Marathas get their quota, but wait gets longer for Dhangars

The wait for getting reservations under the Scheduled Tribes category for the politically influential Dhangar (shepherd) community in Maharashtra is slated to get longer. Despite its promises, the government on Monday told the Opposition that it would not table a TISS report on the community in the Assembly.

In the run-up to the 2014 state elections, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the then state BJP president, had assured the Dhangars that his party would take up their demand in the first cabinet meeting if it was voted to power. On their part, the Marathas were able to push the government to provide them quota in five years.

The government had in 2015 entrusted the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) with the task of ascertaining whether the Dhangars qualified for inclusion under the ST category. While TISS submitted its report a few months ago, Fadnavis had said there was nothing "hostile" against them in the report.

Dhangars, who constitute about 9 per cent of the state's population, are currently listed under the Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes and enjoy 3.5 per cent reservation in education and jobs in Maharashtra. While they have been recognised as ST by the Centre, it has been misspelt as 'Dhangads', depriving the community of benefits from a larger quota pool.

Members of the community live mostly in western Maharashtra and Marathwada regions and play a crucial role in four Lok Sabha seats – Baramati, Madha, Solapur and Satara – and nearly 35 Assembly seats.

The government in the wake of agitations launched by the Maratha Kranti Morcha since August 2016 was forced to initiate action to provide quota to the Marathas. Last year, the government revived the State Backward Class Commission, which submitted its report on November 15. The cabinet last week approved the quota for the community, which constitutes nearly a third of the state's population.

On their part, the Dhangars have been pressing for ST status for over two decades, but successive governments have not been able to clear it citing legal hurdles.

BJP Rajya Sabha member Dr Vikas Mahatme said it was high time the government forwarded its recommendations to Centre on providing the Dhangar community reservation under the ST category. He said, "If the government delays any further, the Dhangar Samaj Sangharsh Samiti will launch a fresh agitation across the state.''

Former legislator Prakash Shendge accused the government of not being serious on the community's demand. Echoing Mahatme, he said the government should quickly send its recommendation to the Centre.

Quota hurdle 

9% Dhangars in state population

• Currently recognised as Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes, enjoy 3.5% reservation
• Centre included them under ST category, but it has been misspelt as ‘Dhangads’
• The error has deprived the community of benefits under a larger quota pool