Overcaste Condition

With the Maratha rallies gathering momentum, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis finds himself in trouble.

- Niranjan Takle & Dnyanesh Jathar

Lakhs of Marathas, walking silently with placards, are creating a political storm that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is finding difficult to withstand.

The Marathas, who form about 35 per cent of the state’s population, have been holding massive rallies protesting the brutal rape and murder of a Maratha girl in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar, on July 13, allegedly by three dalit youth. According to the postmortem report, her arms and hair had been pulled out, her teeth smashed, and her vagina stuffed with sand. The three youth allegedly warned her parents against going to the police and threatened them with a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. All three were later arrested.

The latest of the Maratha rallies, held in Pune on September 25, had 1₹ lakh participants. The rallies are being organised under the banner of Maratha Kranti Morcha, and the organisers have refused support from political parties.

Activist Nilesh Khaire said: “This [the rape] was a trigger for the community, [which came out] against the humiliation it had to put up with for decades. It brought the poor, exploited Maratha youth to the streets.”