap, a separate quota to a single caste is bound to be a stumbling block. This issue is mentioned in the ruling by Justice Ashok Bhushan in para 256 of his ruling and that part of the ruling is agreed upon by the other four judges too. The point is, therefore, that Maratha politics has to move in a different direction altogether.

However, such is our public sphere that there is little discussion of the reason given in the SC ruling denying reservation to Marathas; there is no serious discussion of the implications of conceding Kunbi status to all Marathas; among political circles, there is no regard for the possible implications of lifting the 50 per cent cap and above all, there is not much reporting on possible pathways for Marathas to change their long time politics over reservation.

Historically, one section of the Maratha community was never excited by Mandal – almost being critical of it – while another section demanded that all Marathas should be treated as backward. More recently, during the 2010s, politics of the community veered toward a consensus on giving OBC status to all Marathas. While all political parties hitchhiked on this platform in view of the large numbers that the community commands, many influential intellectuals from the community too enthusiastically supported this consensus and gave legitimacy to it (or gained legitimacy for themselves?). However, of late a leader of Sambhaji Brigade, Pravin Gaikwad, has made a nuanced move. Accepting that Maratha reservation is a complicated issue, he draws attention to the root cause: The economic deprivation faced by a large number of Marathas and argues that the collective action of the Marathas needs to be focused on economic uplift and exploring avenues of economic well-being rather than reservation. This view is very sparsely reported in the media because the entire attention is on the politics of volcanic and difficult demands.

While the Maratha demand draws attention to the deep fault lines in Marathi society, it also underscores the policy bankruptcy in the state. Continuing agrarian distress, simultaneous draining of urban-industrial employment and the mushrooming of insecure gig employment as the last resort, are blots on the policy universe for which no policy makers, past or present, feel embarrassed. Or perhaps, they hide their embarrassment behind heightened caste pride and politics of caste identities.

Support for the current demand might unify a community that has been going through social fragmentation. Once that happens, the competition to politically reap the benefits will ensue. In this sense, the ongoing Maratha agitation is rooted in the extremely fragmented politics of Maharashtra, in the economic crisis of the state and in the policy vacuum in which tall claims, false promises and whipping up of passions dress up as wisdom and astuteness.

The writer, based in Pune, taught political science