Maratha Kunbi Reservation: Maharashtra government appoints 6-member committee to verify caste records

The Maharashtra government has appointed a six-member committee to verify the caste certificates of Maratha-Kunbi applicants. The committee, headed by a tehsildar, will be responsible for matching the lineage of applicants with the caste records found by the Justice Sandeep Shinde Committee.

The Shinde Committee found 57 million caste records for Maratha-Kunbis. However, it was difficult to match the records with the current generation of applicants. The new committee will have four months to complete its work.

The committee will consist of the following members:

• Tehsildar (Chairperson)
• Zilla Parishad Development Officer
• Police Inspector
• Police Station In-charge
• Assistant Research Officer of the District Caste Verification Committee
• Urdu Language and Modi Script Expert
• Naib Tehsildar (Member Secretary)

The committee will face several challenges, including:

• The caste records found by the Shinde Committee date from 1860 to 1947. They do not include surnames, making it difficult for applicants to prove their lineage.
• Many applicants have sold their land in their ancestral villages or migrated to other places. This makes it difficult to match their lineage with the caste records.
• In many cases, the caste records do not provide strong evidence to establish a connection between the applicant's generation and the caste record. As a result, the committee will have to rely on the applicant's affidavit.

The government has also ordered the recruitment of more than 200 experts to assist the committee. These experts will include 72 assistant research officers and 144 Urdu and Modi script experts.

The committee will set up a separate office at the taluka level to carry out its work.