THE MARATHA MAZE

The popular mood for caste-based surveys seems to have infected Maharashtra too, but with a twist.

- Dhaval Kulkarni

One that plots a path the political class was wary of and formed the very basis for their original reluctance towards the idea: a competitive clamour for reservations by more and more groups. Once it sets in, of course, there's nothing to do but to ride the wave. And so, both deputy chief ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis spoke in favour of an enumeration of Maharashtra's various caste blocs. Once the results of Bihar's caste survey were released in October, it was but inevitable: vociferous quota protests had begun, especially from powerful groups like the Marathas.

"Nitish Kumar did it in Bihar, and I feel there must be a caste-wise census here too," Ajit said last month itself, being quite unequivocal. "We must know the numbers of Scheduled Castes, tribals, OBCs, nomadic communities, minorities, and even those in the open category in Maharashtra." Fadnavis was a bit more circumspect, saying the state government was not opposed to the idea, but there were questions on how to go about it to "ensure there were no problems like in Bihar.... NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar and BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bavankule have also supplied their assent.