Maybe it is time for Maratha leaders to educate their masses about Babasaheb Ambedkar as the heir to the great supporters of the non-Brahmin movement started by the Great Jotiba, and taken further by Shahu and Sayaji.Īuthor – Mangesh Dahiwale, Human Rights Activist Often in the personal and closed meetings, the Maratha leaders acknowledge their debt to Babasaheb Ambedkar and his great struggle for the OBCs, but they also claim that their masses will take the time to understand the reality. Shahu and Sayaji are the role models to emulate for the leadership of Marathas. So, the demands of the Shudras must be addressed if they are legitimate, but at the same Marathas must take further the legacy of great Marathas like Shahu Maharaj and Sayaji Maharaj.

The Kunbis already have a reservation in place under the OBC category. It is not a caste, but an amalgamation of many castes, but mainly landholding castes like Kunbi who are at the forefront in asserting themselves as Marathas.Īctually, Marathas were organised by great Shivaji and they came from many Bahujan castes, therefore the first difficulty will be to define who Maratha is. It is the religion that makes them Shudra and they should first come out of that religion that reduces them to the Shudrahood.Ĭoming back to Maratha, it is a linguistic term, which implies people speaking Marathi. That means their fight should be against the Brahmins and not against the Dalits. The Shudras must realise that they are the Shudra in the Brahminical Social Order.

Surprisingly, they began their mobilisation by criticizing the “Dalits”, and demanding reservations. The Jats in the north India and the Kapus in the South India are on the same line. Similarly, the Patel/Patidars have also mobilised in lakhs in the state of Gujarat. It needs a lot of resources, both physical and human, to mobilise people in this magnitude.

Ambedkar who were the shudras