Recognise all Marathas as Kunbis, activists demand citing Nizam-era records

Maratha quota Activists supporting the Maratha reservation have claimed that the community members were recognised as Kunbi community during the Nizam era and hence all Marathas should be treated as Kunbis under the OBC category reported the PTI on SundayAccording to the PTI the Marathas and Kunbis interdined and intermarried freely leading to blurring of lines between them a proquota activist claimed This cultural amalgamation further strengthens the argument that Marathas and Kunbis were closely related both socially and culturally he saidThe agrarian Kunbi community already gets quota benefits in the Other Backward Classes OBC categoryMaharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said every district collector will be asked to deploy 10 officials from the collectorate staff to find old records on the basis of which Kunbi caste certificates can be given to the eligible MarathasOne of the demands of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange who ended his indefinite fast after nine days on Thursday is that they be given Kunbi caste certificatesTalking to reporters on Friday Manoj Jarange claimed that Marathas and Kunbis are the same and the Maratha community should be treated as Kunbi which comes under the OBC categoryManoj Jarange claimed that about 13700 documents have been collected from the Marathwada region and submitted before a fivemember committee led by retired judge Sandeep Shinde appointed by the state government to decide the procedure for granting Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas in the Marathwada region the news agency reportedMaratha Kranti Morcha coordinator Dr Sanjay Lakhe Patil on Saturday said the Maratha community members have historically been associated with farming and claimed that they were referred as KunbisDespite this after the formation of Maharashtra Marathas considered themselves as of a superior caste in the Marathwada region he saidBut historical documents and records indicate that Marathas were originally identified as Kunbis and they were socially and economically backward Lakhe Patel claimedThe Maratha community members of Vidarbha and western Maharashtra are treated as Kunbis and taking benefit under the OBC category he saidLocal NGO Maratha Foundations president Avinash Kavhale citing documents claimed that in 1920 the Nizam administration conducted a comprehensive survey titled Castes and Tribes of the Nizams Dominions which identified the Maratha community as landholding and cultivating caste of the DeccanThe Maratha community was a fusion of two significant tribes represented by the Marathas and Kunbis he further claimedThe Marathas were divided into 96 kul clans each of which was further subdivided into a number of surnames he saidThe survey highlighted the gradual fading of distinctions between the highclass Marathas and the humble Kunbis with no rigid demarcation between the two classes he claimedThe Marathas and Kunbis interdined and intermarried freely leading to blurring of lines between them Kavhale saidThis cultural amalgamation further strengthens the argument that Marathas and Kunbis were closely related both socially and culturally he addedKavhale also referred to the book Marathwada under the Nizams 17241948 authored by P V Kate saying it provides valuable insights into the socioeconomic aspects of the Marathwada regionThe occupation of Kunbis during the Nizam reign was agriculture he saidThe book noted that iquestthe peculiar features of the cultivators or Kunbis of Marathwada were simple in habits kind by disposition and unambitious by nature The Kunbi women were industrious and more energetic than men They helped in household and farming activities the activist saidwith PTI inputs