The three main demands of the protestors were sub-judice or under the Centre's purview. This gives the Devendra Fadnavis-led government little space for anything substantial.
Though the silent protest by Marathas in Mumbai may have generated impressive numbers, and achieved little substantial for the community, Maratha leaders admit that the 58 morchas (marches) held across Maharashtra since last year, culminating in Wednesday's show of strength, may have created a social cleavage between Marathas and non-Marathas, which could work to the ruling BJP's favour.
The three main demands of the protestors were sub-judice or under the Centre's purview. This gives the Devendra Fadnavis-led government little space for anything substantial.
Maratha leaders admit that the morchas may polarize non-Maratha groups like Dalits, tribals, OBCs and other upper castes behind the BJP. Since the Sharad Pawar-led NCP is seen as a Maratha-dominated party, the morchas were perceived as the handiwork of the opposition, which could work in the BJP's favour as was evidenced by the results of the recent local body polls.
"The demand to dilute the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, comes under the Centre's purview and has created unrest in Dalits and tribals. OBCs are increasingly assertive and uneasy at the attempt of the Marathas to eventually secure quotas in jobs and employment through their category," a Maratha leader noted. The Maratha- Kunbi caste cluster is estimated at around 31.5% of Maharashtra's population.
The leader said reservations in government-run institutions mattered little when the state was retreating from these sectors in the post-liberalisation era. "The focus should be on making farming remunerative to tide over the agrarian crisis and promoting village-level enterprises," he added.
Deepak Pawar, assistant professor, department of civics and politics, University of Mumbai, noted that the pressure on politicians to refrain from joining the protests under a politicial banner showed the anti-establishment sentiment.
Pawar said the unrest in dominant castes like the Marathas in Maharashtra indicated the failure of the elite in these communities. He added that capital formation had occurred only in a certain section of the Marathas but not percolated to those like marginal farmers. "These elite are creating enemies outside their community to hide their failures," Pawar explained.
Author- activist Sanjay Sonwani noted that the morchas had not tackled a social reform agenda or larger systemic issues like anti-farmer laws which resonated across caste lines.
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