India's financial capital, Mumbai, witnessed a huge agitation by members of the Maratha community during the past few days. The agitation ended in five days on Tuesday evening. Agitators were demanding reservation in education and government jobs for the Maratha community. Over the weekend and the first two days of this week, road traffic was crippled and public life was disrupted by this agitation in South Mumbai. The demand for Maratha reservation has been long-standing. But since the agitation resurfaced ahead of the much-awaited civic and district council polls in Maharashtra, it would be interesting to check who would benefit politically from this agitation. As the agitation concluded sooner than many expected, questions regarding its impact still weigh on the minds of people.

The leader of the agitation, Manoj Jarange Patil, has, over the past many years, been demanding that the only way to provide reservation to the Maratha community instantly is to list them as members of the Kunbi community and extend the benefit enjoyed by the Kunbis to them. But the government has not been able to do this, as the move might get challenged in the courts and be blocked. Traditionally, the Maratha community has been the ruling and the landholding community in the region. However, because of the fragmentation of the agricultural land and the agrarian crisis caused by climate........

© Free Press Journal