Maratha Kranti Morcha

Maratha Kranti Morcha

Logo
Native name	मराठा क्रांती मोर्चा
Location	Worldwide
Also known as	मराठा क्रांती (मूक) मोर्चा
Organised by	Maratha Community
Website	marathakrantimorcha.org

Maratha Kranti Morcha

The Maratha community has been protesting and organizing silent rallies across the state with each district witnessing large number of people participating. It is silent protest against rape and murder in Kopardi^[1] (district Ahmednagar), victim was minor school girl. The protesters demand death punishment to rapist as early as possible. No leader! No slogans! and cleaning of whole City/town after march is very interesting and welcoming part of this movement. Million of peoples come together to protest but no harm to any public property or damage to any private property is notable thing in this March. The reservation demand is also a part of this protest. In Maharashtra Maratha community demands reservation in education and government services, most of farmers committed suicide belongs to Maratha caste, division of lands in small pieces makes critical condition. Infertility, drought hit continuously to Maratha. Due to lack of reservation, the unemployment becomes major problem. Some part of Maratha community known as Kunbi gets benefits of Other Backward Class category reservation; but most people are out of benefits. More than 95% of Maratha are socially and educationally backward. There natural demand is reservation in education and employment. Maratha Kranti Morcha broke record of human crowd in silent march and continued to break records at each and every time in all cities. No harm to national property is very healthy thing to democracy. Communal harmony also improved due to this Morcha. The minorities like Muslim community also supported this Morcha.

Demands

1. Punishment to culprits in Kopardi rape and murder case.
2. Reservation in education and government jobs.
3. Implement recommendations of National Commission on Farmers chaired by Prof. M. S. Swaminathan.
4. Amendment in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to stop its misuse.^[2]

Appreciation

The police are appreciating these silent march for its discipline and cleanness. Millions of Maratha joined this movement silently. This is one of the World's Largest Peaceful Protest March. This protest brought together Maratha Community. Till date in various regions across Maharashtra, India almost 20 to 30 Million people have actively participated in this march at different locations. And continued to participate.

Rules and discipline

Being silent protest this march follow some rules and discipline.

• As a silent protest no talking while walking in march.
• No any voice announcement during walking.
• Only simple banners in hand.
• To avoid politicizing of this protest, No politician are allowed to walk in front of the protest. Politicians are allowed to walk at the last of the march.

Role of Social Media

Social Media played a key role in the protest; various Facebook groups and pages were created to make this protest successful.^[3] Many college students and IT professionals were actively managing the protest and providing information using social media.^[4]

On 9 October 2016 protest hits the Twitter and Facebook. Hashtag #MarathaKrantiMorcha was trending on Twitter^[5] and Facebook.

Social Media pages, group and app,

• Facebook page : मराठा क्रांती मोर्चा महाराष्ट्र
• Facebook group : World Maratha Organization (WMO) United Maratha Organisation (UMO)
• Twitter page : मराठा क्रांती मोर्चा
• Instagram page : मराठा क्रांती मोर्चा
• YouTube page : मराठा क्रांती मोर्चा
• Mobile app for Android smartphones : मराठा क्रांती मोर्चा
• Twibbon Campaign to add a small icon on profile picture : मराठा क्रांती मोर्चा

Ignorance by Mainstream Media

Some people blamed Indian Hindi media & some of the Marathi media houses for ignoring this march.^[6] It was observed that Hindi media was ignoring the march while international news house BBC and The Independent was covering this march^[7][8]

Reactions

Social

To counter the Maratha Kranti Morcha a consolidation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Dalits 10 splinter groups have forged an alliance and decided to organise silent morchas across Maharashtra with aim of defending their reservation quota and demand not to tampering with the reservation norms or any amendment to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.^[9]

Political

• The president of a regional political party the Republican Party of India (A) and current member Rajya Sabha of Indian parliament, Ramdas Athawale – the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment said that those earning an annual income of up to Rs 600,000 (0.6 Millions) from among the forward castes should be given reservation in jobs and education. He will soon bring up the issue in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. The issue could be taken up for debate in Parliament and a Constitutional amendment could be moved to bring such a reservation into effect.^[10]
• A member of national political party Bharatiya Janata Party and Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rajkumar Badole – the Minister of Social Justice and Special Assistance Government of Maharashtra made controversial statement over Maratha Kranti Morcha that whoever comes up nowadays, stages protests and demands reservations. Their agitations draw crowds as they have more money.
• A regional political party Shiv Sena's mouthpiece newspaper Saamana published a cartoon poking fun at the Maratha Kranti Morcha. By playing with words, the cartoon has twisted the word "mook morcha" (silent rally-मूक मोर्चा) to "Mooka Morcha" (kiss rally-मूका मोर्चा).
• A politician from Maharashtra, member of the Indian National Congress and currently serving Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil demanded to file First Information Report under Indian Penal Code against owner Uddhav Thackeray the Chairperson of Shiv Sena and associate editor Sanjay Raut of newspaper Saamana for poking fun of silent protests and participant mothers and sisters. He said that now Shiv Sena is against Maratha Community which from earlier was against Dalit Muslim.
• Spokesperson of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Manmohan Vaidya said that some people are trying to divide society under Caste politics.

