Manoj Jarange Patil to Resume Hunger Strike Over Kunbi Certificate Delays
· India · Indian Express, The Hindu
Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil will begin an indefinite fast at Antarwali Sarati on Saturday, nearly a year after ending his Mumbai agitation over a deal with the Maharashtra government on the Hyderabad Gazette process. He accuses the government of failing to issue Kunbi caste certificates and caste validity documents to applicants whose family links to historical Kunbi records have been established. The state government has examined around 58 lakh historical records identifying people as Kunbi, Maratha Kunbi, or Kunbi Maratha, but says each applicant's genealogy must be verified by taluka-level committees headed by tehsildars before certificates can be issued. The government has extended the tenure of these committees until June 30, 2027 to clear pending cases. Jarange alleges that applications are being refused or delayed in some places despite last year's assurances.
Why it matters
Hundreds of thousands of Maratha applicants across Maharashtra who believe they qualify for OBC status through the Kunbi route are caught in a slow verification process, with the renewed fast threatening to revive large-scale caste protests that have previously paralysed Mumbai and other parts of the state.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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