Context:
Recently, Maharashtra Assembly unanimously passed a Bill for a separate 10% quota for the Maratha community.
Key Highlights of the bill:
- Bill seeks to provide reservation to Maratha community in educational institutions and government jobs.
- Bill is similar to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018 introduced in 2021.
- The Act that sought to provide reservation to Maratha Community in educational institutions and State public services
- It’s the 3rd time within the last 10 years that the State has introduced legislation for a Maratha quota.
- While seeking to fulfil long-pending demands and aspirations of poorer sections, Bill does not disturb the existing OBC quota. It pushes total reservations in Maharashtra to 62% (above the Supreme Court-mandated limit of 50%).
- Previously in 2021, Supreme Court struck down a similar Act with following observations:
- No extraordinary circumstances were there to grant separate reservation to Maratha Community by exceeding the 50% ceiling limit of reservation.
- Under Article 16(4) – A 9-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in Indira Sawhney Case (1992) set a ceiling of 50% on reservations.
- Article 16(4) enables the State to make provisions in favour of backward classes of citizens in public employment.
- Clear violation of Article 14 and 16 – Exceeding ceiling limit without there being any exceptional circumstances.
- Changing 50% limit is to have a society which is not founded on equality but on caste rule.
- Court held the criteria for reservation under Article 16(4) – ‘It should not be proportionate representation but adequate representation’.
Maratha community:
- Hindu community with military caste
- Comprising castes like – Warriors and landowners.
- Location – Western and partly southern region
- Distributed States – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and some parts of Madhya Pradesh.
- Maratha caste claims their origin from Rajputs.
- 7 clans of Maratha community include – Names of Rajput tribes like Panwar, Suryavansi, Chauhan and Solanki.
- Culture and traditions –
- Worship Lord Shiva and his consort, Parvati.
- The worship of the ‘Devak‘ is found only among them.
- A man not permitted to marry within his own clan or of his mother’s clan.
Read more about: Maratha Empire
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I:
The Supreme Court of India has held in some judgments that the reservation policies made under in Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India would be limited by Article 335 for the maintenance of efficiency of administration.
Statement-II:
Article 335 of the Constitution of India defines the term ‘efficiency of administration’.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Statement II is not correct:
Article 335 of the Indian Constitution does not explicitly define the term ‘efficiency of administration’.