Judicial

• After eighty-six days to incident of brutal rape and murder of a minor girl which took place on 13 July between 6.45 pm and 7.30 pm at village Kopardi, in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra,the Police File Charge Sheet on 7 October 2016^[11]
• Trial in Kopardi rape and murder case begins in a local court on date 19 October 2016. The special public prosecutor & lawyer Ujjwal Nikam opened the case by describing the charges of criminal conspiracy for committing rape and murder against all the three accused.^[12]

Participation in Protest

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Silent Protest in 2016

July First Maratha Morcha started from Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad, Maharashtra) August 9 August – Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad, Maharashtra) 26 August - Osmanabad 29 August – Jalgaon 30 August – Beed[13] September 3 September 2016 – Parbhani 17 September 2016 – Hingoli 18 September 2016 – Nanded 18 September 2016 – Phaltan 19 September 2016 – Jalna, Maharashtra 19 September 2016 – Latur 19 September 2016 – Akola 21 September 2016 – Solapur 21 September 2016 – Navi Mumbai 22 September 2016 – Amravati 23 September 2016 – Ahmednagar 24 September 2016 – Nashik 25 September 2016 – Pune 25 September 2016 – Washim 26 September 2016 – Buldhana 26 September 2016 – Saint Petersburg[14] 27 September 2016 – Sangli 28 September 2016 – Dhule 29 September 2016 – Baramati

October 2 October 2016 – Hyderabad[15] 3 October 2016 – Satara (city) 3 October 2016 – Dubai[16] 9 October 2016 – Tweet Morcha[17][18] 9 October 2016 – Daman district, India[19] 9 October 2016 – Badlapur[20][21] 13 October 2016 – Vaijapur 15 October 2016 – Kolhapur[22] 16 October 2016 – Thane[23][24] 16 October 2016 – Indore 16 October 2016 – Chiplun[25] 16 October 2016(PST)- New York[26] 17 October 2016 – Sillod 17 October 2016 – Khuldabad 19 October 2016 – Chandrapur[27] 19 October 2016 – Bidar, Karnataka[28] 23 October 2016 – Palghar 23 October 2016 – Sindhudurg 23 October 2016 – Wardha 23 October 2016 – Mangaon 24 October 2016 – Soyagaon 25 October 2016 – Nagpur 25 October 2016 – Gangapur,_Maharashtra November 6 November 2016 – Paithan 6 November 2016 – Byke Rally Mumbai 20 November 2016 – Delhi 21 November 2016 – Kannad December 14 December 2016 – Nagpur

Impact

After continuous growing protest in each city and millions of peoples participation in each Maratha Kranti Morcha, on 13 October 2016 the Government of Maharashtra took decision^[29] and

• Increased the upper limit of the Economically Backward Class (EBC) to Rupee 600,000 (Rupee 0.6 Million) and announced extension of monetary benefits under this category to students from all castes. The students from the EBC category studying in all professional courses will be eligible for the benefits such as fee reimbursement under the Rajshri Shahu Maharaj Scheme, which was named after the Maratha king Rajshri Shahu of Kolhapur who introduced reservation policy for the first time in his kingdom Kolhapur State.
• Announced schemes for children of small land holding farmers under the Panjabrao Deshmukh Scheme. The children of farmers with small land holding (2.5 Hectare for non-irrigated and 2 Hectare for irrigated) will be given financial assistance to pay housing rents in different cities. The upper limit for metros will be Rs. 30,000 a year, while that for smaller cities, it will be Rs. 20,000 a year.

