Kolhapur: Congress MP Shahu Chhatrapati on Sunday expressed support for Maratha activist Manoj Jarange's ongoing protests but made a sharp remark about Jarange's neglect of the Kolhapur Gazetteer in his demands to the government.
Jarange, who began a hunger strike on Friday over pending demands for Maratha reservation, called off the protest on Saturday night.
According to Shahu Chhatrapati, the Gazetteer compiled during the Nizam rule in Marathwada and British rule in other parts of the state records Marathas as Kunbis, thereby making them eligible for reservation under the OBC quota.
Shahu Chhatrapati noted that Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj introduced reservation in his state for the first time in India, and that policy included the Marathas. He said, "There is more stress on the Hyderabad Gazetteer, less on the Satara Gazetteer, and none on the Kolhapur Gazetteer. Maybe he comes from a place where Hyderabad's Nizam ruled, so the Gazetteer is close to him. Kolhapur is far away, so he must have forgotten."
The Congress MP further remarked that it is difficult to know what transpires between Jarange and the government every time he goes on strike. He said, "For the last eight years, agitations have been going on, but the demands are not implemented. Across the state, Marathas believe they have been cheated. What actually happens between Jarange and the government is hard to know. However, we still support his agitation; we want all Marathas to come together for the cause of reservation."
Legal expert Baba Indulkar explained that the British published the Kolhapur Gazetteer in 1881, according to which the population of Kolhapur district was around 8 lakh. "The Gazetteer recorded 3 lakh individuals as Kunbis and the rest as Marathas. In the 1911 Census, all Kunbis were recorded as Marathas, as there is no mention of Kunbis thereafter," said Indulkar.
