Kunbi Status for Marathas in Marathwada

• 04 Sep 2025

Why in News?

The Maharashtra government has issued a Government Resolution (GR) enabling Marathas in Marathwada to secure Kunbi caste certificates, thereby qualifying for reservation benefits under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. 

• The move draws on historical references in the Hyderabad Gazette that documented Marathas as Kunbis during the Nizam’s rule.

The Hyderabad Gazette

• Before Independence, Marathwada was part of the Hyderabad State under the Nizam.
  • Official gazetteers from the period recorded demographic and caste details, including peasants, artisans, and occupational groups.
• The Hyderabad Gazette of 1918 and even earlier records from 1884 identified sections of the Maratha community as Kunbis, an agrarian caste.
• The Nizam’s administration extended educational and job reservations to these groups, recording them officially as Kunbis.
• These documents have become central to today’s demand for OBC status, with activists notably Manoj Jarange Patil urging that Kunbi references be used to establish Maratha genealogies.

Government Resolution (GR)

• About: The GR provides a structured framework for verification, requiring applicants to demonstrate their Kunbi lineage with historical evidence. This will help Marathas establish their Kunbi credentials and access benefits under the OBC quota.
• Committee Structure: A three-member committee at the village level, comprising the gram revenue officer, gram panchayat secretary, and assistant agriculture officer, will review all applications.
• Documentation: Applicants who do not possess land ownership documents must submit affidavits proving their or their ancestors' residence in the area before 13 October 1967. Affidavits or testimonies from relatives, clan members, or other villagers with Kunbi certificates will also be considered.
• Issuance of Caste Certificates: Based on these investigations, authorities will issue one of three types of caste certificates: Kunbi, Kunbi-Maratha, or Maratha-Kunbi.
  • However, blanket Kunbi status for all Marathas or expanding the definition to include "sage soyre" (blood relations) is unlikely to be accepted.

Committee Action and Expanded Evidence

• To strengthen implementation, the government had earlier set up the Justice Sandeep Shinde Committee (Sept 2023) to trace Kunbi records in Marathwada. 
  • The panel has so far identified over 7,000 previously untraced entries, and its mandate has been extended till December 2025 to study additional gazetteers from Satara, Bombay, and Aundh.
• Additionally, amendments made in July 2024 to the Maharashtra Caste Certificate Act, 2000, have broadened the range of acceptable documents, easing access for landless farmers and agricultural laborers who often lack formal land records.

Maratha Community

• The Marathas, historically a warrior-agrarian caste, make up nearly one-third of Maharashtra’s population. 
• While they have long dominated state politics with 12 of 20 chief ministers since 1960 hailing from the community, many Marathas, especially in rural areas, have faced economic decline due to agrarian distress and shrinking opportunities.
• The present push for OBC inclusion stems from the Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling, which struck down the state’s Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) Act, 2018, that had granted Marathas a separate quota. 
  • The Court held that the law breached the 50% reservation ceiling and lacked sufficient grounds to establish Marathas as a “backward class.”
  • Following this, sections of the community have sought recognition as Kunbis, already part of the OBC list, using historical records as evidence.
  • Marathas from 11 Vidarbha districts and some from North Maharashtra and Konkan are already registered as Kunbis to avail the OBC quota.