By Sinjini Mitra
After the Maharashtra government decided to use the Hyderabad Gazette to grant Marathas Kunbi (OBC) certificates based on documentary evidence, the Banjara community has raised a similar demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Protests were held on Monday in Jalna and Beed districts, which were joined by thousands of community members. Similar protests have also been planned in different parts of the state in areas such as Budhana, Yavatmal and Amravati.
The Banjaras are given ST status in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, and are recognized as a Scheduled Caste in Karnataka. In Maharashtra, they are recognized as part of the OBC list. Community leaders had argued that the 1920 Hyderabad Gazette already described Banjaras as a tribe, and the state government should also use the same legal precedent applied for Marathas to extend ST recognition to them.
“During the British period, we were termed as a tribe who commits crime, there were 198 such tribes” (Quoted from Indian express) which was stated by Akash Jadhav, a community representative from the umbrella body of banjara community, who have taken a lead in organising protests across different parts of the state. “In the 1930s, Banjaras were listed as tribes in Punjab, Central Province , in Berar and Mysore province. The list of 1936 also noted Banjaras as tribes when Berar became part of the Central Province.” (Quoted from Indian express)He later added that a wrong interpretation and lack of representation during the post-Mandal era has led to their inclusion in the OBC category of Maharashtra.
Sanjay Rathod, the Congress leader and a prominent member of the Banjara community in Maharashtra, demanded that, “Maharashtra government has decided to use the Hyderabad Gazette to give Kunbi status to the Marathas. We demanded the same kind of gazette to be used for Banjaras to grant us ST status, as it clearly describes us as a part of a tribe but we do not want to disturb the existing ST reservations, but seek justice within the constitutional limits, similar to the 10% quota extended to Economically Weaker Sections of the society”.
Historically, Central Province and Berar, which are present-day Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Buldhana, Washim, Akola and Amravati, recognise Banjaras in the list of tribes. Community members now insist the state government correct this historical misclassification.
With protests gathering momentum, the Banjara agitation is expected to increase in the coming weeks, adding a fresh dimension to Maharashtra’s ongoing reservation debates.