Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, was brought to a grinding halt by the 58th and final morcha of the Marathas on Wednesday, August 9, that saw lakhs turning up. The main demand has been reservation in government job and education sectors and the gangrape and murder of a Maratha girl in Kopardi last year allegedly by Dalit youths acted as a trigger for the series of silent protests that took place in the last 12 months.
The silent nature of the protests and the absence of any political leadership spearheading makes their organisers deserving candidates for pat on their back but yet, in the long run, the risk can not be completely ruled out. For a country which is nearing 70 years since independence, the Maratha morchas give some sinister signals.
The decline of agriculture sector
The first worry is the deteriorating condition of agriculture in the country. Even though the country has walked towards liberalisation for over 25 years now, the agriculture sector is yet to be replaced by an alternative economic field which can engage millions.
Especially in a state like Maharashtra where agriculturalists have not had the best of experience, the urgency being shown by those who depend on agriculture for a decent livelihood is a warning that the State must pay heed to. In fact, what Maharashtra is seeing now is not just a state problem and the entire country could witness it snowballing alarmingly tomorrow. Hence, it is urgent for the Centre to step in. The political leadership should remember that is an economically advanced state like Maharashtra can see this, there is every chance of the backward regions of the country also erupting in frustration tomorrow.
The counter demand for reservation
The second concern has been the ill effects of reservation. The Marathas, just like the Jats in Haryana and Patidars in Gujarat, have been dominant in the state's socio-political system over the decades. But they have been at the receiving end of late because affirmative action enjoyed by the scheduled castes, tribes and OBCs has helped their socio-economic cause while the traditional power holders have suffered because of various reasons.
Now, the once dominant communities also want reservation to compete with the beneficiaries of affirmative action. The consequence of this will be serious not just because reservation involves legal and constitutional complications but also because any inclination by the political class to grant more reservations to safeguard the vote-bank could lead to a wildfire throughout the country.
Govt's short-term solution to save its day
Thirdly, in the post-liberalisation era, the government is in a mode of retreat from various sectors and asking it for reservation is not really going to serve any purpose. The government, on the contrary, needs to focus on improving the state of agriculture drastically to ensure the minimum livelihood of people who are struggling and finding no other options but to knock its door. Unfortunately, agricultural improvement has remained restricted to slogans as the government itself is busier adjusting itself to the flows of the neo-liberal economy. The promise of sops is also no permanent solution and it shows the government just wants to save its day.
The Narendra Modi government has thrived on a lot of success stories in the last three years but it has perhaps not done the most important work which is to generate abundant jobs. It has spoken in favour of the youth of the nation many a times but is yet to assure them of an economic certainty. Till it succeeds in that all-important work, there is every chance of the youth getting hijacked by evil political forces and the results posing a threat to the nation's stability.
