Maratha community has ‘exceptional backwardness’: MSCBC tells Bombay High Court  

MSCBC reports exceptional backwardness among Maratha community, highlighting social disparities and economic struggles, sparking debate over reservation.

The Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes (MSCBC) on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court that there is an ‘exceptional backwardness’ among the Maratha Community. The commission submitted data to the Bench collected through a survey conducted at 1.58 crore households across the state.  

Earlier this year, the High Court had directed the MSCBC, which is headed by former High Court judge Justice Sunil Shukre, to file an affidavit responding to petitions that challenged Maratha reservation. Following that order, Asharani Patil, Member Secretary of the MSCBC had filed an affidavit on July 30 before a full Bench, comprising Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya, Justice Girish Kulkarni, and Justice Firdosh Pooniwalla. 

The affidavit read, “The study revealed that the Maratha community was being looked down upon in the State. It was found that there was exceptional backwardness among the Maratha community. The financial position of the vulnerable Maratha community was very low even in comparison with the open category non-creamy layer class and therefore deserved special protection. The rising percentage of suicides, of which 94% are from the Maratha community had been highlighted as a disturbing trend.” 

The MSCBC claimed that it carried out a quantitative research study and went through the reports and recommendations presented by the previous committees.  

The social indicators revealed profound disparities especially in the perceived backwardness based on caste and traditional occupation as well as current occupation, higher engagement in manual labour for both women and men within the Maratha community. The community has been pushed to the ‘dark edges’ of mainstream society and the Marathas continue to get their daughters married before completing 18 years, and also practice superstition, the affidavit said.  

“At least 30 per cent of families routinely follow customs/practices which lower down the esteem of women in those families. At least 5 per cent of men and at least 10 per cent of women in excess of State average marry at the age earlier than permissible age. The analysis of the social backwardness indicated that till date certain practices which are known to be superstitious are followed in large number in the Maratha community. It was equally evidenced from the data examined by the MSCBC that the women folk from the Maratha community are still undermined and neglected within the family unit. The occupational identification of the Maratha community was considered as secondary and / or uncountable in the social hierarchy in the State. Thus, it was observed that the Maratha community was being looked down upon,” the affidavit reads.  

“When all these factors are weighed against the buoyant economic conditions of the present day, a conclusion could be reasonably arrived at of the unusual and extraordinary economic backwardness of the Maratha community. Against the buoyant economic conditions of the present day, the abject economic condition of the Marathas demonstrates their unusual and extra ordinary economic backwardness,” the affidavit said.