Panel examining Nizam-era documents gets extension to submit report till Dec 24

The Maharashtra government has granted an extension until December 24 to the committee tasked with establishing the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas to deliver its report.

This development follows an ongoing indefinite hunger strike initiated by activist Manoj Jarange in Jalna district on Wednesday. The hunger strike is aimed at advocating for reservations for the Maratha community. In Maharashtra, Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture, are categorized under the Other Backward Classes (OBC). Led by Jarange, the Maratha community has been urging the issuance of Kunbi certificates to Marathas, which would enable them to be included in the OBC category for reservation benefits.

A government resolution (GR) said the committee, headed by retired judge Sandeep Shinde, has been examining Nizam-era documents, genealogy, educational and revenue proofs, agreements signed during the Nizam-era, and other related documents required to give Kunbi certificates to Maratha community members in Marathwada. The state government had formed this panel to determine the SOP, including legal and administrative framework, for giving caste certificates to members of the Maratha community referred to as Kunbis in the Nizam-era documents.

Additional Chief Secretary (revenue), Principal Secretary (law and justice), and collectors of concerned districts are members of the committee. The divisional commissioner of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) is the member secretary of the panel. The GR cited delay in examining these documents as many of them are in Urdu, Persian and Modi script, which was earlier used for official communication in Marathi, and unavailability of skilled translators who know these languages and script.

GR also said that due to the upcoming assembly polls in Telangana, its officials are busy in election duty resulting in delay in examining the documents. The panel will also need to examine documents in Telangana, it said. Due to all these factors, the committee has been granted extension till December 24 to submit its report to the government, it said.