Must Read

• Maratha clan system
• Maratha and Maratha-Kunbi
• Social reform by Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj
• Misuse of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

See also

Farmers' suicides in India National Commission on Farmers Reservation in India Reservation policy in Tamil Nadu Mandal Commission protests of 1990 Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 Court Cases Related to Reservation in India National Commission for Backward Classes Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Right to education Educational equity World Education Forum

References

1. Reporter, Staff (17 July 2016). "Girl, 15, brutally gang-raped and strangled in Kopardi village by three men who were 'drinking liquor to celebrate buying a motorcycle'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
2. Reporter, Staff (29 September 2016). "अपंग मुलीवर बलात्कार करून अॅट्रॉसिटीची धमकी". सकाळ (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-22.
3. Suryawanshi, Sudhir (20 September 2016). "Maratha body eyes social media". DNA-Daily News & Analysis. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
4. "Maratha Kranti Morcha owes its success to social media, not mainstream media". Firstpost. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
5. Reporter, Staff (9 October 2016). "ट्विटरवरही '#एकमराठालाखमराठा'चा एल्गार". IBN-लोकमत (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-15.
6. Sawant, Sanjay (27 September 2016). "Maratha Kranti Morcha owes its success to social media, not mainstream media". Firstpost. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
7. Biswas, Soutik (5 October 2016). "Why are millions of Indians marching in silence?". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
8. Samuels, Gabriel (6 October 2016). "India mass protests: Millions join silent marches to demand justice over rape and murder of teenage girl". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
9. Khapre, Shubhangi (15 October 2016). "Maratha protests: OBCs, Dalits plan silent morchas to defend quotas". The Indian Express (in en-GB). Retrieved 2016-10-22.
10. Nair, Shalini (31 August 2016). "Upper castes should get 25 per cent quota, will take up with PM Modi: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
11. "Police File Charge Sheet in Kopardi Gangrape-Murder Case". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
12. Reporter, Staff (20 October 2016). "Trial in Kopardi rape and murder case begins". PTI News (in En-GB). Retrieved 2016-10-20.
13. शेळके, गोविंद (8 August 2016). "बीडमध्ये मराठा समाजाचा विराट मोर्चा". ABP माझा (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-19.
14. Jai Maharashtra News (26 September 2016), Maratha Morcha at Russia, retrieved 2016-10-15
15. [http://www.esakal.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=5114364829212674423&SectionId=5214908268601260737&SectionName=Youth Beats "हैदराबादला मराठा मोर्चा- हजारो उतरले रस्त्यावर"]. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
16. "Maratha Kranti Morcha Dubai | दुबईतही मराठा मोर्चाचा आवाज; दुबईकर मराठ्यांनी दिला मोर्चाला पाठिंबा". India.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
17. Mane, Shrimant (10 October 2016). "मराठा क्रांती मोर्चा असाही...!". सकाळ (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-15.
18. Reporter, Staff (9 October 2016). "ट्विटरवरही '#एकमराठालाखमराठा'चा एल्गार". IBN-लोकमत (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-15.
19. सोनवणे, अविनाश (9 October 2016). "मराठा मोर्चाचं वादळ आता परराज्यात, दमणमधील मराठी भाषिक रस्त्यावर". ABP माझा (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-15.
20. Reporter, Staff (10 October 2016). "बदलापूरमध्ये भव्य मराठा मोर्चा". ZEE २४ तास (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-15.
21. Reporter, Staff (9 October 2016). "बदलापूरात मराठा क्रांती मूक मोर्चाला उदंड प्रतिसाद". EENADU INDIA आपली मराठी (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-15.
22. Chari, Mridula (16 October 2016). "The rumbling sound of silence: 25 lakh gather for Maratha rally in Kolhapur". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
23. Reporter, Staff (16 October 2016). "ठाण्यात मराठा सामाज्याचा आक्रोश". आवाज News Line (in Marathi). Retrieved 2016-10-16.
24. PTI, Reporter (16 October 2016). "Maratha agitation: Silent march in Thane, a prelude to Mumbai's rally". Firstpost. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
25. Reporter, Staff (16 October 2016). "चिपळुणातील मराठा मोर्चाने गर्दीचा उच्चांक". सकाळ eSakal.com (in Marathi). Retrieved 2016-10-16.
26. "मराठा मूकमोर्चाचं वादळ सातासमुद्रापार, अमेरिकेतही मराठा मोर्चा". ABP Majha. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
27. Reporter, Staff (19 October 2016). "चंद्रपुरात मराठा मूकमोर्चाचा हुंकार". ABP माझा (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-20.
28. Reporter, Staff (19 October 2016). "कर्नाटकच्या बिदरमध्ये मराठा क्रांती मोर्चाचा एल्गार". ABP माझा (in Marathi language). Retrieved 2016-10-20.
29. Jog, Sanjay (14 October 2016). "Maharashtra extends educational subsidies for poor across castes". Business Standard. Retrieved 2016-10-23.

External links

• Official website
• Constitution of India : Part III Fundamental Rights : Article 15 : Clause 5
• Swaminathan Report: National Commission on Farmers

Further reading