Marathas with Nizam-era proof to get Kunbi caste papers

CategoryPolity

Last Updated08/09/2023

The Maharashtra government has decided to provide Kunbi caste certificates to all Marathas from Marathwada who possess Nizam-era documents.
The government has constituted a five-member committee led by former Justice Sandeep Shinde to prepare the Standard operating procedure (SOP) for issuing the Kunbi caste certificate.

The Kunbi community Maharashtra is associated with agriculture related occupation and is grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in the state.
Giving Marathas Kunbi caste certificates would mean that Marathas would be counted as OBCs and would get the benefit of reservation that OBCs get.
When Marathwada was part of the Hyderabad province, the community in the region was counted as Kunbis (farmer community).
After the Marathwada region became part of Maharashtra, the community got counted as Marathas.
In 1967, Punjab Rao Deshmukh demanded OBC status for Marathas of Vidarbha region and in 2004, the Maharashtra government issued a Government Resolution giving Kunbi status to Marathas of that region.
Now Marathas of Marathwada region are demanding Kunbi caste certificate.
The government has told them to provide documents to prove their Kunbi status during the Nizam era.