What Others Could Not Do, Devabhao Accomplished

For the past five years, the issue of Maratha reservation has been a burning topic in progressive Maharashtra. Since August 29, during the festive season in Mumbai, the Maratha reservation movement had drawn the attention of the entire nation. Some anti-Maharashtra invisible forces, aiming to tarnish the festive atmosphere, were preparing to exploit the protests at Azad Maidan for political gains. Seeing the unrest among the protesters in Mumbai, there was widespread apprehension across Maharashtra that the state might erupt into chaos. However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis resolved the long-pending and complex issue of Maratha reservation, which had lingered for forty years, in a just manner without causing injustice to any community. Moreover, during the festive season, he ensured that social harmony and peace prevailed in Maharashtra. For this, Maharashtra will forever remain indebted to Devendra Fadnavis.

In truth, Sharad Pawar had a historic opportunity to secure reservations for the Maratha community and pave the way for their progress. When the Mandal Commission was being implemented, the authority to decide which castes should receive reservations rested with the respective state chief ministers. At that time, Sharad Pawar was a prominent leader in Maharashtra. Given his stature, he must have been aware of the deprivation faced by ordinary Marathas and their dire need for development. However, why and how this issue was neglected remains an unsolved mystery. It is clear that Maratha protesters at Azad Maidan were enraged at Sharad Pawar, likely due to this tendency to overlook the community's grievances.

On July 13, 2016, a horrific and inhumane incident of assault on a minor girl occurred in Kopardi, Ahmednagar district. In protest against this incident, fifty-eight silent Maratha marches were held across Maharashtra. It was through these silent marches that the issue of Maratha reservation gained prominence, and Manoj Jarange Patil emerged as a leader, with Antarwali Sarati becoming the epicenter of the Maratha reservation movement. The late Annasaheb Patil had also led a movement for Maratha reservation in Mumbai in 1982. On March 22, 1982, he organized a march in Mumbai, and when it became evident that the demand for Maratha reservation would not be met, he sacrificed his life for the cause on March 23, 1982.

Considering Maharashtra's social fabric, there was a widespread desire among all communities in the state that the Maratha community should receive a legally sound reservation. Unfortunately, the powerful and wealthy leaders of political parties, including many from the Maratha community, lacked the will to resolve the Maratha reservation issue. As mentioned earlier, Sharad Pawar had several opportunities to address this, but no efforts were made to open the doors of progress through reservations. Instead, leaders like Manohar Joshi and Purushottam Khedekar, or later Devendra Fadnavis and Manoj Jarange Patil, were accused of inciting Maratha youth by fueling caste-based fervor and misleading them. Over the past three decades, Purushottam Khedekar’s organizations have engaged in similar activities. For the last forty to fifty years, Maratha political leadership has kept the reservation issue unresolved, using it as a political tool to keep Maharashtra unstable. This is the harsh reality of the Maratha reservation struggle.

When MP Supriya Sule visited Azad Maidan, Maratha youth, chanting that Sharad Pawar had betrayed the Marathas, expressed their anger by throwing bottles at her vehicle, showing the Pawar family their place. As the situation at Azad Maidan grew tense during the festive season, and to prevent any damage to Maharashtra’s social harmony, the composed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis resolved the hunger strike at Azad Maidan. Without any fanfare, through extensive research and behind-the-scenes efforts, he successfully addressed the Maratha reservation issue, which had been languishing for fifty years. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire state of Maharashtra is truly relieved today. By making the right decision at the right time, Devendra Fadnavis also thwarted the plans of those attempting to push Maharashtra into anarchy during the festive season.

The Entire Maharashtra is Relieved

Since August 29, Manoj Jarange Patil began a hunger strike at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, pressing for certain demands related to Maratha reservation. Lakhs of protesters from every corner of Maharashtra converged in Mumbai. Due to some inconveniences or alleged mismanagement on the first day, discontent and unrest grew among the protesters. Certain invisible forces sought to exploit this discontent, amplifying it through media and social media. Efforts were made to escalate the Maratha agitation at Azad Maidan, incite riots, and create a vertical divide within Hindu society. Some individuals publicly supported the Maratha movement at Azad Maidan. Leaders like Imtiaz Jaleel of the AIMIM, who opposed the renaming of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Nagar and glorified the fanatic Aurangzeb, and Abu Azmi, who downplayed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje’s sacrifice, visited Azad Maidan to express solidarity with the Maratha reservation movement. An individual named Paigambar Sheikh posted on social media, urging mosques to open for Marathas, attempting to add fuel to the fire. The visits and support from Imtiaz Jaleel and Abu Azmi were seen as attempts to create a divide within Hindu society, particularly among Marathas and other communities, and to trouble the Devendra Fadnavis government.

(The writer is a resident of Akola. Views personal.)