Maratha Reservation: 'Sage Soyare' And Protests Led By Maharashtra Activist Manoj Jarange — Explained

Maratha Activist Manoj Jarange said that the Maharashtra government should implement the draft notification on 'blood relatives' of Kunbi Marathas within two days.

File photo of Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange. ( Image Source :PTI )

Maratha Activist Manoj Jarange has continued his protest against the Maharashtra government demanding caste-based reservations despite a bill introduced in the state assembly and warned of a 'rasta roko' on March 3. 

Though Jarange approved of the bill introduced by the Eknath Shinde government, he said that the proposed reservation didn't align with the community's demands. 

He said that the Maharashtra government should implement the draft notification on 'blood relatives' of Kunbi Marathas within two days, failing which the community members would stage non-violent road blockades across the state from February 24.  

Jarange, while speaking at a meeting of the Maratha community members at Antarwali sarti village in Jalna district, said he would protest peacefully.

What is 'Sage Soyare'?

'Sage Soyare' is a Marathi term which means ‘relatives from the family tree’. 

As per the Maharashtra government notification, 'Sage soyare' includes “relatives of an applicant’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather and in earlier generations forming out of marriages within the same caste.”

"...The sage-soyare shall be considered among the relations/relatives from the patriarchal relatives as well as the relations forming out of marriages and proof being given to prove that the marriage is within the same caste, the Kunbi caste certificate shall be issued after field enquiry,” the notifcation states.

According to a report in The Indian Express, relations through marriage that are formed after a marriage within the same caste will also be considered sage-soyare. 

What is Jarange Demanding?

The Maharashtra Assembly during a one-day special session on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill providing 10 per cent reservation for the Marathas in education and government jobs under a separate category.

The bill for the 10 percent Maratha quota is similar to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, introduced by the then Devendra Fadnavis government.

However, Jarange has been firm on his demand for quota for the community under the OBC head. 

On the other hand, the bill states that a substantial number of castes and groups are already placed in the reserved category, getting about 52 per cent of reservations altogether. It would be completely inequitable to place the Maratha community in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.

But Jarange said, "Provide us reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category for those who can prove their Kunbi identity, and for those who cannot provide proof, pass a law for 'Sage Soyare'."

As per the draft notification issued by the state government last month, if a Maratha person has proof to show that he or she belongs to the Kunbi caste, the person’s blood relatives too would be recognised as Kunbi. 

Therefore, if a person with a Kunbi certificate from Kumbi-Maratha marries someone from their own caste without a certificate, the family of the other person will now be eligible to get a Kunbi certificate as well.

However, Jarange has expressed apprehension that the legislation will not stand legal scrutiny. The Maratha community people have understood that this is the same reservation that they were given earlier also (but was later struck down), he added.
 
He said the government issued a draft notification for giving quota to the relatives of Marathas but didn't implement it and no discussion took place over it in the special session of the assembly.

What To Expect In Future?

Jarange has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a serious note of the matter and not hold the (upcoming Lok Sabha) elections until the reservation issue is addressed.  
He has demanded that the draft notification be implemented within two days, failing which he warned of a series of non-violent 'rasta roko' agitations across various villages, towns and cities in the state.  

The 'rasta roko' protests would also be held at every district level on March 3, he said. He urged all Marathas to actively participate in the protests and added that Maratha activists would take the responsibility of ensuring their safe transport of students to the examination halls.

If the reservation is not implemented, elderly members of the Maratha community would resort to hunger strikes from February 24-29, he said, adding that CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis would be responsible for any harm caused to those protesters.  

Around 20 lakh senior members of the Maratha community would participate in hunger strikes across the state, he further added.